After our holiday to the lovely Bitacora in Tenerife, we decided we wanted to go back next October. As anyone with children will know - as will teachers - going away in the school holidays costs a fortune. Tour operators hike their prices up to more than double sometimes, and we have long since accepted that our holidays will always cost a bomb compared to those out of school holiday periods. However, airlines and a lot of hotels don't seem to be quite as bad as tour operators, and you can often save a lot of money booking your holiday independently, especially if you do it early. So that was my plan. I waited until the flights for British Airways were displayed for the correct outgoing date (355 days in advance), I winced at the fact that the price was higher than for the week before, and then I waited for the return flights to be displayed. And when I looked back in a week or so, ready to book, I was horrified that the flights were no longer one hundred and something - they were now £228. Each way. Yes, over £450 for a return flight to Tenerife. I hesitated, as you would. I double-checked easyJet but they only displayed flights up until next September, and October flights wouldn't be available until April. The chances are they'd be cheaper, but only if I booked them as soon as they became available - but dare I risk booking the hotel and then not being able to get flights? Or leaving it until April, only to find the hotel was full? Decisions, decisions. I checked Thomson and Thomas Cook - still more expensive than booking independently. I checked Monarch - almost the same ridiculous price as BA but horrible flight times. Reluctantly, I checked Ryanair - outbound flights were available (and very cheap) but returning flights wouldn't be available for months. I almost considered booking one way and crossing fingers I could get return flights later. In the end, I gritted my teeth and decided to book with BA... only to find that the flights had gone up to £323. Yes, each way. Yes, £656 for one return flight to Tenerife. Yes, I could fly to New York or Hong Kong for less. What was going on? I checked again later to make sure I hadn't imagined it. I checked Monarch, and their prices had also gone up - so had the package prices with Thomas Cook and Thomson. Clearly, everyone had decided that Tenerife is the place to be next October, and the airlines and tour operators were responding accordingly. Sadly, we had to decide Tenerife was not the place for us to be after all - no matter how nice the hotel was, we couldn't justify spending that sort of ridiculous money. Maybe we'd try easyJet next year and see what happened.
But the thing is, I don't give up easily. A couple of days later, I checked BA again, just in case - still £323. I checked again a few more days later - still £323. This went on and on - I'm not really sure why I kept trying, because it was clear the price wasn't going to change. But then it did! After over a month of trying, I checked again and the price had gone down to £169! I had to double-check to make sure I hadn't put in the wrong date, but it was real! I didn't know why. I didn't care why. I know for anyone who holidays at other times of year this is still expensive, but after £323, this was cheap!!!I booked the flights there and then.
And the moral? Keep trying. Shop around, keep checking the websites and don't give up. Holiday prices change all the time and sometimes the most unlikely tour operators end up being the cheapest. Cinderella, you WILL go on that holiday!
