Booking a holiday - do you do it online, at a TA or something else?

[ScottishLottie]

I know where we want to go and usually just book online, but are there perks/savings to be had by actually either physically going to a travel agent or engaging with a local travel counsellor/specialist?

I like to think I'm quite good at doing my own research and I'd be wary of a hard sell/commission based approach which might mean I'm pushed into something that doesn't quite meet my agenda. (I sound so paranoid! I'm not really!)

How do YOU go about booking a hol?

Just do it ourselves, find accomodation, then flights then book a car.
Usually a very quick process for us and next to no research as long as it ticks our boxes!!
some people really enjoy looking for holidays and thoroughly look into pros and cons of a variety of options but we just can’t be bothered, it doesn’t float our boats so we just do it all as quickly as possible to get it over and done with 🫣 Rather impulsive but we’ve never had a bad holiday so it’s fine for us!

I knew where we wanted to go and was quite flexible on dates. I spoke to three travel agents and each one of them were a waste of time - a lot more expensive than anything I could have booked but also made no effort to make it cheaper. I was flexible with dates and told them as long as it’s 10 or 11 nights, I don’t mind the exact departure date or which airport in London. It was quite obvious they made no effort to see if other dates or airports were cheaper. For example, one agent quoted me £11k in total flying out of Gatwick. When I looked myself, it was £7k for the same dates flying out of Heathrow.

I also found they weren’t really keen on engaging. I suspect it might be because they probably get lots of enquiries that don’t go anywhere, but if they actually did a decent job, then things may be different!

Always book online ourselves. Can't see us ever needing to use a TA.

We always book online but through a tour operator eg Tui, Jet2. We don’t put together a package ourselves as you are not covered if things go wrong. Only use a TA (and we have an independent) when we want to put something together eg We went to Verona for the opera and then wanted a hotel on Lake Garda so the TA booked everything including transport.

I book online. Usually just book hotel and flights separately

Do you mean a travel agent or perhaps a tour operator?

A tour operator arranges the flights, accommodation, any trips etc into one package. A travel agent mainly sells packages on behalf of tour operators.

Some companies can be both a tour operator and a travel agent.

If you're buying a package holiday from a UK based tour operator then, if things go wrong while you're on holiday, they're on the hook to sort things out.

Personally, if we're just going somewhere quite normal, maybe a week in the Med or a fly/drive holiday in the States or Canada then we would typically book the flights and accommodation separately ourselves.

However, you can sometimes get better deals from an airline if you also book accommodation through them as well, so it's always worth checking that out as well.

Where I would definitely use a tour operator (and always have in the past) is when we are going somewhere a bit more distant and, especially, when it involves transport arrangements in countries with either less developed infrastructure or a language we would struggle to understand.

For example, over the decades we have been to China, a couple of Central Asian countries, a couple of African countries and a South American country.

Each of these holidays involved quite a bit of transport in-country between different locations and we really appreciated the fact that this had all been sorted out for us.

Tour operators are also very useful for help with getting appropriate visas as well.

So, if it's just lying on a beach then I'll book it directly myself, if it involves a lot of logistics in the country that we're going to then I'll happily leave making the arrangements to the tour operator.

Although, even then, I'll sometimes book the flights separately and have a "land only" price where the tour operator arranges everything apart from the flights to/from the UK.

We always do it ourselves. We've had a couple of quotes for bigger trips to new places, just out of interest really to see what they come up with, but they are never quite what we want, there is very little flexibility - it's very much (IME) 'This is what we're offering, take it or leave it'. So I do the latter and book it myself and always end up saving money!

Typical package holiday we book direct with tour operator. Anything else we use a travel agent we’ve used for years. I tell him place and dates and he comes back with flight options and hotel options, car hire or whatever we need. It saves me loads of time and it doesn’t cost any more because he has access to bulk discounts and knows the tricks on flight prices. I also benefit from his expertise. I wouldn’t do it any other way.

Book online myself. Separate accomodation, flghts, car hire etc.

Depends on the holiday, hotel/villa and flights, no travelling around then we'll just book through a tour operator (I like Jet2). If there's more involved, multiple cities/countries and specific trips then we use a TA. Back when it was just me and DH we would book separate flights and accommodation ourselves but with 3 children it now feels easier to get someone else to sort it!

It's a mental barrier thing I think. I don't have the confidence booking Central Asia, Africa or South America myself. China is very easy however. I wouldn't use a travel agent for it.

We always book the cheapest flights for the times we want online & then look at booking.com for accommodation. Occasionally accommodation may be cheaper booked direct but it's generally more expensive. Travel agents are always much more as they have their cut as well. The only exception I would make is for Trailfinders who often have fantastic long haul deals.

That's interesting. So you booked all the accommodation and travel within China yourself? Was that through Chinese websites or other websites?

We are thinking about returning there sometime in the future and we were planning to just use a tour operator while we were there but I'd be really interested to find out how you did it alone.

@Another2Cats I have only done the Beijing and Shanghai (and Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen). I booked a hotel and then booked tours via hotel when I arrived there. They can arrange local personal tour guides. The guides spoke English. To get the visa, you need hotel bookings via sites like booking.com. I book everything via English websites.

It depends on where you are going. Are you looking at going very off the beaten track? For major tourist sites, I'd imagine you want to to add Xi'an? There are flights from Shanghai or Beijing to Xi'an. To get the local trains will be quite difficult I'd imagine.

Just googled and there are posts and blogs of foreigners who have travelled around China by trains too.

Always ourselves.

In general we book accomodation with VRBO and then flights with whoever is cheapest, but if there's little difference on price we go for closest airport and best flight times.

Then we book a car ourselves. Example is we have been to Long Island with DC. Booked aer lingus flights from Heathrow via Dublin in order to clear immigration in Ireland. Then hire car at JFK and VRBO house for the holiday.

Same when we went to Tuacany two years ago.

Last time I used a travel agent was to organise a trip to Barbados in 2006 as they had v competitive prices for the hotel we wanted. Haven't used one since. With DC we rent a villa and on our own we book a hotel from booking.com or Mr and Mrs Smith for a treat.

If something goes wrong, we have credit cards - in Europe we would get on a train or hire a car to Calais and in the US we would be able to pay for accomodation if we needed to wait around.

Depends where I'm going and what kind of holiday we want.
If it's a family sun holiday the I would book online with Jet2 or Tui.
Skiing we book online through Crystal.
Recently did a travel around Spain holiday and visited 3 different cities- I book flights online then airbnb for the accommodation.
We are looking to do a multiple family holiday in France next year so will be booking travel and accommodation separately and use an independent agent for the accommodation.
I've never found a travel agent who can do a better price for a package holiday than I can find online.

"Are you looking at going very off the beaten track?"

Yes, well, at least a bit. Last time we went (which was almost twenty years ago, when the DC were about 10) we went to most of the big tourist sites, so for next time we're planning on something different.

We're thinking about maybe Tibet and Nepal, we'd really like to visit Lhasa and Kathmandu. But we'd also like to go back to Chengdu as well, so we're thinking maybe Chengdu - Lhasa - Kathmandu. Then maybe also down into India if we have time.

Depends. Summer sun two week ai - tui. City break, weekend away tend to book separately.

@Another2Cats I see, I think you'll need some help organising that! I believe foreigners can't just wander into Tibet as tourists either. Your trip sounds amazing.

Never used a travel agent or tour operator. We have always booked hotels and flights, or trains and boats, and hire cars ourselves. You have way more flexibility that way. I also prefer to speak to the hotel owners direct, you generally get a better price and a better room.