Summer plans in September...

Autumn is one of my favourite times of year and there's something about it that lends it to making plans. Maybe it's the farmer planting next year's crop or people harvesting berries in preparation for a glass of sloe gin at Christmas. Whatever the reason, I find my Pinterest activity goes up at this time of year too as I build boards full of autumn fashion or I start to dream of next summer's holiday.

This year I was asked to try out a new tool for holiday planning, Amadeus.net allows you to build a holiday plan by pulling flight information from all over the internet. I wanted to plan a trip to Cyprus in April and Amadeus.net allowed me to see how flight prices vary across the month as well as the average temperature in my destination. I was able to instantly see that the weather in May would be much better and the price for flights moderately cheaper too.

Last year we managed to accidentally book two trips during school half-terms and I suspect paid more as a result. This kind of tool allows parents of pre-schoolers to take advantage of those cheaper windows for flights and as Theo will be starting school next September, we should be canny while we still can.

Another area where amadeus.net is particularly useful is if you are planning a group getaway. Maybe it's a hen weekend, a business meeting or several families booking a summer holiday together (I have fantasies of hiring a huge villa in France!) Using amadeus.net, one person can create your trip plan and then make it public for everyone else to see either on the site or via facebook.

There are plans to develop the site further and I think it would be great to be able to see how flight and accommodation prices vary alongside each other, perhaps with the potential to book tickets for events too. Why don't you try it out for yourself and start planning your next trip too, you might be pleasantly surprised by some of the flight prices.