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Post by Big Blue on Oct 22, 2019 13:41:30 GMT
It may be a sign of age, insanity, money saving or having a family but I’ve chosen summer holiday 2020 already and subject to a brief discussion with W2.0 will book it before the weekend. Normally we do this in a panic for the last rooms available in July around mid-March.
So how much in advance do you all book this kind of thing?
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 22, 2019 15:11:17 GMT
Mid-March for July? Last-minute panic? Hahahahahahaha....
We spent 10 days in Sicily last July and booked the flights and rental car with no more than 10 days in advance! As for the hotels, we pretty much picked those up as we went along.
That was a bit extreme and usually my wife likes forward planning but in reality we rarely book anything more than 2-3 months in advance, unless it's being arranged with friends and therefore requires a lot of diary co-ordination and pre-booking something like a chalet or sailing boat. But then we don't have children.
Most people we know who have children are demon planners because of the sheer cost of transporting the whole family, plus the need to take holidays during peak times such as school holidays and half-terms, meaning that advance planning is worth the effort.
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Post by Tim on Oct 22, 2019 15:17:34 GMT
We were in the Czech Republic and only booked our return journey on the Thursday before we came home on the Saturday. We did choose the Chunnel though so it wasn't exactly a risk!
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 22, 2019 16:02:35 GMT
We've usually got a good idea of where we're going next year by now and it's generally been the Greek Islands, usually Crete. However, next year it's going to be a road trip through Morocco epic.travel/morocco/ and we've just booked some golf in Costa Adeje, Tenerife in April.
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Post by Blarno on Oct 22, 2019 16:10:41 GMT
Our holidays are determined by school holidays and whatever deal we can find, or whether we can borrow my Stepdad's motorhome or blag a mate's caravan for a week. None of us have passports, so it's alwasy within the UK, but we try and book it a reasonable time in advance to allow us to pay for it.
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 22, 2019 16:12:37 GMT
None of us have passports That's normally fairly easily and cheaply rectified!
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Post by Blarno on Oct 22, 2019 16:15:32 GMT
Not when there are 4 of us!
We usually get a week in a static caravan for the price of the passports alone.
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 16:46:21 GMT
Already have a week in Devon booked up for next September. Our Bavaria trip was all arranged the week before we went and we only had a rental car and the flights booked in advance. Winged it on accommodation for the entire trip.
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Post by LandieMark on Oct 22, 2019 16:54:24 GMT
Usually about now for June, but due to massive recent expenditure, I'll leave it until sometime in the New Year.
We have all the logistics of sorting cover and kennels for animals, so need some advance planning.
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Post by PG on Oct 22, 2019 17:39:58 GMT
As we have the animals to get cover for, the key determinant of any trip is whether we can get animals cover. If that fails, any other pre-planning is a waste of time. Mrs PG likes to be organised well in advance for stuff, so we're actually currently thinking about booking a trip in Cornwall next September.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 22, 2019 17:59:30 GMT
I usually only have me to consider so in the past few years I have tended to book only a couple of months in advance... depends on the air fare prices and if they are "reasonable" or not. I am off to Canada at the start of November, booked only about a month ago in the BA sale as I found what I thought was an excellent deal, with 7 nights being cheaper than 6. I hope that I will be able to go away in May next year (the past few years I have tried to go away for a week in May and a week in Sept/Oct as I prefer that to 2 weeks away somewhere).
I'll spend quite a while researching somewhere to go, how to get from the airport to the city/town and to make sure that the hotel is near public transport; Google maps and Google earth are indispensable for that !
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Post by johnc on Oct 22, 2019 18:03:19 GMT
Booked for Naples in Florida in May next year, back in August.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 22, 2019 18:12:11 GMT
Booked for Naples in Florida in May next year, back in August. I don’t normally like Florida as it’s basically one big theme park but Naples is lovely. I could live there.
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Post by johnc on Oct 22, 2019 18:16:23 GMT
Booked for Naples in Florida in May next year, back in August. I don’t normally like Florida as it’s basically one big theme park but Naples is lovely. I could live there. Me too!
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2019 18:29:27 GMT
I usually go down to the Keys.
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 22, 2019 18:29:48 GMT
Not when there are 4 of us! We usually get a week in a static caravan for the price of the passports alone. All our holidays were caravan holidays when I was a kid, used to love them and always made loads of new friends to go off exploring with.
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Post by Martin on Oct 22, 2019 20:11:43 GMT
I usually have the next 2 holidays booked and the main one is all sorted around 10 months ahead, which helps with flight costs. Sometimes it’s not planned quite as long in advance, we booked our October trip about 4 months before travel.
For various reasons I don’t have anything booked right now, feels strange. Mainly because we usually go away (the two of us) for a couple of weeks in Feb or March and then again with the kids in the summer, but it will be my eldest lads last holiday with us, so we’re going to combine budgets for a trip in August.
Another vote for Naples and I like the Keys too.
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Post by PetrolEd on Oct 23, 2019 11:03:29 GMT
Haven't had a proper holiday for a couple of years. By proper I mean overseas, somewhere hot for 2 weeks where I can chill the hell out. Typically that was a Villa in the Greek islands but since pounds gone to poop and I have to go in August as the missus job dictates, its become ridiculously expensive.
I am off to Brittany tomorrow for a week but its at my dads house so not really getting away and no doubt I 'll be hounded by the office all week.
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 23, 2019 11:15:08 GMT
We usually get breaks in at Easter, over the summer and at Christmas, but always in Europe and often staying either with relatives or with friends.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 23, 2019 12:37:48 GMT
"Since the pound's gone to poop....."
I was pleasantly surprised at how well it has stood up to the Canadian Dollar. I find 2 weeks away is a bit much.... having to take 2 weeks out to sort out my late father's stuff in Malaysia in May meant that was the longest break I have taken from work for many years.
I also suppose that we all like different types of holidays. For me, one or 2 weeks lying on a beach somewhere almost every day is a bit like hell. I prefer something interesting that keeps the brain occupied and gets me fit by doing a lot of walking, hence I have taken city breaks to explore architecture, history and museums etc. Looks like I may need to pack an umbrella and gloves for Vancouver, though !
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Post by Bob Sacamano v2.0 on Oct 23, 2019 12:46:39 GMT
. Looks like I may need to pack an umbrella and gloves for Vancouver, though ! Don't forget your "blackface", I hear it's very popular over there on a night out.
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Post by humphreythepug on Oct 23, 2019 14:44:27 GMT
We have been planning our April getaway for sometime, however lack of funds and other things cropping up that have involved spending being diverted elsewhere has slowed it down somewhat and the initial booking of the flights and then booking everything else was likely to be put back until December, however my 98 yo Grandma; who is reasonably well moneyed, presented me with a sizable cheque yesterday "I've been told by the bank that I have too much money and it should be invested, I am 98, what use is that for me so I've decided that my grandchildren could make better use of it". Thanks Grandma.
So final planning has been moved forward somewhat, flights will be booked probably this weekend and the remainder by the end of November.
Really looking forward to 2 weeks in Peru, however it is taking rather alot of planning especially as we don't do tour operators.
Somepoint before Peru we will likely look for a cottage somewhere in the UK for a week in August.
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Post by racingteatray on Oct 23, 2019 15:02:09 GMT
When we did a two week trip to Mexico, I rather cheekily got a travel agency to prepare me a draft itinerary with suggested hotels and whatnot, and then just went and booked it all myself. It proved considerably cheaper, plus junking the transfers in favour of a rented car was a good shout.
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Post by Martin on Oct 23, 2019 15:25:33 GMT
I always plan and book holidays myself. I’ve had quotes from travel agents but they’ve never been close, but I do usually book flights through the place my parents use as they’re very competitive on Business Class rates and I only have to pay a deposit to secure the flight which is useful when you book nearly a year in advance.
Hire cars can be cheaper than decent transfers and I like the independence plus not having to use local taxis all the time which can be of varying quality, especially in the Far East.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 23, 2019 17:23:29 GMT
however my 98 yo Grandma; who is reasonably well moneyed, presented me with a sizable cheque yesterday "I've been told by the bank that I have too much money and it should be invested, I am 98, what use is that for me so I've decided that my grandchildren could make better use of it". Thanks Grandma. I'm very happy for you. It's nice when your elderly relatives make a generous offer like this. One of my cousins bought himself/his family an Audi Q7 some years back when his mum was on her deathbed and wanted him to have something"frivolous" to remember her by. I hope you enjoy your holiday
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Post by Deleted on Oct 23, 2019 18:23:40 GMT
Peru, I hope you have a great trip, thought of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu ? Sara's mother went some years ago and it is not easy to get to but apparently worth it. A bit like Cheddar gorge though in some respects.
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Post by humphreythepug on Oct 24, 2019 12:04:14 GMT
Peru, I hope you have a great trip, thought of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu ? Sara's mother went some years ago and it is not easy to get to but apparently worth it. A bit like Cheddar gorge though in some respects. Machu Picchu is primarily why we are going, however Peru is a big place and there are lots of other things to see there. Logistically it is proving harder to plan than previous holidays, however the wife is good at that sort of thing.
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Post by PG on Oct 24, 2019 12:29:24 GMT
Peru, I hope you have a great trip, thought of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu ? Sara's mother went some years ago and it is not easy to get to but apparently worth it. A bit like Cheddar gorge though in some respects. Machu Picchu is primarily why we are going, however Peru is a big place and there are lots of other things to see there. Logistically it is proving harder to plan than previous holidays, however the wife is good at that sort of thing. I hope you have a great time. We had a trip to Peru booked way back in 1998. Very sadly Mrs PG got salmonella poisoning (in Spain) on a short break we had earlier that year and she was told not to travel for 6 months afterwards. So we had to cancel. It is still on our bucket list.
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Post by Roadrunner on Oct 24, 2019 12:58:35 GMT
Peru, I hope you have a great trip, thought of en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Machu_Picchu ? Sara's mother went some years ago and it is not easy to get to but apparently worth it. A bit like Cheddar gorge though in some respects. Machu Picchu is primarily why we are going, however Peru is a big place and there are lots of other things to see there. Logistically it is proving harder to plan than previous holidays, however the wife is good at that sort of thing. My brother and his wife went to Machu Picchu earlier this year and loved it. The only issue was the climb up there. They are both very fit, being into distance running and cycling, but even they found the treck up to MP rather a slog. Others in their group were at their wits end, sobbing and saying they can't go on. You will need to prepare yourselves physically for the trip with plenty of gym sessions and/or hill climbing. The issue was not just the relentless climb, but also the effects of the high altitude.
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Post by ChrisM on Oct 24, 2019 14:24:27 GMT
One of my brothers-in-Law and sisters-in-Law are going to Peru for 3 weeks on 1 November. Alright for some, I suppose. Not a place I'd go to, given a free choice and loads of money (they live in Colorado).
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