JUST WONDERING..........................

[unluckyal]

i'm planning to go away in october and just wondering whether to wait while the last minute to see if theres a chance of a real good bargain, as lots of people are tightening their belts. the first thingto go is holidays in favour of cutting debt and managing their budgets due to high fuel and living costs. does anybody think the same as me. alan

[Willself]

You pay's your money.....you take your chances..lol. Oct is usually half term in the UK. and now with Schools doing there own thing, re: dates etc , there might not be the Bargains you wish for!! If you are prepared to do a Do-it -Yourself, type Holiday then ,that does offer more flexibility..Still plenty of Accommodations for less than �10.per person per night!!..Good Luck!!

[carole2000]

Remember there's a lot less competition now as the "Big 4" tour operators - Thomson, F.Choice, T.cook and Airtours are now only 2! I agree with previous poster - if you stay out of school holidays and are not too fussy on destination you may get a good deal. I usually find the best deals are around 6 weeks prior to departure. When I find a holiday that's an acceptable price and destination I book it then. If you book very late they add on lots of extras such as late booking charges, inflight meals that you have to take, transfers you have to take etc.

[Honey Bunny]

I like Carole normally book lates, however I've noticed there is less deals around now than previously, before you used to get quality lates from 79 per person for a week with flights or 150 for a fortnight. They seemed to have vanished , not finding these at all lately, maybe they are just testing the waters after the mergers?
Like you say unlucky I would expect that to be the first thing people would drop , going away. I dont think the travel companies are thinking on the same lines though?
We could have gone away in the ,May/June school hols to where I normally stay in Greece for 900 quid for the five of us in four star accom in two seperate rooms, but passed it up coz other half was wanting to do the garden decking! Now I seriously regret not going!
Just Persevere and keep checking, Im sure you will find something.

[leisurelad]

As a travel agent myself, i am wondering what all the fuss is about with the credit crunch and people not taking holidays because in our workplace, everyday has been manic for ages, way way up on sales compared to last year which is good for us but i do think that maybe next year will be the year that will test everyone.

Prices at the moment have remained strong and we are getting alot of calls wanting a weeks all inclusive for �200 in the middle of august (aint gonna happen lol). I do think that with the major operators cutting back on capacity there are far less deals to be had so i wouldnt expect the �99 bargains to appear.

My advice would be to book early, alot of companies use low cost airlines for their flights now so they start off cheap but the nearer you get the price goes up.

[unluckyal]

had an email from monseysavingsexpert.com (the martin lewis guy on gmtv) this week confirming my post. heres the link

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel ... ling-guide

once there subscribe to his free newsletter, its a great read every wednesday and full of great tips and freebies. enjoy. alan