Are last-minute holidays cheaper?

Holidaymakers can save hundreds of pounds by booking next year’s summer holiday early rather than leaving it to the last minute, new research by Which? Travel has found.

A week-long package holiday in Portugal was £176pp cheaper, on average, if booked eight months in advance when compared to two weeks before departure. A couple could therefore save up to £352 on a holiday, with the best savings in the Algarve. 

August holidays to Italy were £140pp cheaper overall if booked eight months in advance. But when we dug into the detail we found that those heading to the Italian island of Sicily would have saved a whopping £340pp by booking early rather than leaving it to the last-minute. That’s an early-bird saving of £680 for a couple.

While six of the 10 countries we tracked this year were cheaper booked in advance, there were some last-minute bargains this summer. Bulgaria and Cyprus were £75pp and £154pp cheaper, respectively, booked just two weeks in advance. 

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Early-bird vs last-minute holiday prices compared

We compared the prices of nearly 24,000 short-haul package holidays from Jet2holidays and Tui – the UK’s biggest tour operators – monthly from December through to just two weeks ahead of departure for the same August 2024 dates.

Our price-check looked at all the seven-night holidays available with Jet2holidays and Tui. The holidays include flights and could be any star rating on an all-inclusive, full board, half board, bed and breakfast, room-only or self-catering basis. 

The price we found two weeks before departure could be higher because the tour operators increased their prices, or because there are fewer cheap package holidays available. It’s likely to be a combination of these factors.

Which regions have the biggest holiday savings?

Two Italian islands offered the biggest savings for early bookers this year. Those booking a seven-night summer package to Sicily in December would have saved £340pp on the last-minute price. Those booking for Sardinia would have saved £313. 

In Croatia, package holidays in and around Dubrovnik and its islands increased by £243pp during the eight months before departure.

And while the Balearic Islands increased in price overall, it was Mallorca that offered the best savings to those booking in December: £90 per person.

Overall, Greece was better value for late bookers, but two islands bucked the trend. Corfu and Skiathos were £76pp and £74pp cheaper for August holidays booked in December.

Find last-minute trips with Jet2 (Which? Recommended Provider) - rated highly in our latest package holiday survey results.

Find last-minute trips with Tui. Read our Tui review before you book.

Which is the cheapest month to book?

Holiday companies tend to discount holidays in their new year sales (starting in December), ahead of the key booking season, so it’s no surprise that the biggest average savings, of the eight months we tracked prices for, were for bookings made in December or January.

But there’s a second booking window worth considering. We found the cheapest prices in May for the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, mainland Spain and Turkey. 

Bulgaria and Cyprus were at their cheapest just weeks before departure. This is probably because tour operators had overestimated the demand for these destinations in summer 2024.

Can you still get last-minute deals?

There are always some last-minute holiday deals available, but you need to be flexible on destination and dates. 

We looked at August prices because package holidays to sun destinations tend to be most expensive during the school summer holidays. Last-minute holidays from September onwards are much cheaper.  

You can view the Jet2holidays last-minute deals page or the Tui last-minute deals page for more offers. (Jet2holidays was rated the best UK holiday company in our survey of almost 8,000 holidaymakers). 

Our research

We gathered the prices of 23,988 short-haul package holidays from Jet2holidays and Tui departing around 3 August in December 2023, and January to July 2024. The average price is for a seven-night holiday including flights, based on two people sharing a standard double or twin room.