Traveling down south after christmas, looking for advice!

[Nevalite]

Hello everyone,

Some friends and I are looking to take a trip down south after christmas, departing on December 26 or 27th staying for 6 or 7 days. We are somewhat indifferent to the location of travel, as long as it's nice and warm! We are students on a budget, trying to keep the entire trip under 1500$ so we were thinking Cancun because it often has good prices. I understand that these are prime dates so finding a deal may be challenging but I am looking for some tips from people that have been down south before or know where I can get the best deals? Where should we go for the best price? Where should I book? Also forgot to mention we are looking for an all inclusive.

I have been browsing a lot of these third party travel sites and I find them all very sketchy, I don't like the idea of giving 1500$ to some random website to handle my trip...Many of the sites offer very little details about the package. Is there any way to book an all inclusive deal directly with the resorts? If not how is the best way to go about booking a flight+resort?

Any tips or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[jacksorbetta]

First piece of advice is to avoid the Oasis chain of hotels. It's known as a party place sure, but downright awful. On a budget you could try the Riu Cancun. Your dates will not be cheap though. If you can wait until last minute to book, you could save a few $. Pick your place and research. Buying AI packages through suppliers is the norm, most people don't book it (did you mean with airfare?) thru the hotel directly. I like Itravel2000, Redtagvacations, and Air Transat. WJ offers packages also.

[dawgbone]

Yes you can book right at most resorts, but chances are you'll pay more.

Tour operators like ACV, Sunwing, Transat, etc... have contracted rates with hotels, which often give them much cheaper rates.

And realistically, most travel agencies in Canada are the same (especially the big online ones). They all have the same packages at the same prices at least online. You could get a bit of a better deal by calling in, especially if you know exactly what you want.

In terms of waiting, you could, but you might limit your options. Right now there are a bunch of properties available for in and around $1500/person. Depending on how things sell you might be able to get a better deal or you might end up paying more for a worse hotel.

The other benefit to booking now is certain tour operators (Sunwing, Sunquest, Transat & Noli tours) have a price drop protection available at most travel agencies. Meaning if your package does drop in price, you can get some of the difference back.

[Nevalite]

Thanks for the advice.

[Kris81]

if $1500 is your budget, then Cuba is more likely to what you'll be getting. Try and leave on the 26th or 27th since it's cheaper during the week. Also, try and find more people to go, as a group consists of 10 people, and you should get a discount price after that if you book with the supplier.