Seasonal travel, timed to the holidays — because the best-value window for a Christmas trip closes in October, and the best summer destinations are booked out by March.
Publishing now
Christmas travel 2026
Key dates, the destinations worth booking and the window that closes first. Christmas Day is a Friday in 2026.
Book by October
Open Christmas travel 2026
Shoulder season
Best time to visit Japan
Spring cherry blossom or autumn colour? The trade-off between weather, crowds and what you’ll pay.
Month by month
Planning
Trip planning
How to build a trip around a fixed holiday window instead of an open calendar.
Itineraries
Why seasonal planning matters
Holiday travel is the most predictable peak of the year, which means the booking windows are predictable too. We publish seasonal guides three to four months ahead of the window they cover, so you are planning while the good rooms are still available.
The two rules of seasonal travel
- Book the window, not the destination. The cheapest week to fly to most of Europe in December is the first week, and it is also the emptiest. Same city, half the price.
- Move one week off the peak. The week either side of a school holiday is usually 20–35% cheaper for the same weather, and it is the single easiest saving in holiday travel.