Best time to book flights

[milly143]

We're going to Dublin for a couple of days in May. I've got to wait a week or so before I can book the hotel so haven't booked any flights yet but I've checked some prices out with Ryanair which work out about £70 for the two of us in total. Is this likely to be as good as it gets or if I leave it closer to the time are they likely to go down in price at all?

[boxtops]

It's really hard to predict, I've never known Ryanair flights to go down in price once they have added all the extras, but Easyjet sometimes do. I like to know I've got my seat so we book as soon as we can - we have booked for June already.

[gingejbee]

...and don't forget the bank hols at the start and end of the month- likely to be much busier then.

[milly143]

Should be ok in that respect. We're going (hopefully) on 3rd, returning 5th.

It's really difficult to judge if it's a good deal or not. And of course I don't want to leave it late to find that the prices have shot up but we're trying to keep costs down as much as possible so we can save for a proper holiday at the end of the year.

[Prudie]

I book quite a lot of domestic flights through work and find that popular routes like that get more and more expensive the later you leave it because they rarely take-off with empty seats.

[boxtops]

Yes, I'd book now for 3 May, it's a bank holiday week in England so the kids will be off school.

[milly143]

Thanks Prudie. Looks like I should book them soon then. Just want to make sure the hotel is all booked up before I do the flights.

Kids will be off school?? Blimey! Again? Wish I was a kid again.

[coccinelle]

As the plane fills up the prices get higher so don't hang about. Why do you have to wait a week to book hotel? If you book through booking.com you don't pay anything upfront.

[milly143]

Because I'm using Tesco reward points towards the payment so have to wait for them to arrive in the post.

[ummmm]

The prices to Ireland always seem to go up.

[coccinelle]

Ah, OK I understand milly

[Whickerman]

before you book your hotel - the reward points my give you great deals, fab if so, but check out D4 Hotels. I honestl have no reason to plug these except they're top central hotels for a pittance, you can really overpay in Dublin

[joannie10]

I think that is a great price - grab it while you can! For dublin I have always been luckier with Aer Lingus from Glasgow - have you tried them if they fly from your local airport?

[milly143]

Hi Joannie, I looked at Aer Lingus first because I'm always getting speciall offer e-mails from them. The prices are about the same but the times with Ryan air are more preferable so we will get a bit longer there and not have to leave early on the day we fly home.

[jd_1984]

Hard to predict. In general, the old "hang on until the last minute for the deals" way of thinking is risky as it doesnt always work that way these days. My advice is, if you see a price a couple of weeks research that looks reasonable, just go for it. You can drive yourself bonkers just trying to save £20 on a flight

[milly143]

Yeah, to be honest I don't expect it will end up being a cheap few days anyway so an extra few quid probably won't make much difference.

Does anyone know if there are still restrictions on what you can take on board in hand luggage? Can you take shampoos, beauty products in your hand luggage or will all liquid still get confiscated?

[joannie10]

yes there are still restrictions - you can take liquids in little bottles of up to 100ml (total of 1 litre I believe) and have it in a separate little clear bag for going through security.