How to bag the best of the January sale bargains
JANUARY is the prime time of year to fix holidays – and for travel companies to try to secure our bookings with discounted deals. But before parting with any money, there are two questions to ask yourself.
First: is it really best to book now? For travel over school holiday periods, the answer is yes. During half terms, Easter, July and August, the best places to stay usually sell out and the cost of flights, ferries and packages rises closer to travel time.
However, for an off-peak break – such as May, June, September or October to the Med – you may get a better deal if you book later, as travel firms often struggle to fill flights and accommodation in those months.
Second: what does a promised discount actually mean? If it’s expressed as ‘ten per cent off’ or ‘£100 off’, ask yourself: ‘Off what?’ Prices for travel and accommodation are rarely set in stone. Be sure to establish if the discount applies to the whole cost of the holiday, including any extras, or just the headline rate.
And do shop around. Often, the same or very similar holidays are available through different companies, and you may actually get a better deal with a company offering, say, five per cent off a lower initial price than one offering ten per cent off. Here are some January offers to consider.
FLIGHTS AND TRAINS
FOR bookings made by January 27, British Airways (ba.com) and Virgin
Atlantic (virgin-atlantic.com) are selling discounted flights throughout much of the year. Some fares offer significant savings over ‘regular’ prices – for example, with BA from £389 return to New York. Cathay Pacific (cathaypacific.com) has good deals to Asia and Australia for bookings by January 31: from £669 return to Perth. For bookings made by January 14, and travel between January 19 and March 25, Eurostar (eurostar.com) has reduced lead-in fares to Paris and Brussels to £59 return.
BEACH HOLIDAYS
OFFERS with Thomson (thomson. co.uk) and First Choice (firstchoice. co.uk) include free child places on some summer holidays. Effectively amounting to a free flight and, where relevant, food for one child when sharing accommodation with two adults, these deals are limited in number and sell out, so are worth snapping up now. Thomas Cook (thomascook.com) has 80,000 ‘kids for £1’ places. For arrangements made by February 2, Sovereign (sovereign. com) is also offering free child deals, plus flat-rate discounts and other enticements, while long-haul specialist Hayes & Jarvis (hayesandjarvis.co.uk) is promoting at least £200 off, per package booking.
SELF-CATERING
BRITTANY Ferries (brittany-ferries. co.uk) has 20 per off ferry-inclusive self-catering breaks to France and Spain, for booking by February 10. The discount applies throughout 2015, including school holiday periods, but not to supplements. James Villa Holidays (jamesvillas.co.uk) is offering one free hire car per villa, plus free travel insurance and welcome pack, across all properties except luxury villas, on flightinclusive packages taken between March and December; book by February 2.
TOURING, ACTIVITY AND HOSTEL BREAKS
ARCHERS Holidays (archersdirect. co.uk) is promising discounts per couple of £200 to £500 on its long-haul escorted tours, and £100 to £200 on its European and North African breaks, for bookings by January 21. Cycling specialist Skedaddle (skedaddle.co.uk) has five per cent off most holidays from April, booked by January 31.
Big savings are available for families on summer stays (May 23 to August 27) at more than 100 YHA hostels in England and Wales. The cost of private rooms sleeping four to six is being cut by 30 to 50 per cent for bookings made by January 31 on yha. org.uk, using the code NY2015-001.