Now really is the best time to book your summer holiday
IT’S that time of year when travel companies try to get us to fix our summer holidays, appealing with feelgood TV adverts and the promise of good deals.
Should we be enticed? Well, this year there are some compelling reasons to book a break now.
Package holiday bookings are already up compared to this time last year – by 19 per cent to Greece, by 16 per cent to Portugal, and by 14 per cent to Spain, according to research group GfK.
It’s a similar picture with selfcatering. Compared with this time last year, villa specialist Vintage Travel is reporting a rise in bookings of 55 per cent to Greece and 36 per cent to Spain, while Interhome says sales for Croatian accommodation are up more than 50 per cent. That is because Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia have fallen off the holiday radar due to safety issues, leading to increased demand for ‘safe’ destinations.
Another factor is concern over a possible further slump in the pound’s value against the euro due to Brexit developments in 2017 – with a consequent rise in the cost of holidays. For a break in the peak school summer holiday weeks to somewhere like the Balearics, Spanish costas, Algarve or Cyprus, I’d book as soon as possible to get the best accommodation and price. To avoid being hit down the line by a worsening in the pound/euro exchange rate (or, for that matter, pound/dollar rate), book a package with a UK operator, or pay for accommodation upfront in sterling through an agent.
Here, I’ve picked some of the best deals that are worth snapping up which need to be booked soon…
FLIGHTS
Every January, leading airlines offer deals on long-haul routes. Emirates (emirates.com) has London to Dubai flights from £299 return, applicable for travel for much of the year. Offers with British Airways (ba.com) include London to New York from £398
return (book by January 31), and with Virgin (virginatlantic. com) to Barbados from London or Manchester from £469 return (book by February 7).
PACKAGE HOLIDAYS
Major operators promise savings of £100pp on selected holidays. But given their prices are so fluid, it’s hard to know the value of these. However, free child places can be worth bagging, especially for all-inclusive packages offered by Thomson (thomson.co.uk) or First Choice (firstchoice.co.uk).
SELF-CATERING
Brittany Ferries (brittany-ferries. co.uk) is offering 20 per cent reductions on cottage, apartment and campsite holidays to France and Spain for bookings made by February 7. With James Villa Holidays (jamesvillas.co.uk), flight-inclusive bookings made by February 6 for trips from April onwards include one free budgetlevel rental car and insurance.
ACTIVITY HOLIDAYS
For Explore (explore.co.uk) family holidays booked by January 31, each person gets a free standard Merlin annual pass, covering UK attractions such as Alton Towers. Exodus (exodus. co.uk) has five per cent off family adventures for bookings made at least four months in advance.