GetSetJetSet

Do you sketch things out well in advance and lock them in, or are you a last minute heat of the moment sort of traveler, how does this change, biz vs. leisure? Thought of this because I started looking at what is coming up in 2020, and I have already booked a shocking 63 leisure segments between Jan, 1 2020 and Sept. 19, 2020 (latest one currently on the books). How do you do it?

ft101

Leisure only now and for peak times I try to book as far in advance as possible. Others it can be from a few months to a few days so pretty random.

WestCoastPDX

I'm currently deep into planning 2021, most of 2020 is mapped out (100k leisure miles, ~18 new countries over 7 months and all 6 continents again).

But, I also did a random trip to Amsterdam last weekend that I booked 8 days before.
Sooooo.

Who knows!

darthbimmer

I'm not an advanced booker. It doesn't work for my/my partner's habits. The farthest out I've got anything booked is 1/1/2020. Everything past that is barely at the draft stage. Even a possible trip 6 days from now is at the draft stage.

84fiero

I hate to say it depends, but for me it does sort of depend on the trip and work schedules. And the answer may be different for transportation, lodging, and activities portions of the trip, too.

With plane tickets, if I'm redeeming miles then I may need to be watching for availability fairly far ahead if that's when I'm most likely to grab seats with that program. But if I'm paying cash then better pricing might be much closer in (or a fare war/mistake fare pops up). Train tickets may not even go on sale until a few months ahead in some places.

Lodging often is finalized much later, sometimes at the last minute. On the other hand, low-density, high-demand locations might dictate reserving lodging far ahead. Or if there is a certain place I really want to stay at that is known to sell out quickly I will get that booked as soon as feasible. Also if a hotel loyalty program is planning a devaluation I would redeem before that happens.

Activities, usually closer to the trip if advance booking is mandated or advised. Many times nothing needs to be done in advance at all for day activities. But sometimes booking much earlier is best...e.g., if you want to climb Huayna Picchu at Machu Picchu, for example, those tickets sell out in advance especially during high season; the Scavi tour at the Vatican only takes a very small number of people for each tour so that's another early booking example.

Generally, I'll look around at trip reports and forums to see if there is any unique location-specific advice or experience as far as advance planning/booking, too.

GetSetJetSet

but flights and hotels aren’t being sold yet for ‘21!

jrl767

“planning” =/= “acting on”

lhrsfo

For me, I try to get peak travel time bookings done as soon as I can firm up plans, usually 6-9 months out. For other bookings, where I have date flexibility, I book when I can get upgrade space on the overnight portion, so that could be a couple of months out, or just about a week out.

rankourabu

Wife and I both have only about ~12-15 weeks of vacatiion per year, but we have them at the same time, so it helps in planning.

We tend to plan the framework, at least flights, far out - like we currently have August 2020 booked already - but still have a couple weeks in the spring unplanned.

Hotels, and stuff to do, really depends, some trips get planned far out, some much closer in.

GetSetJetSet

"only" 12-15 week of vacation isn't that 3-4x what most jobs offer? I'm with you, I booked half of Aug., waiting to see if hotel prices drop a bit before locking in the other half, flights done.