Black Week
Black Friday travel: what is worth booking in Black Week
Your inbox is a wall of red percentages. A few of them are for the trip you were going to take at half term anyway. Others are for a hotel room that cost exactly the same in October.
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In short: Black Friday travel
Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November, and Black Week runs from 23 to 30 November. In UK studies, travel has been one of the few categories where the price was often lower than later. Pick dates you are sure of, compare the total with a price you noted before the sales, and book with free cancellation.
Our first choice for a winter break: Fyri Resort in Hemsedal, Norway. Check availability and prices at Fyri Resort
Most Black Friday sales are for things you did not know you needed. A holiday is different. Half term is fixed in the calendar, as is Easter, and the hotel has to be booked at some point. The only question is whether you pay less now than you would in January.
Often you do. In its research for Black Friday 2022 and 2023, Which?, the UK consumer group, found that most of the holiday deals it checked were cheaper on the day itself. We have found no published figures of the same kind for individual hotels, so we are measuring them ourselves.
Picolo Price Watch: 20 hotels under the microscope
From 2 November to 7 December we are checking the price of 20 hotels from our guides, from the Norwegian mountains to the Maldives. Each one gets the same two stays: two nights in late February and two nights over Easter 2027. We log the total before and during Black Week, then see whether the percentages on screen match what we measure.
Our first check is on 2 November. Findings from the week before Black Week will be published on 20 November, and during Black Week we update every day.
The method, the hotels and every figure are in Picolo Price Watch.
When is Black Friday the right time to book a holiday?
When your dates are fixed and popular. Which? checked 140 flights and holidays on Black Friday 2023 and again in mid-December and early January. Some 73 per cent of the holiday deals were cheaper on Black Friday than afterwards, down from 88 per cent the year before (Which?).
That argues for booking fixed-date holidays early, such as February half term, Easter and the summer. If you can travel in an ordinary week instead, there is less hurry, and an everyday price can be as good as a sale price.
One caveat: those figures are for UK airlines and tour operators. That is exactly why we are measuring hotels ourselves.
Hotels where the dates go early
We have picked hotels where the dates are in demand and the best rooms go early. All of them feature in our guides and score highly with guests on Hotels.com. Check the price against the one you noted before you book.
A February ski week in Norway
Late February is peak season in the Norwegian mountains, when Norwegian schools take their winter break. Most English schools have half term a week earlier, from 15 to 19 February 2027.
Fyri Resort sits at Totteskogen in Hemsedal, with ski-in, ski-out access to the slopes. After the last run there are heated pools at the Pool Club, and the Liv restaurant looks out over the mountains. Right for skiers who want to walk from the ski room to the pool without touching the car.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Fyri Resort
If you are torn between snow and sunshine, we weigh them up in February half term: sun or snow.
Easter under the Dolomites
Rosapetra stands among the trees just outside the centre of Cortina. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
Easter: Good Friday is 26 March 2027
Easter Sunday is 28 March 2027. Easter week is high season in the Alps, so the best rooms go early.
Rosapetra Spa Resort is a few minutes from the centre of Cortina d'Ampezzo, with 34 rooms finished in wood and stone. Most have a terrace or balcony facing the Dolomites, and the hotel runs guests to the Faloria cable car. In the evening the spa has a pool and a Turkish bath.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Rosapetra Spa Resort
For Easter skiing, mountain breaks and spring sun, see our Easter 2027 guide.
A city break in spring
Hotel Locarno has stood a block from Piazza del Popolo in Rome since 1925. Its roof terrace looks out over the rooftops of the Tridente, the streets that fan out from the piazza. Guests borrow bicycles for free, with Villa Borghese as the nearest park. A good choice for a long weekend in April or May.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Hotel Locarno
More hotels at every price are in our guide to the best hotels in Rome.
Winter, far away
The villas at Jawakara have their own pool facing the beach. Photo: Hotels.com (Expedia Group)
Winter sun further afield
Jawakara Islands is in Lhaviyani Atoll in the Maldives, and we have stayed there ourselves. We had a bungalow with its own pool and dived with turtles and dolphins. A speedboat takes about an hour and a half to the 5.8 Undersea Restaurant at Hurawalhi. Our full review is in our Jawakara Islands review.
Book your stay: Check availability and prices at Jawakara Islands
More islands and resorts are in our Maldives guide.
How to tell whether the price really is lower
Note the price now: Write down the total for your dates before the sales start, so you have something to compare against.
Look at the whole stay: Compare the total including taxes, not the nightly rate. Since April 2025, UK sites must include mandatory fees such as resort fees in the price they show first (Which?).
Choose free cancellation: If the price drops later, you can cancel and rebook.
Compare like with like: Same room type, same board, same cancellation terms. A discount on the smallest room tells you little.
Every step, and where to complain, is in how to check travel prices on Black Friday.
Our first choice for a winter break
Fyri Resort
Fyri Resort is at Totteskogen in Hemsedal, with the slopes right outside the door. In the afternoon people drift from the lifts to the heated pools, and in the evening they eat at Liv with the mountains in the window. Hemsedal is just over three hours by car from Oslo Airport, so you can fly in the morning and be skiing the same afternoon. If you book in Black Week, pick a room with free cancellation.
Black Friday travel: frequently asked questions
When is Black Friday 2026?
Black Friday 2026 is on Friday 27 November, the day after Thanksgiving in the United States. Many hotels and travel companies run their sales for the whole of Black Week, from Monday 23 November to Cyber Monday on 30 November. To know whether a discount is real, note the price of your trip before the sales begin.
What travel is worth booking on Black Friday?
Trips with fixed, popular dates are most worth booking on Black Friday: February half term, Easter and the summer holidays, because the best rooms go first. If your dates are flexible, there is less hurry. Either way, compare the sale price with a price you noted yourself before Black Week.
Are flights cheaper on Black Friday?
Often, but not always. Which? found that 70 per cent of the Ryanair fares it checked on Black Friday 2023 were cheapest that day. For British Airways, Black Friday was the best time to book every route it tracked. With easyJet and Jet2, roughly half were cheapest on Black Friday and half in January. Check the price yourself before booking.
Should I book a ski holiday on Black Friday?
Yes, if your dates are fixed. Half term and Easter are among the busiest weeks in most ski resorts, and the best rooms go first. Booking early with flexible terms leaves you room to change your mind. If you are weighing snow against sun, our half-term guide compares both.
Is Cyber Monday better than Black Friday for travel?
Not necessarily. Cyber Monday is the Monday after Black Friday, 30 November 2026, but most travel sales run for the whole of Black Week. What matters is comparing the total with a price you noted before the sales. If you have not decided by Friday, it is worth checking the price again on Monday.