January can be a tough time of year. For most, there’s the dreaded return to work after glorious time off around Christmas and New Year, not to mention the battle against the snooze button on cold, dark, wintry mornings.

What’s more, we’re now less than a fortnight away from ‘Blue Monday’ – that depressing day in January when the combination of post-Christmas blues and cold dark nights makes us feel especially gloomy. This year, Blue Monday is expected to fall on the 15 January.

However, there is one way to beat those January blues – and that’s to book a holiday, preferably sooner rather than later.

And if getting away from it all is exactly what you feel like doing right now, we have good news for you: according to the experts at flight search engine Skyscanner, this January is the best time to book low price flights for the first half of 2018.

The biggest discounts can be found in the first two weeks of the year, with the cost of an international plane ticket typically costing 36% less than average. However, you’ll have to be speedy if you want to find the cheapest deals – from here on in, prices are on the up, and it’s estimated that the cost of this year’s international plane fares will peak at 56% above average by March.

If you’re willing to be spontaneous, the best last-minute deals are to be found in January, too.

Speaking to Travel + Leisure, Airfarewatchdog.com founder George Hobica advises that the best deals can be found during ‘the post-holiday slump’ – specifically, the period between 4 January and 15 February.

So, if you’ve been feeling the urge to book that getaway, we hereby deliver the excuse you’ve been looking for – and a brighter January to boot.

See you at the airport.

Images: Margo Brodowicz, Slava Bowman