irisheyes
Unregistered User
(7/18/05 10:13 pm)

How far in advance to book flight and overnight reservations

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How far in advance to book flight and overnight reservations? Please address peak season, shoulder season and off season. Thank you!!!

Michele Erdvig
Administrator
Posts: 3271
(7/19/05 12:00 am)

Re: How far in advance to book flight and overnight reservat

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irisheyes,

As you know with airlines you get better fares booking at least 21 days in advance. But fares vary all the time. Sometimes there is no rhyme or reason for the fares. I always recommend keeping an eye on the airline's websites and signing up for their newsletters so you are alerted to good fares. Sometimes they have fares that last for a very short period of time and in that case you should take them before they expire.

As for lodging reservations in the off-season you can usually "wing it". In the shoulder season you can sometimes "wing it". In the high season you are better off with a firm itinerary and reservations made as soon as your itinerary is completed.

There are exceptions. You need reservations in Dublin most of the time. If there are festivals, races, etc. on in the places you are traveling to you will need to make reservations as soon as possible. In some cases -- like next year's Ryder Cup -- I am currently working with clients who booked their reservations months ago for September 2006. Most of the hotels were booked in blocks by travel agents, golf consortiums, etc. who will then charge a premium price for rooms. But I was able to direct my clients to a smaller guesthouse that I know and have an ongoing relationship with.

It also depends on what type of accommodations you are interested in. Castle hotels are very popular and can fill up at any time of the year. You can always find something at any time of the year but perhaps not exactly what you are looking for or farther from the area you are interested in staying. Needless to say, good accommodations always get booked up first, followed by less desirable places.

I hope that provides a good overview. If you have any specific questions, let me know.

Michele

irisheyes
Unregistered User
(7/19/05 4:59 pm)

Re: how far to book...

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Thank you so much for the info. I guess Christmas week, Easter week and June, July and August are considered peak season.. and well as dates w/ festivals, etc. Those are the only times that will work w/ school -aged children unfortunately.

Dude
Registered User
Posts: 47
(7/19/05 10:23 pm)

Easter Week

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Our first trip, in 1993, was planned around Easter and we had no trouble at all finding accommodation. We had no reservations but just hoped for the best at the end of the day and usually found it! But we didn't have the advantage of having Michele's book or this website that time. It would be even easier to find good accommodations now, especially that many of the B&B's have websites and/or e-mail. I would recommend an Easter vacation over summer or Christmas. And Easter probably would fall in the low or at least the shoulder season so prices and availability would be better.

Judy

Michele Erdvig
Administrator
Posts: 3273
(7/19/05 10:58 pm)

Re: How far in advance to book flight and overnight reservat

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irisheyes,

Actually Easter is considered shoulder-season. I have been there many times at that time of year. Good Friday is usually a problem because many things are closed including sightseeing attractions, pubs, restaurants, shops, etc. But the scenery is always open. I had difficulty getting a place to stay in Galway because the Irish young people were on spring break and were all there. So I went elsewhere. But you are right that Christmas, June, July and August are high season. I think I would opt for Easter or June.

Michele

irisheyes
Unregistered User
(7/20/05 12:38 pm)

How far to book...

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It looks like our spring break is the week following Easter, so I imagine we'll still have crowds but won't have to worry about Good Friday closures.

Michele Erdvig
Administrator
Posts: 3275
(7/20/05 4:32 pm)

Re: How far to book...

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irisheyes,

It really won't be all that crowded around Easter/spring break. I was just in Galway on a weekend. Popular places will fill up on weekends. Otherwise it was fine.

Michele