There was a time when the only way to get a great deal on your summer holiday was to wait until the very last-minute, when you could secure a bargain at your local travel agents a few days before departure, or even at the airport on the very day of your planned trip overseas… but things have most definitely changed!

Airlines no longer offer cut-price seats for last-minute bookings, and hotels do not slash their rack rates to fill rooms, in fact, it’s quite the opposite today. The longer you leave it, the more expensive your trip is likely to become, and so many savvy travellers book their holidays several months or even a year in advance, so that they can take advantage of early booking discounts and avoid last-minute penalties.

But when is early, and when is the best time to book your 2017 holiday?

Well, according to a new report by TripAdvisor, you can save up to 35 percent if you book your holiday at exactly the right time, but not all destinations are the same. If you would like to visit Sydney in Australia, for example, you should look at booking your trip within 3 months of your planned departure date, but if your dream destination is Buenos Aires in Argentina, you can book up to 6 months in advance, and still save money.

TripAdvisor calculated its ‘Best time to Book’ list using hotel pricing data, and this is what they come up with:

• Paris – 2 months in advance
• Moscow, Mumbai & Sydney – 3 months in advance
• Cape Town & Cancun – 4 months in advance
• Hong Kong & Istanbul – 5 months in advance
• Bangkok, Buenos Aires, Dubai & Jakarta – 6 months in advance
• Kuta – 7 months in advance

Other holiday destinations, it seems, are slightly more flexible when it comes to early booking:

• Hanoi & Prague – 3 to 7 months in advance
• Barcelona – 3 to 9 months in advance
• Berlin, Lisbon, Dublin and Rome – 4 to 8 months in advance
• Rio de Janeiro & Singapore – 6 to 7 months in advance

While there is no guarantee that you will get a better price on your annual holiday if you book in advance, you will certainly have more chance of getting the hotel and flights that you want by reserving early. So why not do yourself a favour and book your 2017 holiday today… If you are planning on a city break in Cape Town this August, you might just bag yourself a bargain!