Best way to book a holiday?

DiscoKandy

DiscoKandy

DiscoKandy

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Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
901
Location
Surrey
Hi,
I'm looking to book a holiday package for 7 Days around June time for 2 people, more than likely through Expedia or such like. What's the best way about getting the lowest price. Will trying to book 'last minute' be the best way to grab a bargain, or does booking a couple of months in advance get you the better deal ?

Thanks
 
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I just booked a holiday for 2 in june through lastminute.com.
Dont know about the 'best way' but I got a pretty good price on a great 7 night deal in Greece :D
It was one of the 'up to 50% off' packages
 
Don't just limit youself to one avenue of choice. Sometimes Highstreet shops have excellent deals, especially if you have a little fexibility in when and where you are prepared to go.

The method that seems to win most of the time for me though is the flight only deal and pick up accomadation when abroad. Find a cheap light by checking availability on flights leaving your chosen airport (Manchester Airport has a widget on it's internet site that can find available seats on planes) and cut out the middleman.

Last minute often is cheap, but early deals can sometimes get close to their prices.
 
MuvverRussia said:
always sort flights/accommodation/car separately myself. .
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I'm the same. I like to decide exactly what flights, exactly what hotel etc I take. Sometimes with a cheap package you won't know what hotel you'll be in until you get there.

I like to take my time, read reviews of places on TripAdvisor etc.

Whether or not prices will be cheaper last minute depends on the flights... usually an airline has so many seats allocated to fill at each price level. I'm flying to Miami with Virgin in the summer and got my flights for £400 about 4 or 5 months ago, if you try to book now, the only seats they have left are about £550 or something along those lines.

On routes with less demand however, you may find last minute bargains as they try to fill all the seats with a "something is better than nothing" sort of policy.
 
If you are doing a package holiday, firstly use the tinternet to find out exactly what you want, teletext holidays is good for this, then go to the high street and haggle, they will always price match.

We did it for a holiday next year and saved 2k on the brochure price :)
 
I tend to use the travel service that my bank provide. I have yet to find a cheaper way to book a holiday, regardless of whether its a package or separate flights, hotels etc. I've just booked a week in Tenerife, the lowest price on t'internet was £1,044 - i paid £940, and paid zero credit card surcharge (probably saving 3-4%?), and got a room upgrade chucked in as well - and thats in a 4* hotel. We went to Disneyland for Christmas last year, and saved about £400 compared with the cheapest prices elsewhere.
Its good to know that sometimes banks can be helpful!!
 
I found a great site www.holidayholiday.co.uk
Has loads of great deals and if the date/departue airport aren't what you're looking for then just click on the destination/hotel you want and email them to see if they have anything else.
They reply by the next day or give you a call back and so far have had an alternative everytime.

But as someone said above definately go on tripadvisor and read the reviews before you book.
 
DiscoKandy said:
Hi,
I'm looking to book a holiday package for 7 Days around June time for 2 people, more than likely through Expedia or such like. What's the best way about getting the lowest price. Will trying to book 'last minute' be the best way to grab a bargain, or does booking a couple of months in advance get you the better deal ?

Thanks
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There is absolutely no universal answer to this question, it's entirely dependant on your budget and where you want to go and when you want to go.

If you want to go on a "cheapy" package holiday then its best to ring around agents and see who is charging what and then play them off against each other, teletext holidays are the best place to get numbers of agents as well as the internet.

If its somewhere else, then it depends entirely on your destination. Sometimes its cheaper to book a holiday seperately rather than as a package, again this depends on your destination.

Where are you looking to go and when?
 
I'm looking to go to the Med for 7 days on or around the 2nd of June. Looking at Turkey at the moment around Marmaris, possibly Icmeler. However we're flexible on the destination. I'm looking for a relaxing beach holiday rather than a lads type holiday.

Thanks folks
 
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philstanbridge said:
Have you considered Teletext at all? I have booked a couple this way, turned out fine and were pretty good value too.
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I've just looked on teletext and the seem a lot cheaper than comparable deals on the internet. I assume that you don't know what hotel your going to unitl you get there tho ? or do they tell you when you phone them up to book.

Thanks
 
If it doesnt list the name of the accomodation they usually guarantee a certain quality of accomodation ie minimum 3* etc. Find out who the flight is with and then look at the accomodation in the brochure to see potential 3* hotels.
 
DiscoKandy said:
I'm looking to go to the Med for 7 days on or around the 2nd of June. Looking at Turkey at the moment around Marmaris, possibly Icmeler. However we're flexible on the destination. I'm looking for a relaxing beach holiday rather than a lads type holiday.

Thanks folks
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I have never been to Turkey personally, but I can recommend Morocco VERY highly, I have been to a lot of places and I know a good place when I see one.

I am not too sure about costs in Turkey though, apparently the new Lira has made it more expensive.

For turkey however you would most likely be looking at a package really.
Ring around agents and play them off until they stop playing, at that point you have reached the price which you should pay.
 
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