The travel agent would tell you that booking early gives optimum choice of hotels,flights etc.If the price had gone up would you want to pay the higher price,I doubt it.It has happened to us before when we booked from the first edition of the brochure,no free child places,second edition came out a few weeks later and had free places,making a difference of nearly £300.We tried and tried to get them to give us a free place ,especially as they advertise booking early gives the best deal,our friends had booked the same holiday through an independent home agent and he somehow managed to get them a free place so we were able to quote their booking and told them we would take things further if we were not given a free place too.Eventually after much correspondence and phone calls they caved in and gave us one.Tour operators will argue that they sometimes discount holidays because they are not selling well.Sorry but I doubt you will get any reduction.T.

I booked my holiday through a Travel Agent only because I was transferring the deposit from a holiday I was having to cancel. The online price is know getting to the point where it will be cheaper for me to cancel, lose the deposit and two lots of amendment fees, and rebook on the internet. Thats getting up for £500 altogether.

thanks for info, i contacted thomsons and they are getting back to me i let you know the out come.
but they can increase your holiday price too. see below

We reserve the right to add a fuel supplement to holiday prices should this increase after the date of this publication. Prices can go up or down. We will be able to tell you or your travel agent the up-to-date price of your chosen travel arrangements and of any other services advertised by us before confirming your booking. We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after you have booked but no later than 30 days before the departure date stipulated and will forward an Amendment Invoice reflecting any changes made. After a Confirmation Invoice has been sent to you, any increase to your holiday price will be as the result of changes in our costs of supplying your holiday resulting from transportation charges, (fuel, airport charges, scheduled air fares and other transport charges which form part of our contract with the transport provider), currency fluctuations and government action. An administration charge and any relevant travel agent's commission is included within these amounts.

If the increase would be 2% or less of the holiday price shown on your Confirmation Invoice (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will absorb the changes in our costs described above and will only pass on any increase above that level. If any change in our costs would cause a reduction in your holiday price, we will not make refunds of amounts less than 2% of your holiday price (calculated as above), but we will refund in full amounts exceeding such 2%, after deducting an administration charge of £1.

If the increase is more than 10% of the holiday price (calculated as above), then: -
1. You may cancel your holiday booking within 14 days of the Amendment Invoice date and receive a refund of all monies paid to us except any amendment charges; we will only consider an appropriate refund of insurance premium paid if you can show us that you are unable to transfer or re-use your policy; and
2. the increase will be considered a Major Change as described in section 4 below and, unless you choose to cancel under paragraph 1 above, you will be entitled to the alternatives set out in section 4 for those circumstances, but in either case you will receive compensation in accordance with section 4.

Good luck,I very much doubt that they will give you any money back though.They were adamant that we could not have a free place until our friends agent gave them one,we had to prove that they had been given the reduction and we were sent two letters in a short space of time,one informing us that we couldn't have a free child place then a couple of days later we received a new invoice,stating a different amount left to pay,they had taken off the price of our son's holiday but there was no explanation or apology.It does seem wrong that booking early did not guarantee the best price,especially when they had notices on their window advertising that booking early saves money.T.

Advice often given here on HT is is that once you have booked it then stop looking. Like many others I have booked only to see the price drop. By the same token I have also booked many holidays that have risen in price. Best deal at present is out holiday in October to Cyprus. Thos Cook have excelled following a telephone call after they quoted me a price and it dropped before I booked. They reduced it even further and it is £250 less than in 2008. I do know that the deal I have got will not be beaten - or will it?

The thing to consider is were you happy with the price when you booked it? Of course you were so why worry. If it had gone up you would not be asking should I offer to pay the increased price. In all the years when we took the kids away we never ever got a free child place but it did not put us off booking.

As a point of interest we go to Turkey on 8th may. Current price is £1226 - we have paid £1003

Enjoy you holiday.

fwh

Only this morning I couldn't resist checking out the price of my holiday, I just couldn't stop myself and it's £300 less. Still I was happy with the price I paid at the time but am cross with myself for not being strong willed enough not to look. At least I'm lucky enough to be able to get away.

But next week it might be £300 more - prices go up and down.

fwh

hi...last october I did 2 AI bookings for july... one for 4 adults for 2 weeks ...and a seperate one for 2 more adults who needed fly from different airport and could only go for one week ....the one for 4 last time I looked is now over £600 more expensive....and the one for 2 adults is nearly £300 more expensive now.....so nearly £900 saved on this years family holiday....so cant complain.....prices never went down after I booked but the amount of savings have fluctuated...the biggest gap was £1020....tweetie