Timing to book a holiday trip

[PunkyBoo]

Like another poster, we're planning a trip to Hawaii. We plan to go the week of Thanksgiving and we're taking our kids. I have not flown in over 11 years and so I'm rusty on planning a trip that includes flights. (We've taken driving trips only for vacations since having DS2). When should I book flights? Where would I find decent prices for the flights? Any tips for traveling with kids over Thanksgiving week?

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[smiles33]

I like Kayak because it tells you its "predictions" re: pricing, but Southwest isn't on there and they are planning to launch service to Hawaii! They just did their first test flight (without paying passengers) for the FAA so I don't know if they are 6 months away from starting service or 1 year (or more). Thus, I don't know if you should hold out to see if Southwest starts service by Thanksgiving. But I might check Kayak and Google Flights to get an idea of current prices for that week. I assume it will be more expensive than usual, since it's during the holiday break.

Start checking on rental car prices now. I regularly book a rental car for Maui on Costco Travel way in advance (like 10 months) and then periodically check to see if the price has dropped. Costco will let you cancel for free, so I just did this again recently for our end-of-the-month trip and saved almost $200!

I don't know if you can get better discounts booking activities in advance, but your kids may enjoy snorkeling or learning how to surf (if they don't already know how). I know some of the luaus sell out quickly, but we never do those so I don't know how far in advance you should book those. My kids have always been happy alternating between the beach, the condo pool, and the condo couch (for TV and books) so we don't do paid activities like luaus, snorkeling trips, or horseback riding.

Have fun planning!

[marinkitty]

For holiday trips where prices and traffic are elevated, I focus first on lodging. I usually don't book airfare until 4-6 months out even if hotel is booked 10-12 months out. But I watch flights to make sure the ones we want (non-stop routes; preferred carriers) aren't getting too full and buy sooner if they start to fill up. I'm planning our trip for winter break now and am already a bit too late for some of the accommodations we want.