I get this question a lot…
Q: How much should I expect to pay for a vacation over the Christmas break?
A: Christmas holiday period is considered prime/peak season. In other words, you are paying top dollar to travel during this very special travel period. The most popular is generally 26DEC until 02JAN, though the “end date” depends on what day of the week New Year falls.
As a general guideline, recall a recent trip you may have taken – say two adults to Riviera Maya, one week this past May. You paid $4500 for your package that included airfare, transfers, and all-inclusive accommodations. For apples to apples, double that number ($9,000) for the peak week 26DEC – 02JAN and that’s a good estimate. If you can travel the week prior (say, 19DEC – 26DEC), you’ll do a wee bit better, and for these travel dates, I would recommend multiplying your last trip by 1.5 to get a good idea of prices (or, $6750 in this scenario). This guideline works if your last trip was in LOW season.
I say this, but also caution that flights and hotels do sell out for Christmas. So don’t book a Christmas trip last minute, hoping that the prices fall (because they won’t!). Anything less than 2 months in advance for popular travel dates is considered last minute. If you do book Christmas last minute, having flexibility on dates, destination, and resort will go a long way.
Happy Travels ~ Cindy Grant, Travel Consultant ReconnectTravel.com 972-625-6200