Why you should book your 2015 holiday now
When should you book your 2015 holiday to get the best bargain? Booking your getaway at the last minute can mean huge savings if you're flexible and don't have a specific destination in mind, but there are many advantages to being an early bird too. We look at the reasons why savvy shoppers book their holidays in advance...
Amazing extras
Early birds can take advantage of a wide selection of incentives for booking in advance, such as free spa treatments, room upgrades, excursions and even your own butler, among other complimentary add-ons.
Virgin Holidays, for example, offers complimentary local island experiences for all the family in Barbados, Antigua and St Lucia if you book a 2015 Caribbean holiday before 31 August 2014. And couples booking their 2015 wedding abroad in the Caribbean will receive free v-room access at Gatwick or Manchester.
Great deals
From £100s of pounds off per couple to free nights and even free weeks, travel companies offer all sorts of money-off deals to get us booking early. You'll find discounts on brochure prices with anything up to 50 per cent off the original price of a holiday. Thomson, Balkan Holidays and Cosmos Holidays are just a few of the tour operators offering excellent early bird discounts.
More choice
By thinking about next year's trip now, you'll have the pick of the crop in terms of destinations, flights and hotels. Those who know exactly what they want will appreciate this factor.
If you're travelling as a family, booking early means you're more likely to find seats together on the flight and once you've selected you're destination, you can spend the rest of the year looking for the best family-friendly beaches, restaurants and attractions (the exciting stuff!).
David Pointer at Western & Oriental says: "You can guarantee features like inter-connecting rooms and it also gives you the opportunity to budget over a longer period of time, as well as choosing the flights you want, especially if you're looking for regional departures. For peak travel times such as Easter, Christmas and school holidays, you will rarely be able to take advantage of offers unless you book a long way ahead."
Avoid disappointment
There are particular locations where booking in advance is essential as there is restricted availability or access, such as the Inca Trail in Peru, where permits are limited to 200 a day so last-minute availability is scarce. Holding out for a better deal can mean missing out entirely, especially with the Inca Trail, with permits selling out at least six months in advance. While anyone wishing to visit the Arctic for a 2015 winter holiday should book now as there are limited places and dates on adventure tours in Sweden and Norway. Chris Graham of Simply Sweden says: "Some of our trips have one, two or just a handful of departures because in such remote regions the availability of the best guides, accommodation, even flights, is extremely limited."
When it comes to accommodation, many safari lodges and camps, for example, have only five to 10 tents or rooms and are in particular demand in August and September during the annual migration, so book too late and you'll miss out on a ringside seat for nature's most dramatic spectacle, says George Morgan-Grenville at Red Savannah.
Buy now, pay later
If you've just paid out for your 2014 holiday and can't afford to pay for another trip in advance, a number of holiday companies will allow you to secure your trip for a deposit of as little as £20. This means you have time to save the full balance and can relax knowing that your dream getaway is just a few pay days away. You can then focus on saving for that all-important spending money.
Some travel agents, like loveholidays.com, even offer customers the chance to pay monthly for their holiday at no extra cost. This means the earlier you book, the longer you can spread the cost of payments and the cheaper the monthly instalments will be.
Dream away...
Last but not least, securing your holiday early gives you something to look forward to. When the winter blues start to set in, you'll need something to lift your spirits and what better than your upcoming escape to Thailand or Ibiza?
Will you be booking your 2015 holiday now? Let us know below.
Related articles
Cheap(ish) holidays in the world's most luxurious places
Where is the best value holiday destination for Brits?
