It might still be August, but local travel advisor Denise Taylor says now is the time to get a head start on your winter vacation plans.

"A lot of people are starting to look at their winter vacation...so if you're looking at a winter getaway, this is the best time to start planning," said Taylor, who works as a travel advisor for TravelOnly in Bienfait. "The closer we are to winter of course the availabilities are going to be less and less to choose from, and as soon as we hit cold weather, everybody wants to escape Saskatchewan."

"This is a good time to get a head start on it. If you want a particular resort, then this is the time to book it."

Taylor says she's noticed some other trends in dealing with customers recently.

"I've had people looking into cruises for next year. Europe vacations are another big trend...lots of people are looking at doing a Europe trip," she said. "It's never too early to start planning. The best time to plan a Europe trip is minimum of at least five months or more."

Taylor added that some people are still booking late summer travel trips, including Alaskan cruises, and trips to the east coast in Canada.

"The Maritimes is actually, unless you have kids in school, usually August, September is a busy month for the Maritimes also," said Taylor, who added that the fall season usually remains busy with people still going on trips.

Finally, Taylor touched on the fact that prices for flights and hotels remain steep.

"The cost of the flights and hotels are still quite high," she said. "Winter vacations right now we've had some really good deals, so your last minute vacations are really not going to be there unless you're not particular on where you want to go or where you want to stay, but if you've got a particular place or destination in mind and a particular hotel, then your best bet is to plan ahead."

She said prices are unlikely to come down this year.

"Not really...if they do it might be for a few days, but that's about it," Taylor said.