If you’re looking for cheaper holidays in 2024 and beyond, then forget about travelling in peak months. Spanish island escapes, tropical beach breaks and trips that take a little more planning – such as Australia or Japan – can be hundreds of pounds cheaper in the low season.
Time it right and you could enjoy the highlight of your destination – dream-like beaches, winding streets packed with heritage, unique wildlife or a festive atmosphere – at a cost-effective price and with sparser crowds.
Here are the ideal times to secure the best price without detracting from the experience of these popular holidays.
Spring
UK walking holiday: The Lizard, Cornwall
Cornwall is notoriously busy in the summer holidays. Last year, August was the peak month for overnight visits, with 883,866, according to estimates from Visit Cornwall. March was far quieter, with an estimated 332,884 stays.
The south-western peninsula’s popularity in summer is reflected in its accommodation prices. On The Lizard, a one-night stay in the 300-year-old Cadgwith Cove Inn can cost £130 a night for a double in August, but just £75 in March (cadgwithcoveinn).
This month is the start of the spring hiking season and, with the South West Coast Path on the doorstep, enjoy long walks to Mullion Cove, Kynance Cove and Lizard Point, the most southerly point in mainland Britain. Explore in Cornwall offers half-day guided walks on The Lizard, with prices starting from £20pp (exploreincornwall.co.uk).
The big trip : Australia
Overlooking the banks of the Swan River, Perth sprawls north and south along the white sand beaches of Western Australia. It has an average of 8.8 hours of sunshine a day, making it the sunniest city in the country.
The cheapest month to fly to Australia is April, when returns cost an average of £1,386, according to online travel agency Opodo. Prices for the rest of the year average out at £1,590.
Embrace the spring sunshine on Cottesloe or Scarborough beaches, hang out with the quokkas on Rottnest Island, tour the Swan Valley Wineries and visit the Western Australian Museum.
In April, doubles in the heart of Perth at five-star Melbourne Hotel, which was founded in 1897, start from £113 room only (melbournehotel.com.au).
Hop on a flight from Perth to Melbourne for a twin-centre getaway. April is one of the cheaper months for connections between the two cities, with return tickets available for around £200.
The four-star Batman’s Hill on Collins has doubles from £110 in April, according to hotel deals booking service HotelPlanner.com. You are spoiled for cost-free activities here, such as visiting the National Gallery of Australia, guided walks at the Royal Botanic Gardens, rides on the City Circle Tram and strolls along St Kilda Beach, with average high temperatures of 21°C in April.
Half-term heat Tenerife
The Canary Islands are a popular destination throughout the year, according to Kelly Cookes, chief commercial officer of the Advantage Travel Partnership, the UK’s largest network of independent travel agents.
Among Advantage members, Tenerife is customers’ favourite island, taking a 30-40 per cent share of all Canary Island bookings.
However, you can swerve the crowds by visiting during May half-term, when there are average daily high temperatures of 26°C.
October was the busiest month of the year in 2023, with more than 471,000 arrivals, while May had the lowest monthly figure (around 391,000).
Flights from the UK to Tenerife start from around £60 in May, compared with £107 in October. Seven nights for two adults and two children at the Iberostar Bouganville Playa start from £2,078 for half-board on the week of 25 May, compared with £2,899 over the October half-term (iberostar.com), based on a spot check.
Siam Park, rated the world’s best water park by Tripadvisor users, is a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Bobo beach and Playa de Las Americas are also within walking distance, while the fishing village of La Caleta, with its sunset views, is a 15-minute drive.
Summer
The Caribbean escape: Grenada
“In summer, you could swap Europe for a long-haul destination that’s off-season but still has good weather,” says Ashley Quint, director at TravelTime World travel agency in Hertfordshire.
Among his suggestions is the Caribbean and the islands, such as Grenada, Antigua and Barbados, which tend to avoid the storms and the worst weather in July or early August.
An all-inclusive stay at the Royalton Grenada, on the southern tip of the island, is £1,775pp for seven nights departing 24 July, including return flights from London Heathrow with Tui, according to a spot check. The same package departing on 28 December is £3,980pp (tui.co.uk).
Dream holiday: Mauritius
“Mauritius is really popular at the moment,” says Quint. This is partly due to a new daily direct fight from Gatwick, launched by Air Mauritius in October.
Typically seen as a winter sun escape, summer temperatures are a comfortable 25°C and holidays can be half the price of peak season.
A seven-night, all-inclusive stay with First Choice at Veranda Palmar Beach with return flights from London Gatwick is £3,143pp when travelling on 29 December, but £1,419pp when leaving on 4 June – a 54 per cent saving.
The property is on a 1.5km beach, offers water sports – such as paddleboarding, windsurfing and scuba diving – and has two restaurants.
Autumn
Good-value city break: Lisbon
“Autumn is a great time to visit Lisbon, as temperatures are still balmy, with highs of 23°C and lows of 15°C,” says Tim Hentschel of HotelPlanner.com.
“Year round, the average price of an evening meal in Lisbon is £14, with beer as cheap as £2.50.”
According to HotelPlanner.com, the Portuguese capital, with sights such as Belém Tower and São Jorge Castle, offers lower accommodation prices in October compared with the rest of the year. Doubles at four-star properties, including the Turim Av Liberdade Hotel, can be booked for £72 a night, compared with £98 in August.
Save money by touring the city on Tram No 28 (the yellow tram), which weaves its way through sightseeing districts, including Alfama and Baixa. Or splash out with a visit to the Azeitao vineyards. Private tours of the José Maria da Fonseca Cellars can be booked from €69.98pp (£59.90) on the travel platform With Locals.
Late-season Balearics: Menorca
Holidaymakers flock to Menorca during the summer season, with July being the busiest month in 2023 (when there were more than 2.4 million arrivals). October is less crowded, with 1.4 million visitors last year. The second-largest island in the Balearics stays warm long into the autumn, with temperatures still hitting average highs of 22°C by mid-October. Additionally, its beaches, such as Playa de Son Bou, and rocky coves, including Calo Blanc, will be quieter compared with the peak summer weeks.
Tui offers a seven-night all-inclusive stay on the sands of Cala’n Bosch from £712pp in October, staying at the Tui Blue Grupotel Turquesa Mar (tui.co.uk). The same hotel costs almost double during the school holidays, with August prices coming in at £1,377pp for an all-inclusive stay.
Couples’ escape: Turkey
Turkey is in the holiday spotlight, with a record number of visitors in 2023. July was the busiest month, clocking up 7.1 million foreign arrivals. Instead, visit its beaches in October, when arrivals to the country are reduced – 4.9 million people came in that month last year.
Plus, research from Post Office Travel Money shows that sterling has gained almost 73 per cent year-on-year against the Turkish lira, meaning that Britons’ holiday money will stretch further.
Vintage Travel has a seven-night stay in the Lebam villa on the Lycian Coast for £1,086 a week in October compared with £1,772 in the last week of July. The average maximum temperature will be around 27°C that month. Dalaman is the closest airport, around 90 minutes’ drive from Kalkan. Return flights start from £200 in October.
Local attractions include gulet cruises, days on Kalkan, Kaputas and Patara beaches and trips to the seaside town of Kas, with its Lycian Rock Tombs and access to The Lycian Way.
Winter
Classic city stop: Venice
EasyJet offers flights to Venice in November – when you’ll miss the summer crowds – for £29.99 each way. Prices peak at around £175 during the summer.
Save the pennies by taking a Free Walking Tour (venicefreewalkingtour.com) to lesser-known Venetian spots, such as Campo dei Mori, where a Gothic church awaits you, and Cannaregio, the former Jewish district.
Doubles at the Locanda Casa Martini, an 18th-century Venetian palace where rooms feature frescoes and antique furnishings, start from £83pp in November, compared to £180 in July (locandacasamartini.it).
Bucket list: Japan
For a long-haul winter getaway, look east. December is the cheapest time of year to fly to Japan, according to average flight prices from Opodo, with London-Toyko flights available for £809. Across the rest of the year, average return tickets round out at £1,186.
Japan is a four-season destination and, in winter, Tokyo’s bright neon streets provide a stark antidote to the cold. Mount Fuji’s slopes are swathed in thick snow, and a Tokyo Ramen Tour (tokyoramentours.com) will warm up cold afternoons. The Jigokudani Monkey Park is around four hours from Tokyo by train. With its hot spring-loving primates, the park is at its best in winter. Meanwhile, Tokyo hosts a Christmas market, which is towered over by a 14m-tall “Christmas Pyramid” gifted from Germany.
Quintessa Hotel Tokyo Ginza is centrally located. A double room is available from £176 a night in December, down from £220 a night in April, according to HotelPlanner.com.
Extend your stay in Japan by taking the two-hour bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto. In December, sights such as the five-storey Toji Temple are decked out with illuminations. The Kyoto Free Walking Tour (kyotofreewalkingtour.com) runs all year, and Gion, Kyoto’s Geisha district, is brightly lit through the winter months.
Kyoto Kamanza Hotel is centrally located. A double room is available from £148 in December, down from £229 in April, according to HotelPlanner.com.
The long weekend: New York, US
“For top savings on city breaks, such as New York in winter, look to avoid the hugely popular pre-Christmas and Valentine’s Day breaks by booking in January,” says Kelly Cookes of the Advantage Travel Partnership.
In January 2023, occupancy rates across the US were at 52.8 per cent, while in June and July, the rate is more likely to hit the 70 per cent mark, according to hotel management platform STR.
Doubles at four-star Millennium Downtown New York in lower Manhattan are available for £146 in January, 51 per cent cheaper than the starting price in December, found HotelPlanner,com. In January, there is a New York Hotels Week in which there are discounts of almost 25 per cent.
The weather will be cold and icy, but the start of the year is the best time to score tickets to popular Broadway shows. You can also save up to 40 per cent on entrance fees to popular sites with the New York CityPASS and try The Beam, a new attraction at the top of the Rockefeller Centre that allows you to recreate the famous 1932 photograph of “Lunch atop a Skyscraper”.
