As experienced travel consultants, we are continually bombarded with travel-related inquiries. The question we hear most often is “What’s the ideal time to book travel?” Today we offer the best time to book cruises, airfare, and all-inclusive vacations. Probably the most frequent question is when is the best time to book air travel.
Remember, there’s no perfect response due to fluctuating dynamics in travel. However. we offer some value-based strategies for travelers in pursuit of the best deals.
Today there is an unparalleled demand for travel, increasing the challenge of locating bargain pricing. Regarding airfares, read on as we reveal our most fruitful money-saving technique.
Here are some general principles concerning the best time to book travel.
Best Time to Book Air Travel
Historically the best price for air is one to three months before the trip for domestic US flights and two to eight months for international flights. For peak season dates like spring break, Christmas, or Thanksgiving, you should look three to seven months out for domestic and four to ten months for international. Many factors, such as the popularity of the flight, can impact prices.
Remember, most airlines release their flight schedules about 330 days before the flight.
Generally, Tuesday is the best day of the week to buy your tickets. But we have a great hack for helping you save regardless of when you buy. Keep reading as we share it below.
Best Time to Book Cruises
The cruise industry is booming. Ships are full and prices are rising. This means it is no longer true that the best deals are last minute. Several prominent cruise lines are saying their prices will never go down as the want to encourage early bookings.
While you may still find some last-minute deals, more and more, the best deals go to those who book very early. We recommend booking as early as possible with a refundable deposit. This means if a better offer does come along later, it can be “refared” or canceled and booked at the better rate.
A travel advisor who specializes in cruises can help you watch the sales. Then if you have booked with a refundable deposit and it is before the final payment date, your travel advisor can often get the new offer applied.
The Best Time to Book an All-Inclusive Resort
Either book very early (nine months or more in advance, especially if you want to stay during peak seasons like Christmas and New Year’s) or take a chance on last-minute deals. Beware of deals too good to be true, particularly last minute sales through sketchy online booking engines. If you find one, ask a reputable travel agent to review it for you before you book.
To maximize your travel budget, try to visit an all-inclusive in the spring, summer, or early fall.
In general, the Dominican Republic offers the lowest prices. For Mexican all-inclusive resorts, the best prices tend to be if you buy in November and December.
Finally, remember that travel scams are everywhere on the internet. Use a trusted travel advisor.
Hurricane Season
August through October is prime time for hurricanes and tropical storms. This makes it a less expensive time to book an all-inclusive in the Caribbean, but you also run the risk of traveling during a hurricane. So if you decide to try your luck with hurricane season, you will save money but make sure you read all the fine print about refunds and cancellations, and consider purchasing a travel insurance policy.
How You Can Get The Best Price on Airfare
This is what we do for our personal travel, and it saves us hundreds of dollars every year.
To research an airfare, we go to Google Flights and enter our information. Once we find a flight or two that meets our needs, we hit the “Track Prices” button and enter our email address. As prices go up and down, we receive alerts. Google Flights even tells if the prices are typically high or low for that flight. Finally, if your plans are flexible, there is a nice grid that allows you to see the lowest priced date combinations to get the best price on air.
We set alerts for our personal travel after we have booked a flight. Be sure to only use airlines that let you rebook with no cancellation fee. Most will give e-credits for the difference if the fare comes down. But you need to know when that fare drops. The flight alerts make it easy. Doing this has saved us hundreds of dollars.
Ready for More Great Travel Tips?
We share our favorite travel secrets and tips every week. You can see them all here.
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