Package holidays-is that still a thing?

[umpkj]

I remember going on three package holidays in the 80's. I think it was easier for my parents to get holiday in that way. But after that I haven't been in a single one. With internet it's easy to book flights and hotels so no need for that. Anyway I have seen companies like tui and jet2 selling packages but is anyone actually buying them?

Where do you go if you don’t want a standard resort hotel package?

We’re staying in agriturismo in Italy this year - could I be doing that as a package deal?

It seems I am actually behind the current trend. For me only old people and families with young children book package holidays. We were planning to go to Rome March 2020 but covid hit and we didn't. We booked independently and had no trouble to get everything cancelled. I just had a look at jet2 prices for package and almost got a heart attack. We want always the hotel have a swimming pool, not too common in city hotels, so we do our research and book accordingly.

Next in our list after Rome is Athens and there again we will book independently.

Where do you go if you don’t want a standard resort hotel package?

Kuoni do some incredible options around the world. Emirates if you are looking at the ME and far east. It depends what you are looking for. I like the idea that if a hotel falls short (as our Italian eco agri hotel did last year strangely enough, the place was literally covered in flies and wasps and was below the standard we expected) then you have some come back - and the option to move. We could not secure our exit from our commitment in Italy last year and had to stick it out, leaving a day early to fly home as it was just not fun in the least.

Package holidays are so much easier for planning with the kids imo (for our family anyway). They’re usually in touristy places with lots to do, don’t have to worry about sorting transfers etc, usually a rep on site who you can book excursions through. For us it’s definitely easier. Exception being if we plan to go to Australia to see my family - we’d stay with them, they’d pick us up and drop us off at the airport and can help with sorting days out so only need to plan flights.

@umpkj Funnily enough we're going to Rome this year, booked as a package with BA Holidays and a 4* Hotel near the Trevi Fountain. It was cheaper than I'd found similar standard hotels to book direct.

We haven't booked the transfers (they're not necessary for it to qualify as a package) as the supplement price wasn't worth it given the ease of getting into the city from the airport ourselves.

@LostOrFound any independent agent will be able to create a package for you. A package isn't just 'off the shelf', it can be made up of the elements you choose. What makes it a package is being booked at the same time with an ATOL holder. Agents who don't hold their own ATOL are more often than not part of a consortium which provides the ATOL, so you still get the same protection - or they arrange via an ATOL holding operator.

I haven't been an agent for some years now but just as ab example of what a package can be- I once packaged up a USA multi centre following destinations named in Eagles songs, partly travelling by hire car, part train - with an additional flight to Canada afterwards and a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer. It was a bucket list birthday trip for my customer and still a package.
That said, there's nothing wrong with a TUI or Jet2 package- the prices can be unbeatable especially if they have zn exclusive contract with the hotel.

@DFOD I agree with a PP, its booming right now so don't expect any bargains in August. There are some good late deals at the moment so I'd keep an eye open for May if that's an option. Agents are telling me that the family market has got very busy in the last month. Generally for a summer school holiday the best advice can give is be flexible on Airport and date, midweek flights generally cheaper, travel as late on Augas possible as the first two weeks are always super expensive and book in advance when you like the price - don't hold out for free child places as the adult prices are bumped to account for it.

It's very MN to sneer at package holidays but they are simply a one stop way of booking flight and accommodation with a bit of help should you need it.
Over the years I've done both. Years ago in the 70s and 80s it was all packages for me.
When DC were small I mostly booked packages.
My criteria for a holiday include flying from a regional airport at a civilised time. 99% of the time it works out cheaper to do a package.

In recent years I've booked separately for particular accommodation.
I have always booked my own private airport transfers / hire car etc.
This year I booked a package mainly because I haven't travelled abroad for 3 years due to cancer and covid and wanted the security of a package company.

We never book packages anymore as we don't want to just stay in one place, we often stay in 3 or 4 different places and travel around. Packages also tend to be in huge hotels or resorts, or in luxury boutique hotels - sometimes in quite isolated areas - when we would rather stay in a cheap airbnb apartment in town. Also if you go AI you are eating at the same place (or places) every night and the food can be awful or just very bland - but it feels a waste to go and eat somewhere else when you've already paid for the food. I love trying out different restaurants when I'm away.

I agree! We’ve just booked our first family holiday since 2019, and have gone for a package holiday to a child-friendly resort in Portugal. I’m so looking forward to someone else being responsible for transfers from the airport and knowing there’s a rep on site who can organise excursions and handle any issues.

I even went old-school and went into a travel agent in person to book it 😀 as I couldn’t find quite what we wanted online.

Also none of your money is going to the local people - just all to the big travel company.

I’ve often found especially for your average beach holiday that when you book separately by the time you factor in things like airport transfers etc it’s the same price as a package holiday and less fuss to book a package.

Is this one of those faux threads where the OP is really trying to prove somehow that she's above those sorts of things?

In answer, of course they do. We have two booked for this year - we are off to Paris on a citybreak with Easyjet in a few weeks, yes we could have booked the flights and accommodation separately but booking as a package was the same price and you have the added protection of it being a package with one company to deal with for refunds, not the hassle of dealing with accommodation, flights, car hire, transfers etc all separately.

We are also going away on a package deal in summer to a villa for exactly the same reasons. We had a non-package booked to America for summer 2020 which obviously never happened and getting the refunds took so much effort and emailing and HASSLE.

If you book a hotel as part of a package, or independently, the hotel, and by definition their local staff and local suppliers, still receives your money. If you book an Airbnb just one property owner benefits (often while others locally suffer from a damaged property market).

I understand what you mean about AI but this only makes up a relatively small proportion of packages. There's also no reason why a multi-centre can't be packaged.

Of course they are. But you know that.

But that's nonsense too. If you book bed and breakfast, or room only, as we have on our city break and did last time we were overseas too, you are shopping in local supermarkets, using local restaurants, buying ice cream from local retailers, using local companies for day tours, or canoe hire, or whatever floats your boat on holiday.

This idea that a package holiday can ONLY mean a week all inclusive, never leaving the grounds of the hotel is SO blinkered and short sighted.

It could be that our interest is not beach holidays where there are large supply of packages. I can't really see us booking a package holiday anytime soon. As mentioned before our destinations of interest are Rome, Athens, Taipei and Orlando. In Orlando we know what exact hotel we want so it's going to be independently organised. I don't know if there really is package holidays to Taiwan.

I'll never book separate flights and hotels again unless I can afford to lose the money. It was a nightmare in Lockdown trying to sort it out. Meanwhile the Tui holiday was moved back on a few occasions on line really easily. We're finally going (hopefully!) this August, a holiday originally booked in spring 2019.

Just out of curiosity why don't you think you can only get package holidays to beach destinations? As explained a few times on this thread a package can be anything you want. There are specialist operators that would do multi centre holidays to all the destinations you mention that would be a package.

Why do you think that should say.

I feel like you're being deliberately obtuse now OP. Packages are available to all the destinations you've mentioned because they're available to almost all corners of the earth. A package literally equals A Flight + At Least One Other Element.

Here's what ABTA has to say about it;

Any type of holiday – such as a city break, a beach holiday, a ski trip or even backpacking around the world – can be a package holiday. While packages can be ‘ready-made’ by the travel company they can also be ‘tailor-made’ to suit each customer’s preferences and budget. The definition of a ‘package holiday’ is simply that a travel company has put at least two parts of your trip together for you, such as your flights, accommodation, car hire or tickets to a local attraction.

@ImInStealthMode I think we're whistling in the wind here!

You're just trying to tell us all how you're so more worldly and sophisticated than people who book 'package holidays' aren't you?

I'm sure you can get packages where you visit places like Taiwan or tour around. There's loads advertised in the weekend papers. All package holidays.

And it's not necessarily more expensive, we've had Jet2 packages where the package cost less than the exact same flight and accommodation alone cost more to book independently, before you even added on hold luggage or transfers.

We usually DIY including Europe, all over USA and Asia. We do also do packages, always ski with Crystal as it works out cheaper and we don’t fancy hiring a car and driving up the mountain road thick with snow in January. We also did a package to Cuba as it was just too hard to do a DIY. As it happened we got stuck for an extra five days in a hurricane and everything was covered by the holiday company. A coupe there who did DIY to the same destination has to pay for the extra days and changes flight and try to claim back off their insurance.

Visiting Taipei we might want to stop in China like we did last time. I think diy gives you much more flexibility.

I worked in travel for nearly 3 decades before Monarch went bust 🥲. People have a huge protection with package holidays, the slightest problem and you can take it up with your TO. Nowadays people are self packaging, that can lead to a lot of problems when things go wrong.
I think Jet2 are a great company, the fact they include 22 kgs of luggage gets my vote (like what we all had back in the day).