Has anyone had any experience with booking last minute travel around this time of year? Would we be better off to book in advance or because we don't much care about destination or exact departure dates, just wait it out and take a gamble?
Any yahooers that have any experience with this kind of travel...would love to hear from you
You *may* find last-minute deals on accommodations, although finding them around the Christmas holidays is unlikely.
However, you will pay dearly for last-minute airfare to get there. Anything less than 21 days in advance, you pay lots more.
Any savings on accommodations will probably be more than offset by the higher airfare you'll pay compared to if you planned and booked now.
There are 2 myths about travel
1. Book early and it will be cheaper
2. Book at the last minute and the prices will be cheaper.
Both are more or less false.
For the first one airlines and hotels offer promotional deals that people might book months to a year in advance. So yes you can get great deals in advance. However mostly if you book too far in advance then the prices will be high because they are prior to the discount period.
For the second one, last minute bookings can be cheaper as hotels and airlines try to fill vacancies.
However normally there is an optimal period for booking. For domestic flights it is often 2 weeks in advance, but I can also find cheap international flights about 2 weeks in advance.
At Christmas time things get a little crazy. Families are going home, people are going on vacation. Flights are more expensive and accommodation is often booked out. It doesn't mean you can't get a good deal at the last minute.
So what to do. Look for locations that are right.
Find a city or district that tends to have more business travelers (eg, Brisbane in Australia) and you will get cheaper hotels at that time. But holiday destinations will be more expensive.
Some countries tend to not be very christmassy. So Mexicans return home for Christmas, but Chinese don't.
Travel at the right time.
This I am a little unsure about, but we have done some trips around Christmas and new years. Many people stay at home from Christmas and travel shortly after until the New Year. So maybe if you are flying on Christmas day you might get a good deal.
Otherwise I would just stick to somewhere local.
You need to see a real travel agency where you live to arrange the trip. Really.
Airlines no longer offer "last minute" fares - unless by last minute you mean "really expensive".
Yes, just don't panic if anything comes against your way.
