New Brittany Ferries data reveals a booking divide: Londoners book as little as 75 days ahead, more than seven weeks later than holidaymakers in Cheshire.

Londoners are Britain’s most spontaneous holidaymakers, according to figures just published by Brittany Ferries. Up to 44 per cent of people in the capital book less than a month before departure, against 31 per cent nationally.

Every London area is in the top ten for both last-minute bookings and shortest booking lead time. In central and west London, people book an average of just 75 days (around 11 weeks) before travel, against a national average of 108 days, more than 15 weeks. At the other end of the scale, Cheshire residents book an average of 127 days ahead, more than 18 weeks.

Nine in ten passengers who sail with Brittany Ferries are British and more than two million travel each year, creating a rich data set. It underlines a shift towards shorter booking windows seen across the travel sector.

ABTA, for example, expects a strong late-booking pattern. Its June 2026 research found that 30 per cent of people planning an overseas holiday this summer intend to book two to four weeks before departure, with a further 10 per cent booking less than a fortnight ahead.

Meanwhile, the post-Christmas surge – once the busiest period of the year for holiday reservations – has become far less pronounced. The ‘hockey stick’ has flattened, with bookings spread much more evenly through the year.

Paul Acheson, Director Sales and Marketing at Brittany Ferries, says:

“Covid seems to have changed the game forever. We were expecting a return to pre-pandemic booking patterns, but that hasn’t happened for the past three years.

“Borders were opened and closed during the crisis, sometimes at the last minute, so perhaps it’s not surprising. Like all companies in the sector we have had to move with the times, and adapt our approach to marketing and customer communications.”