How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

DH is taking me on an all inclusive trip (probably to the Dominican Republic) for my 30th bday. we were SUPPOSED to go sometime after my dissertation defense in Feb. But since my advisor is an @SS and I have to delay it, I don't know when I'm defending yet and I don't want to book before my defense in case he tries to pull this sh!t again.

So if I were to book after I turn in my revisions, what is the earliest that I could get a trip, without breaking the bank? 6 weeks? Or is it cheaper if you book last minute?

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

We WERE going to go to the DR but considering what just happened in Haiti, we decided to go to Aruba.

However, we were also going w/my DD's so we got a price for airfare, hotel (Dreams Punta Cana in a Jr Suite), direct flight from JFK, for $5,000. We were going 3/19 - 3/26.

Since we canceled and rescheduled our trip, we're getting HAMMERED on cancellation fees and airline penalties so if you are going somewhere MAKE sure you're not going to cancel. HTH

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

Oh geez, that's true. Well, we'll probably do Mexico. I'm not booking until I KNOW we can go. But how far in advance do you think we would have to do it?

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

Depends on where you are going. Sometimes you can get last minute deals but I wasn't finding any since it's prime travel season airlines are pretty pricy.

I know lots of people who say Maya Riviera is good. You can probably get a good deal there.

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

Any TA could help you plan one. I planned one in less than 6 weeks and we went to the DR and had a wonderful time this past June.

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

I wouldn't let what happened in Haiti talk you out of DR... it's like saying you won't go to Arizona because of an earthquake in california.

Anyway, you can totally book last minute, the resorts actually CAN get cheaper, it's the airfare that goes up most of the time. However, you can get some really good last minute package deals.

I like Punta Cana 100x more than Riviera Maya, for what it's worth, and it's ALOT cheaper

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

Posted by melbalalala

I wouldn't let what happened in Haiti talk you out of DR... it's like saying you won't go to Arizona because of an earthquake in california.

Anyway, you can totally book last minute, the resorts actually CAN get cheaper, it's the airfare that goes up most of the time. However, you can get some really good last minute package deals.

I like Punta Cana 100x more than Riviera Maya, for what it's worth, and it's ALOT cheaper

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

check out cheap carbbiean.com

you can book a week in advance - if not shorter and get a great deal

they always have last minute deals too

we booked dream la romana DR thru them and it was awesome

ETA- our 5 day trip was $1500 with air
to DR

and 10 days to rivera maya was $2300 with air

I liked them both - but rivera maya was a better deal- we got a room upgrade and spa credit

I wrote a review of the resort- it was amazing

Message edited 1/18/2010 5:56:19 PM.

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

We booked an all-inclusive trip to a Riu in Riviera Maya for 6 days (during peak vacation time in Feb) 2 weeks ago (so about 6-8 weeks out) and are paying $1090/person.

Waiting until last minute isn't a bad idea as far as the hotel goes...but the flights get more and more sparce. We have to do a connecting flight.

Re: How far in advance do you need to book an all inclusive trip

That's why I get "cancel for any reason" insurance through my TA. I could literally cancel up to one hour before departure because my DH forgot his underwear and I'd get my money back (less the $100pp for the insurance). But like others said, you can prob get a good deal on the room, but the airfare can skyrocket. Def check out last minute packages on the web if you don't want to go the TA route.