you really need to ring around the travel agents and tour operators. I got a great offer on croatia for this week (phoned monday) from croatia tours, about half price. Last year I booked scheduled flights to germany about 4 weeks in advance and arranged accommodation on the net. If you leave it much later for scheduled flights they get expensive. Best holiday I've had recently was barcelona, booked scheduled flights then looked for an apartment for 2 weeks, wasn't a problem. Barcelona has everything, beach, city , food, amusement parks if your into it, fantastic architecture and museums and cheap.