When is it best to book for Budapest?

Have a question? Ask our expert Simon Calder

Gellert Hill, Castle Hill and St Stephen’s Basilica in the Hungarian capital (iStock)

Q My husband and I are due to attend a family wedding in Budapest next October. When is the best time to consider booking in order to obtain the most favourable price for flight and hotel? Just browsing today, and prices appear to increase minute by minute.

Margaret B

A How lovely to be attending a happy event in the beautiful and fascinating Hungarian capital. I can sympathise with the natural reaction to want to book as soon as possible, partly to avoid any more price rises, and partly to ensure you get to the church in Budapest on time.

But in your position I would not start looking until around two months before the wedding. The first reason is that October is off peak and it will be a buyer’s market. It may be that the wedding is timed for the October half-term, in the third or fourth week of the month. But even though late October can be a lovely time to be in Budapest, it is not a mainstream half-term holiday destination. So there is no need to fear the fare hikes that afflict flights to destinations such as the Canaries during the week off. In fact, typically fares will come down over the coming eight or nine months, with airlines often nudging prospective customers with seat sales for autumn in the second half of August.

The next reason: committing well ahead is risky, given the myriad of things that can happen between booking and departure. For example, a work-related issue may intervene which requires you to adjust your intended travel dates. More cheerfully, as the date approaches you might decide to expand the trip, for example by devising a middle-European itinerary embracing Bratislava, Vienna and even Prague; being locked in to specific dates and airports would make that tricky.

Finally: neither you nor I know for certain what flights will be operating to Budapest next October. At off-peak times, airlines will often cancel lightly booked departures and move you to alternative flights, which may not be agreeable. In October I have experienced British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair all cancelling flights (with more than two weeks’ warning, to avoid compensation payouts).

Conversely, an airline may come in to the market with a new link to the city and timings that are convenient to you. New entrants typically kickstart a route by offering fares below those of competitors, so you may even pick up a bargain.

Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder