Have you ever wondered, “When is the best time to book my trip?”

Considering how often I get asked the question, I thought I should write a message with my official travel agent advice.

To no surprise, the answer is “IT DEPENDS,” I’m fully aware that I just let my former IT consultant personality show with an “It depends” answer, but its true.

I tell people the best time to book airfare is between 8 and 2 months.

Airlines often hike prices less than 2 months in advance because they want to capture increased rates from business travelers. On the other end, flights normally go on sale around 10 months out, but they’re usually not at their cheapest price yet.

One strategy you could take is booking your flight as soon as you know you want to take it and then just monitor the flight prices afterward with the plan to rebook if the price goes down.

Most airlines aren’t really charging cancellation or change fees anymore, but you might get stuck with some “credit,” so I advise you to only use this strategy when you know you’ll be flying the same airline again within the year.

With everything that’s not an airline, I do think you should book as soon as you know you’re taking a trip. I generally believe that most people don’t book more than one year in advance unless it is a highly competitive resort or experience. That knowledge gives you an advantage.

If you can plan to be 13-15 months in advance, you’ll have a much better chance at securing whatever vacation you want. When booking that far in advance, you’ll just have to check the refund policies.

Most travel vendors will give you a full refund for cancellations greater than 120 days before travel, but do be aware of any non-refundable deposit policies. As long as you know the policies, you can proceed with confidence booking a year in advance knowing you can always rebook if the prices go down during a sale.

An added benefit of planning in advance is that you can pay for your vacation in installments instead of a lump sum.

On this subject, I’m already booking vacations in 2025. If you have a big trip on your mind, there’s no better time to start planning!

Of course on the other hand, if you have a trip that you want to take that is less than three months away – call me today!