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?

About Reps - they are hardly mandatory.

We booked with Virgin for two holidays to the Caribean. In both cases we were contacted beforehand and offered lots of information on trips and they were friendly and very flexible. We did some with them, always private trips, not a huge crowd with one coach, others we booked directly with a provider or just hired a car for the day and did our own thing.

Otherwise with Tui we just ignore them. Transfer is hardly mandatory and I haven't had any "meet-and-greet" for ages.

But as other also point out, they can be extremely useful if something goes wrong. We are people who don't mind talking to the hotel ourselves to sort problems out but then not everyone wants to/can do.

Transfer is hardly mandatory

It depends where you go. We had a two hour transfer in Sicily, and we were the first drop off. A taxi would have cost us £££££ more.

It's not always about the cost.
A holiday is important to most people and I for one want luxury wherever I happen to go. Not a chance I would go by bus when I could choose a taxi or hire car. My DC are grown up now but with young children it's even more important to have a smooth journey.

Currently on. Jet2 holiday which priced up separately was a lot more, even factoring in the extra legroom seats and private transfers which Jet2 arranged as part of the package.

We book package holidays all the time now. Independent is more hassle and by the time you have added everything on there is hardly any savings. Glad we did because when our holiday was cancelled because of lockdown we were able to simply ring up and choose another date and a different holiday without any agro or fees.