Whatever happened to cheap last minute holidays?

[amaryl]

They don’t get cheaper the closer you get
I never get a bargain !
Any tips?

It's the opposite now, you need to book well in advance! We've got the occasional OK deal with tui a few weeks before but it's not like when I was in my early/mid 20s and could get room only for £120!

Depends what you mean by 'a bargain'. If you walked into a travel agent this afternoon and said that you and a friend/partner wanted to go to somewhere like Benidorm for a week flying out tomorrow, you'd probably get something pretty cheap.

If you start throwing in requirements about school holidays, a particular non mass market location or nicer flight times than early morning or late at night, not so much.

What sort of trip are you hoping for, for how much?

£255 pp for a week's SC in Cyprus, flying out Sunday

Yes, it’s the school holidays that causing the problem
Canaries, not in the middle of nowhere, sea views, something for a 12 yr old. And a balcony w sea view

Cheaper last minute deals are available in term time but I find it gets more expensive/stays the same price the closer you get to the school holidays.

I miss teletext holidays! Got some cracking bargains on there.

Depends where and when. I got 75% off the list price for a cruise but it was in term time and only 3 weeks out

teletext holidays exists online, I've had a few good deals from there

@racheltension teletext holidays are still there but it's a website now 😬

Ooooh this is exciting news! Thanks!!

I was thinking this today, I looked into a holiday end of this year and was really expensive so I thought perhaps we could just get a last minute deal instead but they were just as much if not more!

Lastminute.com does have some gems. You need to play around with dates. 3 nights in Prague with flights (sociable times, local airport) and 4 star hotel for £189 pp. I got it cheaper separately in the end though through Ryanair and hotel direct.

But last minute is just that - last minute. So within the next week. Leaving on Tuesday from Gatwick, I could have 7 nights self-catering in the Algarve for £130. Or on the same day, £167 for a week b&b in a 4* star hotel in Spain. Several deals in Morocco for week B&B or self-catering for less than £250.

If you're looking for March, Easter or into the summer, that's not last minute. And with the Thomas Cook collapse, there are just fewer holidays around this year so there isn't the excess capacity with holidays being sold off cheap.

I’m looking for next weekend