Has winter gotten the best of you? Feeling like, enough is enough? With March break just around the corner, you may think you've left it a little too late to escape the snow, cold and rain. Not so say travel agents, but options are somewhat restricted.
"I'm still getting some calls for last-minute March break trips, but space is getting very limited, and prices are not as low as people think they should be getting for last minute travel. It is still considered a busy season, and they're not reducing their prices as much as they used to," said Sylvie Trahan, branch manager of Maritime Travel in North Bay.
"There's still some resorts available, but the most popular ones are sold out and the flight times are usually later in the day and very, very early returns in the morning. So the flight times are not the most popular ones, but there is still some space available."
Chris Mayne, the owner of Mayne Travel, says weather plays a major factor in people opting to get away.
"Generally overall, this season versus last season because of the cold weather in December and January, it's actually been a busy season. Cold weather always helps people make up their mind to get away for a beach holiday, or a break somewhere," says Mayne.
"March break is still the busiest week of the year. Anything that's offering warm weather and is priced well still tends to be Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. They're still the two most popular places to go to. One thing we have seen in the last few weeks, some of the destinations that have received negative news over the winter, like Mexico and Jamaica, surprisingly seem to be price competitive all of a sudden with the Dominican Republic."
Here's an idea of what you can expect to spend.
"Anything from $1,500 to $1,800 per person, and the children range usually from $700 to $800 depending on the age of the child and the resort. If you're looking to leave at the last minute, within 48 hours of your booking, it can be done, but there's not always a lot of availability, or getting the hotel you were hoping for," says Trahan.
At this point, luxury five-star resorts are harder to come by.
"On average there are about three, to three and a half star resorts still available. There are a few four stars, but they haven't come down in price, and neither have the five-star resorts. And as for last minute travel, it's not always the most economical option anymore, because a lot of people took advantage of the early booking promotions that were available in the fall of last year, for travel this winter," says Trahan.
''I'd say the majority of people travelling are couples or small groups of friends," points out Mayne.
"For family vacations, Florida is still as popular as it ever was. For anyone with young children say aged four to eight, Disney World is still hard to beat, and for many people it's the mecca for parents to go to, although it does seem to get more expensive every year, prices never seem to go down, but it does have that appeal for most everyone."
Mayne goes on to say the Canadian dollar doesn't appear to be a deterrent this year.
"The Canadian dollar is reasonably strong compared to past years. The exchange rate on the Canadian dollar doesn't seem to be front of line for a lot of people choosing to travel. They're always looking for good value, but the Canadian dollar doesn't seem to be holding people back."
Trahan has this advice for next year.
"If you can get away outside the busy season of March break, then definitely it is still affordable to travel in the winter if you plan in advance. Take advantage of those early booking bonuses in the fall."
