If Brits have the patience to wait, they can save hundreds of dollars on their holiday this summer, whether they’re looking for a trip to the sun or a cottage holiday in the UK. Which? Has revealed.
The consumer watchdog found that the most expensive weeks to book a holiday package are July 27 to August 3 and August 3 to August 10. It is the first two weeks after the dissolution of most English schools.
The cheapest week of the summer holidays for a package holiday is the last one, when most children are still free: August 24-31.
Which? They also looked at changes in the costs of booking a cottage in different parts of the UK, and found that they varied by region. However, it’s never been cheaper to book during the first week of the English and Welsh school holidays.
WHEN AND WHERE THEY ARE THE CHEAPEST SUMMER VACATION PACKAGES
If Brits have the patience to wait, they can save hundreds of dollars on their holiday this summer, whether they’re looking for a trip to the sun or a cottage holiday in the UK. Which? Has revealed. The consumer watchdog concluded that the most expensive weeks to take a package holiday are July 27 to August 3 and August 3 to August 10.
| July 13 | July 20th | July 27th | August 3rd | August 10 | 17 of August | August 24 |
| £1,139 | £1,238 | £1,256 | £1,262 | £1,241 | £1,230 | £1,133 |
| Source: Which one? | ||||||
Digging deeper into package holiday data, the consumer group found that, on average, it is £123 cheaper per person to book a package holiday during the last week of the summer holidays compared to the first week, and £129 cheaper than the second.
The last two weeks of the summer holidays were cheaper for all the major holiday destinations. Which? analyzed: Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Turkey, Bulgaria, Malta and Morocco.
The cheapest holiday packages on average were to Morocco, with a week-long all-inclusive trip costing £962 per person on average.
The second cheapest were in Malta (£1,080 per person), and Bulgaria the third most affordable (£1,087 per person).
The cheapest holiday packages on average were to Morocco, with a week-long all-inclusive trip costing an average of £962 per person.
| Destination | |
|---|---|
| Morocco | £962 |
| malt | £1,080 |
| Bulgaria | £1,087 |
| Balearic Islands (Ibiza, Mallorca, Menorca) | £1,127 |
| Canary Islands | £1,141 |
| Spain (Mainland) | £1,163 |
| Croatia | £1,213 |
| Italy | £1,223 |
| Turkey | £1,228 |
| Cyprus | £1,253 |
| Greece | £1,258 |
| Portugal | £1,344 |
| Source: Which one? |
On this list, the most expensive country was Portugal, with a seven-night all-inclusive package costing consumers £1,344.
The second most expensive destination was Greece, although noticeably cheaper at £1,258, closely followed by its neighbor Cyprus, the third most expensive combined holiday destination at £1,253.
Which? notes that these figures were affected by the type of vacation available at each location. Countries with a higher concentration of luxury hotels will understandably have a higher average cost for vacation packages, but that doesn’t stop bargains from being available in that destination if consumers are looking for a less decadent hotel.
Which? collected data on 5,681 TUI and 2,223 Jet2 seven-day all-inclusive holidays, for the period between 13 July 2024 and 31 August 2024. Prices were per person based on two people sharing.
WHEN ARE THE CHEAPEST SUMMER VACATION STAYS?
Highland Robbery: Across all holiday rentals surveyed, from mid-July to early September, the most expensive cottages were in Scotland. Pictured: Buachaille Etive Mor mountain in Glen Etive in the Scottish Highlands
| COUNTRY | 07/13 | 07/20 | 07/27 | 03/08 | 10/08 | 08/17 | 08/24 | 08/31 | summer average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | £1,109 | 1,198 | £1,358 | £1,267 | £1,268 | £1,343 | £1,290 | £988 | £1,233 |
| North Ireland | £908 | £911 | £1,012 | £1,006 | £1,033 | £895 | £834 | £736 | £912 |
| Scotland | £1,255 | £1,308 | £1,310 | £1,328 | £1,327 | £1,301 | £1,285 | £1,129 | £1,279 |
| Welsh | £1,121 | £1,176 | £1,280 | £1,304 | £1,301 | £1,277 | £1,219 | £980 | £1,202 |
| UK in general | £1,124 | £1,204 | £1,341 | £1,279 | £1,279 | £1,328 | £1,278 | £1,000 | £1,231 |
| Source: Which one? | |||||||||
Which? He also looked at where and when the cheapest summer holiday deals were found in cottages across the UK.
Once again, the first week of the English school holidays proved to be the most expensive time for a getaway.
The cheapest weeks depend on whether Brits are holidaying in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
In England, cabins were most expensive in the first week of the school holidays, the week starting July 27, with an average weekly cabin rental price of £1,358. Wait a week to leave on August 3 and the fare will be cheaper: £1,267, a saving of £91.
Prices drop considerably when English schools return: the average price for the week starting August 31 is £988. That’s £370 cheaper than leaving at the start of the school holidays.
The price fluctuation in Welsh cottages was slightly less pronounced during the holiday period. The most expensive time to book is the week starting August 3, when a week’s stay will cost tourists an average of £1,304.
Leave on August 24 and you’ll save £85. However, as in England, the big savings come when school returns: it’s £980 on average for a week’s stay starting August 31, down £324 than the peak.
Scottish schools take their holidays earlier than English schools, from July 1 to August 12. If Britons want a holiday home in Scotland, the most expensive week in the period studied is £1,328, while the least expensive is, as in England and Wales, the week beginning August 31, when you can get one stay in a cabin for £1,129 per week. .
Northern Ireland had the cheapest cottage rentals for the summer holiday period across the UK in 2024. Pictured: Families enjoying Dark Hedges in Ballymoney, Northern Ireland
Of all the holiday rentals surveyed, from mid-July to early September, the most expensive holiday rentals were in Scotland.
The cheapest cottages were in Northern Ireland, with properties costing £912 a week on average during the summer holiday period in England, compared to £1,279 on average during the same period in Scotland.
In Northern Ireland, school holidays are not standardized but are set by individual schools. Cottages were at their most expensive in the week starting 3 August – an average of £1,006 per week (this is £322 cheaper on average than renting for the same week in Scotland).
If Brits can hold out until August 31, the price of a cabin stay in Northern Ireland will drop to £736, the cheapest available in the entire UK.
To compare your data, which one? collected 303,914 prices for a week’s stay at cottages of all sizes in the UK during summer 2024, from Cottages.com and Holidaycottages.co.uk.