by January is still the month when most holidays are sold. People are desperate to beat the winter blues and boost themselves by booking a summer holiday and tour operators try to entice them with discounts and special offers. But does that mean it’s the best time to book? That is another question and the answer depends on where and when you want to travel. Here’s my guide to what you need to book now.
What to book now
Family holidays
The choice of packages, hotels and departure airports for any peak season travel will only be reduced from now on. It would therefore be wise for you to consider switching to your planned safe holidays during any of the school holidays and half terms in 2024.
Starting with February half term and the upcoming Easter break: it’s already getting late to book skiing or sun and sand holidays. The pressure is mounting on air fares. Peak-time flights with easyJet from Geneva to Gatwick on the Saturday of February half-term are now £324, returning a week later, while the cheapest Ryanair flights from Manchester to Tenerife South on the same weekend start at £ 250. Both samples include checked baggage.
High season weeks for villas in prime locations in the summer (and the accompanying flights and car hire – see below) should be other priorities. Flights are selling fast for prime weekends right after school breaks up, especially from regional airports and for day trips. Some EasyJet flights from Bristol to Majorca, for example, are already more than £500 back (July 20 to August 3, including checked baggage). Peak summer dates for longer ferry services are best booked as early as possible, especially if you want to travel at the most convenient time to fit in with the rest of your journey.
In this country, you should be looking to book houses in Cornwall, Devon, Norfolk and all the National Parks during the school holidays now. In particular, don’t delay if you want somewhere within walking distance of the beach or if you are looking for a large house suitable for two or more families. These sell out early and many are booked a year or more in advance.
Escort and specialist tours
Whether you’re attempting the Milford Walk in New Zealand or the Machu Picchu trail in Peru, you’d be wise to consider committing now. Both require a license and you need to book the next few months to be sure. The same is true for large wildlife events (wildlife migration, whales or polar bears, for example), or destinations with a limited season (like Antarctica). Expert-led tours that are more culturally oriented often sell out quickly. For example, the four of Martin Randall Samarkand & Silk Road tours for 2024 are now sold out, although the last of those does not depart until October.
Festivals and events
You know the ones: Venice carnival, Semana Santa in Seville, Edinburgh Festival, Oktoberfest in Munich, Day of the Dead in Oaxaca – and all the big music festivals. If any of these are on your 2024 bucket list, you don’t want to wait much longer to book flights, tickets and accommodation.
Spring weekend breaks at peak times
The lowest fares are sold out months in advance for any break that involves flying out Thursday or Friday night and returning Sunday afternoon, any weekend in 2024. Start researching now.
Eurostar tickets anytime
With Eurostar tickets it’s always best to book them as far in advance as possible if you want to get the cheapest fares – they can usually be bought up to nine months in advance. As an example of the potential savings, I recently checked London-Paris returns for Friday-Sunday travel (departing 9.31 am, returning 5.12 pm). They were: 19-21 January, £203; 15-17 March, £168; June 7-9, £148; 30 August-1 September, £128.
Long haul flights for next Christmas and New Year
Major scheduled airlines tend to open their booking windows about a year before travel (355 days in advance for British Airways, for example) so if you’re planning a big trip for the festive season in 2024, it’s definitely -you pay in early, especially for destinations such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Canada, where a very high number of people travel to visit friends and relatives.
Last minute holiday deals to almost anywhere
Of course, you might be thinking of booking travel this month too: hotel demand for city breaks is at an all-time low and bargain flights are easy to come by. In particular, if you are thinking of a trip to Paris this year, a winter visit could also be a good plan. The Olympics in July and August have already pushed prices high and will no doubt put more pressure on May and June as people schedule their travel to avoid that peak.
You should find plenty of choice and lower prices for travel to winter sun destinations this month and for those wanting a holiday on the slopes, January is a good chance to bag a last minute ski holiday – it’s the early season snow. looking promising and the demand is never as high as in February. This year Easter is relatively early (March 31st), however, so there are fewer off-peak weeks during March to choose from.
How to book it
Tour and package operators
From a financial security point of view, the best course of action is always to book a package holiday through a tour operator or travel agent. It’s true, you can protect yourself by paying by credit card and some travel insurance policies include financial default cover – but certainly not all. But the big advantage of using a tour operator is that they also have a duty of care, so if anything goes wrong with the travel or accommodation arrangements they’ve made for you, they have a legal duty to help you.
The problem for consumers is that the definition of what a package is can be confusing. Examples of arrangements that are likely to be unprotected include buying flight-only tickets from an airline and buying your accommodation through an online agent such as booking.com or airbnb.com. If you’re not sure, check the guide on the Atol website (caa.co.uk/atol-protection).
If you can’t find a ready-made package that suits your needs, you can almost always create one by booking the accommodation and flight through the same agent at the same time.
Flights
If you prefer to arrange your flights independently, the best way to do so depends on the destination. For short-haul flights to Europe, always book directly with the airline or as part of a package with a regular travel agent (see above). Never use an online agent’s website – an agent’s price is very rarely lower than the airlines. An online agent is likely to charge a large premium and if something goes wrong, you may have problems dealing with any cancellations, changes or other issues.
On the other hand, it’s always worth checking fares and options with a reputable travel agent like Trailfinders for long flights. That way, you’ll often pay less, have more choice, and have more financial protection.
Car rental
It’s always worth comparing prices, but overall, you’re likely to get the best rates through brokers, who negotiate the most competitive deals they can with the various big names and local suppliers. Which one of them? rates Zest (zestcarrental.com) as “the standout broker” with Auto Europe (autoeurope.co.uk) the next highest rating. However, his specific advice for the Canary Islands is different, with very high ratings by specialists autoreisen.com and cicar.com.
When traveling, it’s usually best to book early – especially for peak dates and especially with a broker that allows you to cancel without penalty. This means you can commit to holiday savings knowing you’re locked in to a competitive rate, but can get a refund if your plans change. Be wary of no-deposit booking offers, though. They can work against you if an unscrupulous hire company could later cancel your booking because rates have gone up. You can avoid this by paying a deposit which locks them into providing the car at the price you have agreed.
Finally, when making price comparisons, don’t get carried away by the headline prices – make sure you’re comparing like-for-like and that you’ve included all the extras in the final price.
