are last minute package holiday deals still a good bet?

[peanutbutter38]

Hi,
We've three children aged 12, 9 and 6 months.
We're hoping to go on holiday at the end of July for about 10 days and the cost of All Inclusive is roughly 3-3.5k. This is what we did last year and even though the initial outlay is big, we saved loads because we weren't constantly forking out for drinks, snacks, ice creams etc. We're now total AI converts.
Last year we booked about ten months in advance, but this year we haven't booked yet. My husband thinks that if we book a week before we go, we'll be able to get an AI bargain. I'm worrying because there's 5 of us and we need an apartment, or a large family room with kitchenette, or joining rooms. And I'm not sure it's as easy to get a holiday bargain as it was a decade ago. Also, the flights will be a nightmare won't they, middle of the night flights etc?

It certainly isn't as easy to get a bargain as it used to be, they don't seem to have anywhere near the number of deals now.

I think if you aren't fussy about where you go and can be a bit flexible with dates you can get a good deal but to be honest I don't think I would take a chance with 3 chhildren. Trying to get a room for 5 seems like a task in itself so leaving it to the last minute seems too risky. And yes, you would no doubt end up with the middle of the night flights no-one else wants!

I'm sure for 3.5k you could book the type of holiday you want now and then have peace of mind and something to look forward to.

On the Thomas Cook website there is a last minute deals section. Last weekend the latest late departure was 14th July, so I'm hoping they will have 21st July available next weekend.

A local travel agent once told me that the last minute deals are for the holidays that no one else wants! I would say that if you want to get a specific place at a specific time then the earlier you book the better. but if you really dont care where you go then go for it but check out reviews of the place on tripadvisor first.