What are the months to book the best value foreign holidays?

Research by hotel booking platform, hoo, reveals which months of the year are best when booking a holiday or hotel depending on where in the world you’re looking to travel.

As of the end of this month, changes to travel restrictions will see PCR tests scrapped in favour of the far more affordable lateral flow tests for any holidaymakers returning to the UK. With earlier changes this month also simplifying travel destinations to a single red list, this latest move should bring a further boost to the travel and tourism sector as the cost of going abroad is dramatically reduced.

hoo analysed the cost of hotel accommodation across six continents throughout the year to reveal which month makes for the most affordable option depending on where you want to travel.

Globally

On average, the most affordable month to book a hotel is March at £86 per night versus £98 per night in September.

South/Central America

At £49 per night during the month of June, South America presents the most affordable of all continents when it comes to booking a hotel while January is the most expensive month to head there at £57 per night.

However, of the seven countries that remain on the red list, five are located within southern or central America - Columbia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela - so it’s probably best to sit tight before booking up.

Asia

At just £72 per night, the cheapest time to visit Asia is in June while heading to the continent in January will see this cost climb to £85 per night.

Africa

Heading to Africa in either February or March will cost the least when looking to book a hotel (£73 per night), while December is the most expensive time to stay in the continent (£81 per night).

Europe

Heading away to Europe in September will cost you £120 per night to stay in a hotel - the most expensive month in the year. By adjusting the time of your trip to February, this cost falls to just £96 per night - the second biggest saving of all global continents between the most and least expensive month (-£23 per night).

Oceania

The cheapest month to book a hotel in the Oceania continent is October at £102 per night versus £111 in the most expensive month of February.

North America

Finally, those heading away to the States will find the cost of a hotel at its lowest in February at £110 per night currently. £47 cheaper per night versus the most expensive month of September - the biggest drop in the average room rate of all six continents.

hoo Co-founder, Adrian Murdock, commented:

“October looks set to deliver a double-edged boost to the tourism and travel sector, with a simplified Red List already reducing uncertainty and confusion while scrapping the requirement of PCR tests will also dramatically reduce costs for the average holidaymaker.

For those that aren’t keen to jet off as soon as possible, planning ahead can see the cost of your holiday reduce even further depending on when and where you look to book and so it’s well worth doing your research if you have plans of heading abroad in 2022.

While we’ve highlighted the most and least affordable months to book a hotel, in some cases you can still save as much as £20 per night just by adjusting your holiday timeline by a month or so. A saving that can really add up over the course of a one or two week holiday.”