How Early Do You Plan/Book a Trip?

[Kryssa]

I'm just curious because this year we are trying something new.

I'm love to plan trips. I've planned at least a dozen that we didn't even wind up doing. I just love to read about destinations, local food, resorts, and of course, diving!

I booked our Roatan trip last year 11 months ahead. This year, due to budget concerns mostly, we are not planning anything until we see how well my husband's current project does.

I'm very nervous because I like to know what's going on well in advance. I'm also excited because I don't know where we'll go- and we'll stand a chance at getting a "last minute" deal.

If the project does well, I'd like to do a liveaboard. Maybe the Bahamas or Belize. If it doesn't do so well, we'll probably head to Cozumel because we can get the tickets with airlines miles and stay and dive cheap.

So tell me... what is your dive trip planning strategy? Any tips for scoring those last minute deals?

 

[freewillie]

I have three kids so I am tied to the school year calendar. Also, if we use time share weeks we need to plan at least 10-12 months in advance. Since my oldest is also a diver we need to make sure her schedules don't conflict which means we have to plan well in advance.

Once the time and destination is set my wife searches all over the Internet for deals. If we have enough time she looks into using our mileage points first. Sometimes we will have enough to book the whole family using points. If not we check often to see what prices are doing. If we can find a good deal we book, it prices too high we wait, if prices are ridiculous we cancel and try plan B but that means we might not dive.

The best part about kids that dive is she will usually be the one that insist it is a dive destination. I'm so proud of her!

The best part about using airline credit card for miles and then booking with the same airline the baggage fees usually get waived. With five ticketed passengers we can have a dedicated dive bag which also has beach/pool toys for the kids at no extra cost.

If you are very flexible then waiting until under two weeks may get you the best deals. My friend works in the airline industry as a private pilot. Travel agencies can buy seats from the airlines. If they don't sell the seats go back to the airlines. These are the discounted seats airlines release at the last minute. That would give you the best deal trying to book last minute.

Since we need to set our plans I always like to lock in a good deal as soon as we make hotel reservations. It really makes me nervous when my wife waits to the last minute. But, things always seem to work out for us.

Good luck.

 

[Quero]

Usually a couple of months. I just booked a mid-April trip to Lembeh. I don't look for "deals." I go where the diving is best for the time of year I can get away. I'm more interested in a great experience than I am taking an off-season deal to save some money. I'll stay at a cheaper place in order to enjoy superlative diving rather than going to someplace that I wouldn't otherwise be able to afford at a time when the diving isn't at its best.

 

[lindenbruce]

If I have never been to a destination before I will start prolly six months in advance doing research. Other wise maybe two or three months out. Air fair is usually cheaper that way. B

 

[vladimir]

I am leaving tomorrow. I gave the trip some thought late last week, posted a question here, and sent a couple of emails. I finalized my plans last night. Total time to plan trip: about a half hour—but the trip to Bali has become something of a routine.

I have planned a three-week trip to Papua New Guinea—including liveaboard, land-based diving, trekking, and domestic flights—with two weeks of lead time and a few hours of research. I've planned a trip to Australia three days before departure and about an hour of research. And those were in the pre-internet era, using faxes, phones, and telexes.

 

[RJP]

I have planned a few trips 18-24mo ahead (Galapagos/Machu Picchu, and Egypt/Cairo/Red Sea/Alexandria) due to logistics, wanting certain dates, accommodations, etc. On the other extreme I once planned a 21-day trip to Truk on less than three days notice. Booked on a Monday, left that Wednesday. Most trips are in the 6mo range as my buddy and I typically like to have details nailed down far enough out, and typically I need that much lead-time to properly ensure PTO days at work are free.

 

[DivemasterDennis]

I start the planning process anywhere from 6 to 12 months ahead of time. I start by blocking out my calendar for a window of opportunity to book- usually twice the duration of a planned trip for flexibility. Next we settle on a location. We spend some time investigating local dive concessions, lodging, and air fares, and once we put the whole package together, research air fare trends, and do our best ( mostly but not always successful) in "playing" the air fare rates to get the best deal. I always like to have everything in palce at least three months before departure, but have booked out as far as five months on a couple of occasions.
DivemasterDennis

 

[diversteve]

Land based to the Caribbean we usually start talking about 4-6 months prior and try to book at least flights a month or so later. Every time we've waited for last minute flight deals - except once - we've got burned. Usually by seat availability but we often travel as a larger group.

For Caribbean liveaboards one thing I wait for is the Explorer annual deal. They send out an e-mail - usually around now or slightly later IIRC so get on their list. We've saved $500pp going to Turks/Caicos but they fill up fast - within a day or two.

For Belize, both boats (Aggressor/Dancer) do the same itinerary basically and Dancer is 20' bigger. I've noticed a lot more consolidation on both websites recently - even a similar look and feel since both are owned by the same group now.

Turks/Caicos is better diving than the Bahamas and you can probably get there for the same $$ - unless you're planning on Blackbeards...

 

[James R]

We booked the Scubaboard invasion to Bonaire (June 2013) & another trip to Lembeh, Indonesia (early 2014) back in Oct of 2012. We must like waiting around...

 

[Searcaigh]

With me it varies, if I go to some place new I like to do some research first, availability on a specific airline is also important to avail of miles and similarly if I need a hotel en route then one where I have points comes into the equation in order to keep my personal costs to an affordable level.

My last trip to the Philippines I spent some time researching part of the trip as I was going to a new area, after collating the information from several dive ops on an XL spreadsheet it is easy to see which ones are most cost effective but the cheapest are not always the ones I pick.

Like Vladimir I can arrange a trip very quickly if I have been to the area before.