If you're daydreaming about taking a sun holiday, travel experts have explained when tourists can get the best deal.
The beginning of March means that winter almost behind us, but many may be weary about booking plane tickets as costs have jumped in the past year. Travel search engine Kayak reports that summer flights between the UK and Europe are now 32 per cent more expensive than last year, with an average cost of £237 (€271) compared to £180 (€206).
With that in mind, economist Hayley Berg of Hopper has shared some expert tips to boost your chances of getting cheap flights. According to the travel expert, those hoping to take off in March, June and July should start tracking flights now, reports the Mirror.
However, while waiting too long to book a flight can push the chance of a higher price, this can also happen when they are booked too early. Scott Keyes, founder of travel site Going, calls the sweet spot in the middle the "Goldilocks window", CNN reported.
For short haul flights, this window is likely to stretch from three months to one before take off. This is much longer for those long haul trips about two to eight months before date of travel.
Many price comparison websites such as Google Flights now have graphs tracking the price of a flight overtime. Once you're in the Goldilocks window, you can use the tracker to see how close you are to the likely lowest price, and then judge whether you should buy or wait a little bit longer.
Keyes offered the example of a flight to Las Vegas in late March he was considering for £330 when he first looked, which then dropped to around £60 in the middle of the Goldilocks window. It's not the first time a travel expert has shared their tips for unearthing travel deals.
Martin Jones, CEO and travel expert at Airport Parking Reservations, previously revealed the best days of the week to travel for those looking for budget breaks.
"Airfare prices can vary from one day to the next however, airlines are relatively predictable when it comes to price fluctuations," he said. As a standard rule, the cheapest days of the week to fly are those that are classed as ‘off-peak’ - Tuesday, and Wednesday.
"It is important to note though, that the greater the demand for a particular flight, the more likely it is that these tickets will be higher in price. Therefore, try to avoid traveling on the busiest days of the year, for example, the first day of the school holidays."
When it comes to avoiding the long queues which came to plague UK airports this summer, Martin also advised travelling when airports are quieter.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
