FAMILIES CAN BOOK PACKAGE HOLIDAYS TO EUROPE FOR JUST £200PP IN AUGUST
Families in Britain can still book package holidays abroad for as little as £200 per person for a week before the new school year begins, MailOnline can reveal today.
Travel companies such as EasyJet Holidays, Jet2 and Tui have been dropping their prices for flights and hotels in August as they attempt to fill up unsold places.
EasyJet still has a dozen seven-night breaks for under £300 per person this month including to France, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Spain, Poland and the Netherlands.
The operator has a 'Summer Price Drops' campaign including last-minute week-long beach trips from £259 per person, and two-night city breaks from £149 per person.
Its cheapest seven-night stay is at the All Suites Bordeaux Pessac for £201 per person based on two adults and two children sharing, and leaving Glasgow on August 14.
Other week-long options include Hibiscus Apartments in Marmaris for £237 each from Glasgow on August 21; easyHotel Madrid Centro for £288 each from Bristol on August 14; and Premier Krakow Hotel for £289 each from Belfast on August 23.
Further sub-£300 holidays are the Hilton Rotterdam for £271 each from Bristol; and the Mandalena Hotel in Larnaca for £287 each from Glasgow, both on August 20.
Travel experts told MailOnline today that package holidays are being sold off cheaply towards the end of August as firms desperately try to fill up the final weeks of the peak summer schedule.
The slump in demand has been attributed to the cost-of-living crisis in recent years impacting household budgets and the surge in holiday prices following the end of the pandemic.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, told MailOnline: 'We're into the dog days of the peak summer period and many tour operators and airlines start to reduce prices if they still have unsold seats or holidays around this time.
'The warmer British weather may keep some typical last-minute travellers at home as well, so discounts may lure more people abroad.'
He added that consumers should look out for traditional airline sales which normally start towards the end of August.
Mr Charles said: 'There will be bargains galore on offer after the Bank Holiday with great-value pricing for travel between September and early December.'
Flights for the rest of August are also selling at extremely cheap rates, with 23 foreign destinations available on comparison website SkyScanner for less than £20 single per person for the rest of August.
The cheapest of these is Albania, with flights to Tirana for just £13 with Wizz Air.
You can also fly to Africa for just £16 single with Ryanair on its route to Ouarzazate in Morocco.
Other countries with single flights for only £15 include Spain, Slovakia, Norway, Ireland, France, Bulgaria and Sweden.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of the Advantage Travel Partnership, said one quarter of bookings across its network of independent travel agents in early August were for departures this month.
She told MailOnline: 'It's not unusual to see an influx of late bookings for August departures with people looking to get the most out of their summer with a last-minute break to a destination with guaranteed good weather.
'We have continued to see a strong demand for holidays, and 24 per cent of bookings across our travel agency network in early August were for departures in the same month, demonstrating that Brits still have a strong appetite to get away before schools return.'
'There are still some great deals around if you want some guaranteed warmth and sunshine, with Spain, Greece and Turkey amongst the most popular destinations to travel to this year.'
She added that those looking further afield could find plenty of availability on long-haul routes - with Thailand, the US and the Caribbean continuing to be strong sellers.
Laura Lindsay, travel trends and destination expert at Skyscanner, said families should consider the last weeks of the school summer holidays instead of the first.
She told MailOnline: 'The first two weeks of the school holidays are often the most popular weeks to head away in summer and can be the most expensive time to travel.
'But Skyscanner's data shows that on average travellers can save 44 per cent by travelling the last week instead of the first week. Remember to compare prices for all the different times in the holidays that you could travel and choose the best option for you.'
She added that flying from airports in Scotland can be cheaper because of the different school holiday dates to those in England, while searching by multiple dates and airports will give you the best chance of a bargain.
Ms Lindsay said: 'Because some dates are more popular than others, prices will vary. The 'whole month' search tool allows you to see cheap flights at a glance and pick the right deal for you.
'Consider traveling a day before or a day after your original departure dates, flying on less popular days of the week is always cheaper.'
It comes after Ryanair revealed in June that airfares will be 'materially lower' over the peak summer months than last year, as it reported plummeting quarterly profits.
The Irish budget airline's typical fare in June was €41.93 (£35.90), down from €49.07 (£42.01) the previous year.
MailOnline has contacted easyJet Holidays for comment.
Read more 2024-08-12T14:22:18Z dg43tfdfdgfd