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Why it can pay to book your 2025 holiday early

By Bob Atkinson

13 November 2018 | Updated 16 December 20246 min read

View across the shallow-water pool and tall palms of Lagos Martianes in Tenerife

Tenerife, Spain Families after holiday hotspots will benefit from booking early.

Despite the pressures of everyday living costs, holidays are one luxury that we just don’t want to give up. What’s more, we want that holiday to be just right. But how many of us really research and understand when the best time to book is?

Booking your holiday early has huge benefits and not just financially. So if you’re thinking about booking early for your 2025 holidays, check out our comprehensive advice below.

Travelling during the school holidays

Young girl in a yellow swimsuit and yellow heart-shaped glasses with a rainbow pool ring in a swimming poolYoung girl in a yellow swimsuit and yellow heart-shaped glasses with a rainbow pool ring in a swimming pool

Many families with school-aged children cannot realistically take their kids away when prices are cheaper (that is, outside of the school holidays). The same goes for those working in education. This leads to fierce competition across the UK to bag those school holiday getaways; as a result, demand – and prices – are high.

It means that, in general, booking school holidays early will give you more choice for a better price. The peak summer getaway and the May bank holiday are the ones to really get organised for.

Package holidays from big names such as TUI and Jet2holidays are geared towards families looking for excellent value. They tend to come with free child places and low deposits to help you snare the perfect break at the lowest possible outlay. In fact, you can book with TUI right now with a £0* deposit for holidays departing six months in advance – that’s right in time for an August break.

It’s a similar story with online travel agents that package flights and hotels for you (eg loveholidays and On the Beach); once again, the earlier you book, the better the price. Flight prices tend to increase for peak dates whereas the accommodation tends to stay fairly static. Leave it and prices will rise overall.

The busiest time for bookings is straight after Christmas and New Year when every travel company wants a piece of your holiday cash. The discounts may be a little higher than now but there will be less choice available on key dates and in popular resorts and properties. For bookings made after that, prices generally go one way only: up!

Top tips to save: If you want low prices fly midweek, not weekends. Compare self-catering options with all-inclusive to pick the best value. And if you want to get really organised, there are already thousands of summer 2025 deals available to help you lock down a bargain.

Avoiding the school holidays

View of two people toasting an orange cocktail on a beach deck over the oceanView of two people toasting an orange cocktail on a beach deck over the ocean

If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel outside the school holidays, then May, June, September and October are the months to max the savings and get the sun.

But deciding when to book can still be tricky. Early birds will have a wider choice of flights and accommodation to create their perfect break. Plus, there are early booking discounts and low deposit offers to help spread the cost of booking now.

However, if you’re willing to gamble, you can often snap up last-minute bargains from the big package companies. Just be prepared to accept whatever is left, as there may be less choice.

You’ll see less last-minute discounting from the online agents, so if your destination is a little less mainstream, book early for the best deal. And, of course, if you know what you want and don’t want to risk losing out, get that deposit down today.

Top tips to save: Flexibility is the key for term-time holidaymakers seeking a bargain-busting price at the last minute – but you have to be truly flexible, even down to the destination. Sign up to newsletters from TravelSupermarket and the big travel companies to get regular news of off-peak deals.

Booking long-haul holidays

A view of the giant rock boulders of Virgin Gorda beach in the British Virgin Islands, the CaribbeanA view of the giant rock boulders of Virgin Gorda beach in the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean

Due to the sheer amount of competition between the big airlines, holiday deals come and go daily. The benefit? Unless you have to travel during the peak summer holidays, Easter or Christmas and New Year, it doesn’t take many days of waiting to snare a bargain.

Our holiday comparison tool draws prices from many companies that use low-cost airlines to create great deals. If you can go anytime between now and Easter 2025, it’s possible to find some amazing prices to places such as Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and Africa. However, booking ahead for anytime in 2025 will usually ensure you get the holiday you want.

For destinations such as Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean islands, consider the big package holiday companies. For peak dates, book ahead and make use of low deposits to get a good price. They also have great deals on off-peak dates – unlike the big airlines who push their pricing up as seats run out, package companies tend to discount their prices at the last minute.

Top tips to save: Longer flights on indirect routes, with one or more flight changes, can lower the price of your holiday. It’s also worth signing up to frequent flyer schemes to collect points. You can use them to buy upgrades on future flights as well as other benefits.

City break steals

Aerial view of the Hudson Bay with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground and New York City's skyscrapers beyond.Aerial view of the Hudson Bay with the Statue of Liberty in the foreground and New York City's skyscrapers beyond.

With low-cost airlines fighting for your business on destinations from Nice to New York, bagging a city break at a great price is child’s play. There are loads of good deals on city breaks from now until early summer 2025.

For the cheapest prices and best deals, look at January and February, when many people stay at home. The weather may not be at its best, but exploring a city’s museums, galleries, shops and restaurants is easy in any weather.

However, don’t expect massive savings on last-minute weekend breaks to European Christmas markets. If you are still set on squeezing in a trip this December, try midweek for lower prices. Alternatively, cities not normally associated with the festive season – such as Marrakech, Rome and Athens – can still offer great value at the last minute.

Looking further ahead, don’t wait to book for quick getaways at Easter and the two bank holidays in May. Prices will only go up, so the earlier you snap up those dates the less you’ll have to stump up.

Top tips to save: Book a midweek flight to avoid higher prices at weekends and include a Sunday night where you can – it’s usually the cheapest night of the week in hotels.

*Current TUI deposit per person for select 2025 holiday departures when using the direct debit payment scheme. Terms and conditions apply – see the TUI website.

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