To think i'll be able to book a holiday abroad in August a couple of days in advance?

[WeddedBliss]

I've got two weeks of holiday off work from 4th August. DH didn't think he'd be able to take time off at the same time as he's only just started a new job but found out today that he's able to book the same two weeks off.

So we'd like to go abroad for 7 nights between 4th and 17th August...me, dh and two dc. Somewhere in Europe, warm, cheap and cheerful, 3* + hotel and ideally half board. Money is a bit tight though, so want to keep costs as low as possible.

I've been looking at 'last minute' deals now and prices seem OK. But I think you can probably get some extreme offers if you book really last minute.

So I've said to DH I think we should really take a gamble...not book anything now, leave it until Saturday 2nd August (i'm off) and just walk into travel agents going 'What can you give me leaving tomorrow/Monday?' etc.

DH thinks this is nuts, that because it's the school holidays it will be 'all booked up' and 'really expensive because loads of people do it' etc. My pov is that there are bound to be some travel agents who have had cancellations, a few that haven't been booked and they'll be desperate to get rid and hopefully be throwing massive discounts around. I can't imagine that many people are crazy enough to leave it so last minute, and surely any leftovers that travel agents have will otherwise just be empty seats on planes and money lost for them. Plus, we're really really not fussy where we go.

So...AIBU? I've always booked holidays at least 10 months in advance, so never done this before. Has anyone left it super-last minute and got an amazing deal? Any tips?

My parents always used to use the old Ceefax pages on the telly or the travel channel and book at very short notice. They would just decide which country they fancied, call up and let the operator find them something.
They never once had anything that wasn't at least nice iykwwim, and often ended up in really lovely hotels.
My Dad was one for "getting his moneys worth" and would always sort of interrogate casually ask what other visitors had paid and they had always saved, which made him even happier bless him

You'll definitely get a deal, but it depends how fussy you are.

Depends if you care where you go. If not then go for it.

I've done this before and had a fabulous holiday in Corfu. I've also done this and had a dreadful holiday in Kos. It's a risk but if you have a vague idea of what you want and definitely don't do allocation on arrival you'll be fine.

We left it to the last minute last year, and the year before. We have no kids, and are fairly flexible on where we go.

Neither time saw any huge discounts. It's a peak period, so most good holidays and hotels will sell out.

If you wait to the last minute in October or November, you can get great bargains. I wouldn't risk it again in August or September, though.

(And from what I can tell from friends in the travel industry, they tend to give away empty rooms to loyalty card holders rather than sell them off during the summer months. It's preferable to have the hotel 90% full but all at a good price rather than 100% full but 10% of people got a bargain. It's all about maintaining prices and ensuring that you don't have unhappy customers.)

Have you checked your passports don't need renewing, apparently there are a few small delays happening at HMPO at the mo'.

we did last year - nice holiday in Corfu - not a huge bargain mind but lovely

We've had awesome holidays like this, pre-children though.
I tried last year, and couldn't get anything though, mainly due to flight unavailability.
Passport issue may mean some people can't go though this year...

We booked 5 days in advance last summer and it was no cheaper. It seems that these days the cheaper prices are if you book really really early.