Forgive me if this is a duplicate topic, I did use the search function before posting.
We are a family of five, the children are 8,11 & 13. We hadn't planned to go on holiday this year, had a new bathroom fitted instead......:really ....credit crunch etc......but now as summer approaches!
We always book in advance & pay full whack, only to meet peole out there that booked the weeek before & paid a fraction of the cost, you know the score. So we are coming round to the idea, that the only way we will get a holiday this year is if we find a late deal a couple of days ahead. We have both already booked a couple of weeks off work (August 17th-30th, yep I know, peak season!) & will either be spening it on day trips in the UK or hopefully getting a late deal.
So my question is do any of you manage to get a last minute deal every year & how much do you generally pay? Obviously I'm not expecting anyone to put their neck on the line & guarantee a price, just a general ball park. Due to our holiday window, we are only expecting to go for a week, which gives us a week from our annual leave starting, to find something.
Our only criteria is ideally anywhere in Turkey (although we would go pretty much anywhere in Canaries, Balearics, Greece or Spain if it was an AI deal) & we can fly from any mainland airport. AI in Turkey would be an added bonus but not essential....any guides on 1 week AI or SC folks...or am I dreaming that we will find five last minute places in mid to lateAugust?
Hi
I think you might really struggle on getting a cheap last minute to Turkey - maybe somewhere in the 'Eurozone'.
You just have to look at the posts in the forums to get an idea - no posts in 3 days over on Ibiza forum - maybe 10 or more a day in here............
Skyscanner also reported an increase of 175% for searches on Turkey flights this summer.
I'm sure you would be able to pick up a cheap AI in Ibiza or Costa Brava at the last minute but don't forget that you are unlikely to get child prices and ALWAYS check the reviews on cheap AI - there are some real stinkers out there (Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt)
Start looking about 6 weeks before your dates, that seems to be when most start discounting but it may be later if demand is still high. We got a week mid August in Rhodes last year for £220 ea B&B AOA - booked the on the Sunday. flew Thursday......
Good Luck
john.
I think you might really struggle on getting a cheap last minute to Turkey - maybe somewhere in the 'Eurozone'.
You just have to look at the posts in the forums to get an idea - no posts in 3 days over on Ibiza forum - maybe 10 or more a day in here............
Skyscanner also reported an increase of 175% for searches on Turkey flights this summer.
I'm sure you would be able to pick up a cheap AI in Ibiza or Costa Brava at the last minute but don't forget that you are unlikely to get child prices and ALWAYS check the reviews on cheap AI - there are some real stinkers out there (Been there, done that, got the T-Shirt)
Start looking about 6 weeks before your dates, that seems to be when most start discounting but it may be later if demand is still high. We got a week mid August in Rhodes last year for £220 ea B&B AOA - booked the on the Sunday. flew Thursday......
Good Luck
john.
I was also going to suggest starting to look between 6 weeks and 4 weeks before you wish to travel. You may have more luck with an AI in the Eurozone as you are talking abour 9 or 10 possible destinations as opposeed to one destination, so if you are flexible you could get lucky.
Difficult in the school holidays though. I think as you get really close to the date, ie within a week of going you might find that either supply starts running out of prices are creeping back up as rooms and flights sell out.
There is a thread in General about people who just go to the airport on the day they wish to travel with packed cases, go up to the desk and say 'what have you got going in the next few hours?' Dont know if I would be brave enough to do that if there was 5 of us including kids though, but it's a thought.
Good Luck
Doe
Difficult in the school holidays though. I think as you get really close to the date, ie within a week of going you might find that either supply starts running out of prices are creeping back up as rooms and flights sell out.
There is a thread in General about people who just go to the airport on the day they wish to travel with packed cases, go up to the desk and say 'what have you got going in the next few hours?' Dont know if I would be brave enough to do that if there was 5 of us including kids though, but it's a thought.
Good Luck
Doe
a friend of mine booked a holiday to Turkey the Weds before last and flew out on the Saturday (back today). They paid £500 for two adults All Inclusive at the Holiday Village. Of course thats out of school holiday period. Id start looking about a month before if i were you. Easier when there are only two adults. Having said that if you are flexible on location - we booked a last minute to Menorca a couple of years ago, about five days ahead of departure for three (2 adults, 1 child) and ended up in a great place at about half the cost. Good luck.
Could you fly from a Scotish airport as there schools go back at the middle of August. A couple of years a go we flew from Glasgow (booked a few weeks before we went) as the same holiday from our local airport was hundreds of pounds dearer.
My sister is flying to Florida this year in August for the same reason.
My sister is flying to Florida this year in August for the same reason.
Thanks for the replies folks, plenty to think about there. I'm now feeling more confident of getting a bit of sun this summer. 
Lauden, at a push we could fly from Edinburgh, I wasn't aware about the differing school holidays up there, so I will certainly add that airport into my holiday searches. We're Yorkshire based but I travel to Edinburgh on business quite often & can do it in 4 hours. Certainly longer than our usual trip to Manchester airport but no worse than flying from one of the London airports which we were already prepared to do, if a good deal came up departing from down South.
I'll keep everyone updated if we do land a deal.
Lauden, at a push we could fly from Edinburgh, I wasn't aware about the differing school holidays up there, so I will certainly add that airport into my holiday searches. We're Yorkshire based but I travel to Edinburgh on business quite often & can do it in 4 hours. Certainly longer than our usual trip to Manchester airport but no worse than flying from one of the London airports which we were already prepared to do, if a good deal came up departing from down South.
I'll keep everyone updated if we do land a deal.
We are from the North East so Newcastle/Durham Tees are our prefered airport but for a family of 4 the 3 hours to Glasgow was the cheaper option for us. For future reference their whit holidays (end of May for England) is different to ours too. Hope you get a good deal.
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