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The secret of when to book flights to secure the cheapest deals to holiday hotspots revealed by Which? – and the month you can bag a £200 fare to New York

The best times to book cheap flights to popular destinations, from Barcelona to Berlin, during peak holiday seasons have been revealed by Which? researchers.

And according to their study, you’ll need to be organised to make the biggest savings, with optimum booking dates for the cheapest flights ranging from five weeks to six months in advance.

The study also revealed the overall cheapest month to fly. 

Researchers at Which? Travel produced the guide by analysing average return flight prices in 2023 and 2024 on Skyscanner.

The destination that suits last-minute bookers the best is Faro in the Algarve, Portugal, with the cheapest summer-break August fares available five weeks in advance.

The best times to book cheap flights to popular destinations, from Barcelona to Berlin, during peak holiday seasons have been revealed by Which? researchers using Skyscanner data

BEST TIMES TO BOOK SHORT-HAUL FLIGHTS  DESTINATION  HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR APRIL HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR AUGUST  HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR CHRISTMASCHEAPEST MONTH TO FLY  Amsterdam 20 weeks15 weeks 20 weeks January, £86  Athens 18 weeks 6 weeks 10 weeks January, £75 Barcelona 17 weeks 13 weeks 17 weeks January, £50 Berlin 24 weeks 24 weeks 20 weeks January, £61 Budapest 17 weeks 6 weeks 8 weeks January, £62 Dublin 12 weeks 13 weeks 12 weeks January, £39 Faro, Portugal 14 weeks 5 weeks 10 weeks January, £61 Lisbon 22 weeks 16 weeks 17 weeks December, £63 Mallorca 14 weeks 13 weeks 19 weeks March, £55 Nice 14 weeks 24 weeks 23 weeks November, £72 Krakow 24 weeks 25 weeks 11 weeks January, £48 Paris 21 weeks 26 weeks 15 weeks January, £73 Prague 15 weeks 19 weeks 16 weeks January, £62  Seville 13 weeks 25 weeks 17 weeks January, £55 Tenerife 19 weeks 10 weeks 8 weeks January, £76 Valencia 12 weeks 12 weeks 11 weeks January, £45  Source: Which?

Paris, meanwhile, is the summer destination that contrasts most sharply with Faro, with British holidaymakers needing to book 26 weeks (six months) in advance for the cheapest August flights to the French capital. Which? adds that, in fact, ‘now’ might be the time to start searching for flights for this summer.

For those looking to travel during the Easter holidays, the Which? analysis suggests you should book 12 weeks in advance for Dublin or Valencia but as much as 24 weeks for Berlin and Krakow in Poland.

Meanwhile, for a December trip to Tenerife, you need to book eight weeks in advance, compared with Nice where the cheapest flights were found 23 weeks in advance.

And for a Christmas trip to New York or Sydney or Bangkok, you don’t need to book as far ahead as you may think. For Sydney and Bangkok, the best prices were found by booking in September, while for New York it was mid-October.

The researchers found that January was the cheapest month to fly to most places, with fares available for as little as £39 to Dublin and £50 for Barcelona.

Further afield, Which? found that March was the cheapest time to fly to New York, with a return flight costing just £201 on average.

Naomi Leach, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘Our research threw up some surprising results and suggests some holidaymakers could save significant sums of money by targeting the right time to book their flights.

‘For those looking for a bargain trip, our findings show January is generally the cheapest time to fly short-haul, as long as you don’t mind the cold weather.

‘It is worth setting up flight alerts with Google Flights or Skyscanner to track the best prices for your desired destination to find the best time to book a great deal.’

BEST TIMES TO BOOK LONG-HAUL FLIGHTS  DESTINATION  HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR APRIL  HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR AUGUST HOW FAR IN ADVANCE TO BOOK FOR CHRISTMASCHEAPEST MONTH TO FLY  Bangkok 25 weeks 8 weeks 16 weeks Jan, Feb or March, £386 Cape Town N/A N/A N/A March, £472 Chicago N/A N/A N/A Nov, £308  New York 14 weeks7 weeks 11 weeks March, £201  Sydney 22 weeks 8 weeks 15 weeks Nov, £525 Tokyo N/A N/A N/A November or December, £397  Source: Which? 

Naomi Leach, Deputy Editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘For those looking for a bargain trip, our findings show January is generally the cheapest time to fly short-haul’

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The secret of when to book flights to secure the cheapest deals to holiday hotspots revealed by Which? – and the month you can bag a £200 fare to New York



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