Vrbo has revealed seven key dates for your diary as the best dates to book your holidays in 2024.

If you're dreaming of lounging about a villa, cottage or beach house this year but need to travel in the peak holidays, listen up!

Whether it's an Easter break escape or you're keen on some summer sunshine, new data analysis from a team of holiday home experts has shown that January and February are the busiest months for booking whole, private, holiday homes.

In other words, the in-demand locations are already being snapped up.

Vrbo has analysed past booking data to identify surges in demand for each of the busiest travel times of the year including for the May Bank Holiday and Autumn Half Term break.

The travel experts have used this data to also report exactly when the availability for their holiday homes starts to dwindle.

Vrbo advises travellers to plan their trip ahead of that surge so that they will have access to the widest selection of rentals and get the best value for their money. 

For instance, when it comes to the Easter break, holidaymakers have been urged to book their getaway for no later than February 13.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the summer holidays, you should make sure you're all booked by June 8. 

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Best dates to book your 2024 holidays, according to Vrbo

Here are the seven key dates for your diary for your 2024 holidays to ensure you're not disappointed. 

  1. Easter holiday: Book no later than February 13 
  2. Early May Bank Holiday: Book no later than March 29
  3. End of May bank holiday: Book no later than April 8
  4. Summer holidays: Book no later than June 8
  5. Autumn half-term holidays: Book no later than August  26
  6. Christmas holidays: Book no later than November  11
  7. February 2025 half-term holidays: Book no later than January 3 2025  

“We’ve all experienced the disappointment of finding the perfect home for your trip with family or friends – complete with huge pool, high spec kitchen/dining space and the right number of bedrooms – only to find it fully booked for the dates you need to travel," a spokesperson for Vrbo said.

The holiday home experts added: "To avoid this, we recommend travellers add Vrbo’s book-by dates to 2024 diaries to make sure they get the best holiday home for their trips this year."