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I'm a novice trip planner. I have some experience (when I went to study abroad in London I bought the plane tickets there/back, train tickets for side trips, and booked hotels with the help of the STA office across the street from my accommodations) but I haven't planned any trips since.
I booked my flight tickets about 2-3 weeks before, and almost everything else while in London generally about 2 weeks in advance.
What is a good time frame to decide a destination, evaluate financials, be on the lookout for flight deals, and seek acommodation (anyone have experience with airbnb?)
(for reference, I'm either going to Spain or Quebec)
There is no right answer. I often don't decide exactly where I am going until a day or two before I want to fly out and 99% of my hotel bookings are same day bookings. Others will book their entire vacations literally a year in advance. It doesn't really matter when you decide to start planning. Just remember to have a fun trip when you finally get there.
There is no right answer. I often don't decide exactly where I am going until a day or two before I want to fly out and 99% of my hotel bookings are same day bookings. Others will book their entire vacations literally a year in advance. It doesn't really matter when you decide to start planning. Just remember to have a fun trip when you finally get there.
I tend towards booking about 2-3 months out, even for 3 week trips to Europe, even though I may already have a general idea of where to go and how long to be there. It kind of adds to the excitement.
However, I very recently took a 2 week trip to Dubai, UAE and Muscat, Oman, and we booked it a full 6 months out. It was weird to think that all reservations were made so far in advance but yet we were able to research a lot, do "count downs" on our phones, talk about it incessantly, etc.
So both ways work for me. It just depends on our schedules and what's going on in our lives as to how far out we can book. For a lot of people, the financial aspect plays into it too -- if you book ahead of time, you have time to have the trip paid off before you go or if you book closer to time, you have time to save. It's just whatever works for you.
First of all, remember to have fun. So don't let the stress of planning or the need to stick to a strict itinerary get in the way of the fun.
That said, it all depends on your personality. If you want to have things laid out in detail beforehand, then do that. But if you enjoy flexibility and spontaneity, then don't tie yourself down to a set itinerary just because you think you have to. OTOH, I do agree that anticipation is part of the fun, so if you're like me, you enjoy some of the planning process while still being a bit flexible.
As for looking out for flights/accommodations, the more research you do the more likely you will get a better price. That is obvious. So go ahead and check various OTAs and the ITA matrix ahead of time to get an idea of pricing, and then check it occasionally but regularly to see any variations in pricing. If you're far enough out you can see trends as the travel dates get closer. Some OTAs like kayak.com also can show you trends from their searches.
Generally though, I believe that Quebec you'll want to have booked a month before and Spain 6-8 weeks beforehand. If you're using miles remember that a lot of airlines will charge you extra if you wait til ~3 weeks out. And also remember that many airlines will (or used to at least...there's been lots of change in the past year) allow you a stopover in another city between you and your destination in Spain so you can incorporate another visit into your itinerary for free.
As for accommodations, unless you are particular about where you stay you should be able to get last-minute deals. There are tons of third-party apps and OTAs for this. Airbnb is awesome and my preferred choice in 80% of my travel. Booking on airbnb follows different rules however: if you find a limited selection of places you'd like to stay then you'll want to book asap. Obviously the supply on airbnb is limited to the number of specific listings you like, so it is very easy for your top choices to get booked by someone else if you don't pull the trigger. But beware that they don't necessarily follow the same kinds of refund rules as most hotels, as many of the popular airbnb hosts are quite strict with their cancellation policy.
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