Let’s say you have a trip
planned. You know when you’re going. You know where you’re going. But
when should you buy your tickets?
Well, you don’t need to guess any longer –
we’ve sifted through all our data, and we’ve come up with a definitive
guide to let you know when to book to maximise your savings to some of
our top destinations. And the good news is, you may be able to save up
to 80% on your travel just by knowing when is best to buy. Read on:
Mid-haul flights: book 1-2 months in advance
Generally speaking, the best prices for
mid-haul flights care usually found one to two months in advance of your
trip. The biggest savings can be made when flying to the popular
destination of Faro in Portugal, where flights are 80% cheaper when
booked one month in advance compared to the worst time to book. So UK
travellers should remember: – patience isn’t just a virtue, it’s also a
cost saver.
Savings of 60-75% can also be made by
waiting until 1-2 months ahead when travelling to Mallorca, Tenerife and
Rome. However, more forward planning is required for certain
destinations to get the best deals. When it comes to the increasingly
popular destination of Reykjavik for example, five months in advance is
the best time to book, which offers savings of up to 61% at an average
price of £69.
Long-haul flights: book 2-4 months in advance
When it comes to farther-flung
destinations, our analysis shows that in most cases, the magic period is
between two and four months in advance of the departure date.
For certain popular international
locations, you can huge savings make just by waiting until two months
before departure to book. Hold on to your trigger finger, and you might
just save 40% or more on a trip to Orlando, LA, or Bali.
Again, there are some exceptions. Heading
to New Zealand? Better make your plans early – the best deals to
Auckland are found seven months ahead of time.
When to travel – stick to weekdays
This probably comes as no surprise, but
it’s nice to see some confirmation – weekdays are the cheapest days to
travel. With most of you booking holidays around your work schedules,
it’s not a massive shock that Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the
most expensive days to fly. That said, if you’re able to afford a bit of
flexibility, you may be able to take advantage of some super savings.
According to the analysis, weekday travel
beats the weekend in both long and short flight categories, with the
best departure and return days fluctuating between Tuesday and Thursday.
Booking accommodation: book 1-2 months in advance
As with flights, there are great savings
on offer when booking 3 or 4-star hotels if you know when to strike. On
average, one to two months before arrival is the best time to book for
most of the top destinations.
Benidorm, Dublin and Krakow all offer
tremendous savings when booking two months out, while Venice, Amsterdam,
and Paris’s best prices are available just one month in advance.
Destinations further afield can have
quite different levels of flexibility. For example – ultimate savings
are only achieved when booking six months ahead of time for Cancun,
while one to two months are all that is required to save big for New
York, Orlando or Singapore.
The cheapest destinations to fly to in 2017
Finally, for all of you simply looking
for the cheapest destination for your holiday in 2017, we’ve got you
covered. Based on our analysis, the cheapest location on the continent
is Madrid, while it’s only a short hop, skip and a jump to Marrakech for
the least expensive option outside of Europe.
And if any of you are hoping to plan your
trip soon, there’s good news – for both destinations the best airfare
can be secured just one month prior to departure – so what are you
waiting for?
To see the entire ‘When to book’ guide, complete with colourful and beautiful data displays, click here.
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