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Post by balddave on May 16, 2022 9:10:20 GMT
It is our intention if possible to return to Skiathos in September, with this in mind we checked out the flight prices, wow , normally prices drop dramatically in September evidently not this year, with bags etc prices start at £460 each up to £600. Packages also up on previous years, a result of the crazy economic times we live in I guess. we have decided to put booking on the back burner for now and look again nearer the time and hopefully book a last minute deal.
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Post by kelso on May 16, 2022 10:34:32 GMT
My experience, in previous years, is that the last minute deal prices go through the roof as so many people decide to go for it, but I hope it works for you.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on May 16, 2022 10:41:13 GMT
Hi Dave, very interesting. I can make a couple of comments here, not sure if this is helpful or not.
Firstly, I can't speak to years past, but last year I think I spotted that prices in September actually went up from August. Actually, to be more accurate, the first week or two in September were more expensive than the last week in August. I'm almost positive that this is because of those without kids, or whose kids have grown up, like to go when there are no kids around. In addition, if you work somewhere where your colleagues have kids, they'll take their annual holidays during school holiday time, and you might be expected to be more flexible. The weather is pretty much as good in the first half of September as the end of August, so why not.
Secondly, this is a bit of personal experience from me since 2019. I've twice been the very last week of the season, with a 3rd time coming up this year. For my week at Sunset Studios this year I've opted for the penultimate week of the season rather than the last, as I've found the last week just a tad too quiet.
ALL THE FOLLOWING PRICES ARE BASED ON 1 PERSON FOR 7 NIGHTS. JET2 HOLIDAYS.
The price I've paid for the holiday was £542, booked last autumn. If I try to book the same holiday today it's £620 - by the way, I keep checking, and it has been more. Now that's an extra £80. Is that a lot? Dunno. If it were 4 of us, a £320 difference would be a lot.
Now here's the thing. That same holiday but for 03/09 is now sold out. For 10/09 it's £1,037. For 17/09 it's £984. For 24/09 it's £620. For 01/10 (the last week of the season, and the week after I'm going) Sunset isn't available. But Lake the week I'm going is £649 (just £29 more than I'm paying), and last week of the season it's £463. I said 03/09 was sold out at Sunset. But it's not at the Palace, and for a price comparison there 03/09 is £1,300, whilst 10/09 is down to £1,009. In comparison, the last two weeks at the Palace in August are 20/08 £1,564, and 27/08 £1,290.
That last price shows a slight increase between the last week in August and the first in September, though only slight.
So I suppose what I'm saying is, don't just think of 'September'. Prices fall, and quite steeply during the last 5 weeks of the season. And you can get some GREAT deals for the last half of September.
One more thing - you may notice that once again the Palace is actually cheaper than Sunset towards the end of the season, though I think this is skewed because of more favourable rates for single occupancy.
As a fairer comparison, this is price per person based on 2 people in a room:
20/08 Sunset £746 Palace £984
27/08 Sunset £843 Palace £841
03/09 Sunset SOLD OUT Palace £882
10/09 Sunset £840 Palace £719
17/09 Sunset £787 Palace £646
24/09 Sunset £556 Palace £570
01/10 Sunset SOLD OUT Palace £465
When you consider that the Palace is a higher standard hotel, and includes free daily beach towels, free mini bus service into town, and breakfast thrown in, they're extraordinarily good prices.
If you're looking for a cheap deal, £570 each at the Palace 24/09 for 7 nights looks an absolute steal.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on May 16, 2022 11:00:12 GMT
Also:
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Post by dennisn on May 16, 2022 16:08:45 GMT
I don’t know how this compares - for the two of us for TWO weeks 09/09, £1564. Self catering, includes transfers and upgraded to 20kg hold luggage and upgraded to Select your seat. Say £780 each for two weeks. We booked it last September whilst we were actually in Skiathos, so it’s not benefitting (or suffering?) from late booking.
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Post by balddave on May 16, 2022 16:26:00 GMT
Dennis/YM I hones Think anyone who booked 6month plus ago has had a good deal, understandably people are making up for the lost 2 years and are booking, this coupled with ongoing fuel cost increases and other inflation related items I think some increases where inevitable, however I also think an element of profiteering is in play, companies playing catch up financially. My hope is that, the same will happen as occurred in the weeks leading up to the season start when some fabulous bargains could be had 🤞
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Post by yorkshiremouth on May 16, 2022 17:07:20 GMT
I don’t know how this compares - for the two of us for TWO weeks 09/09, £1564. Self catering, includes transfers and upgraded to 20kg hold luggage and upgraded to Select your seat. Say £780 each for two weeks. We booked it last September whilst we were actually in Skiathos, so it’s not benefitting (or suffering?) from late booking. Those dates this year, the Palace a straight £1,000 each, Sunset £1,175, Alkyon sold out. How on earth can they charge more at Sunset than the Palace? Denis, you've got a great deal there, especially as it's somewhere you both know and like (I presume VM?). With the Palace at £1,000 each, yours is the sort of price I'd expect Sunset to be. Closest I can see from Jet2 at Koukounaries is Muses at £884 each.
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Post by yorkshiremouth on May 16, 2022 17:11:44 GMT
Dennis/YM I hones Think anyone who booked 6month plus ago has had a good deal, understandably people are making up for the lost 2 years and are booking, this coupled with ongoing fuel cost increases and other inflation related items I think some increases where inevitable, however I also think an element of profiteering is in play, companies playing catch up financially. My hope is that, the same will happen as occurred in the weeks leading up to the season start when some fabulous bargains could be had 🤞 The elephant in the room is, of course, Covid kicking off again, maybe a tad earlier than expected. On Saturday morning the BBC's resident commentators were referring to the winter as "the Covid season...we used to call it the flu season". Of course, it might turn out to be nowt nor summat, or start after the season's end, or just require vaccination certificates, etc., or be a big, fat zero. I'm not guessing that far in advance, especially as we're in uncharted territory. If people get nervous about booking closer to autumn, there could be bargains aplenty.
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Post by dennisn on May 16, 2022 20:27:26 GMT
Just out of interest, the same holiday we’ve booked for June 2023 is £1615, booked 28/3/22.
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amy115
Full Member
Posts: 340
Visits to Skiathos: 5
Accommodation Stayed At: Thymis House Hotel
Dream House
Elizabeth Studios
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Post by amy115 on May 17, 2022 11:20:31 GMT
I've always preferred May and September for holidays abroad simply due to the weather being more temperate and the fact that I have a pale complexion and susceptible to burning easily. It also helped financially that it was cheaper to holiday in these months and meant that I could go on holiday twice a year instead of only once. However, some years back the industry caught on to the fact that these months were extremely popular and hiked up their prices. I have since seen holidays in the popular months of June, July and August, cheaper than some of those in May and September.
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Post by kevb on May 17, 2022 12:59:12 GMT
I've usually gone on last weekend in August if going for 1 week or the previous weekend if going for 2 weeks, hence this year it's Aug 21st - Sep 4th. I've generally found reasonable prices. We are in basic s/c apartments this year and accommodation, flights and hold luggage combined is coming in at under £900 pp for the 2 weeks. It's still a lot of money for a couple of weeks away but it is what it is. Similar dates last year at Morfo were a bit more iirc but that was a B&B deal. We were a bit later last year and had 2 wasted days of rain at the end. I've seen in other years when I've done a week and came back early Sep that there have been storms mid Sep so there's always that risk. It then actually seems to calm down in October.
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