To think package holiday are a rip off ?

[Chickaletta16]

Just that really. I've just paid a deposit on an all inclusive holiday to a 5 star resort in Turkey and it's costing me over £4000.

However when I check the prices to book the same hotel on the same dates and the flights separately it's £2500 !! I wish I had the money up front I'd pay for everything now and same nearly £2000 !! The only reason I'm still going ahead with it is I have the option of paying by DD. Does anybody else find that package holidays are a rip off ?

[Snappedandfarted2019]

We are going in the school holidays however we get a week in June instead of two in Easter

[Chickaletta16]

@Snappedandfarted2019 I think the problem is i have to go during school hokidays and prices are so much higher.

[Snappedandfarted2019]

Turkey is often reasonable prices...

4k??

How many of you are going??


I’m going to Antalya in June there’s 5 of us 2 adults 3 kids 5 Star hotel all inclusive £2960 we did book in advance and made sure the travel agents did a price match

[drspouse]

I would rather eat my own arm than stay in an all inclusive resort and we have only had one package holiday in the summer (a resort where only charter flights go and it would be hard otherwise to get the transfers).
But we use them for skiing as there's so much more to think about and you want to be out skiing, not organising stuff.

[Chickaletta16]

Sorry @)loopylou that message was meant for @PlainSpeakingStraightTalking

[Chickaletta16]

@Loopylou6 I'm not too stupid to do my own research thank you !! I did my own research that a why I asked the question. Why do you think we are all like you

[Chickaletta16]

@Loopylou6 we are hoping to stay at the side premium hotel in antalya. I'm going to save up every penny and buy my flights at the end of the month. The hotel has.practically been paid for via the deposit. If I can manage to do it I will have saved over £2k !!

[HopefulAgain10]

It's so so easy and simple these days to price together your own package. I never understand why people use a travel agent anymore? Way back when I went on my very first trip and I used a travel agent and it was actually such a badly planned trip. I never did after that.

[PlainSpeakingStraightTalking]

Does anybody else find that package holidays are a rip off ?

People always scream rip off when they are too stupid to do thier own research and compare pricces.

[Loopylou6]

What part you going to OP? We did kusadasi last year, was beautiful

[flirtygirl]

You know you can get it for 2.5 but you are paying 4k. Package holidays are only a rip off if you want them to be.

I'm quite happy with early or late flights it often means a longer day on resort and you save money.

Shopping around wisely. You are only ripped off if you let your self be.

There are always bargains out there I'd you book early like months or a year ahead or late like less than 2 weeks to go.

[SilentSister]

I'm with Zippy. We go on holiday to get away from everyone else. I want to choose my own flights, on a decent airline, at a decent time, from my local airport. I want to speak to the hotel owner, ask for a particular room, and be given a direct booking rate. If we go back, which we do, to places we fall in love with, we get fantastic rates and the best rooms. We often become friends with the hotel owners, and this all makes the holiday experiences more personal. We always ask the hotel to organise transfers, and they tend to use the local taxi firm, or hire care company, which is much cheaper than using the airport ones.

[ZippyBungleandGeorge]

This is why we don't book packages. I don't want a transfer and have to drop twenty people off at a variety of locations first, I'll hire a car thanks, I'd rather choose my own flights not always both with the same airline or even the same airport, and it's unlikely I'll want to be in a hotel with the same mob from the plane all week, I don't go away to'make friends' I go away to spend time with the people in travelling with and to see a new country. Pay on a credit card for the added protections and either clear the balance straight away or if you need to pay it off over the time until you go (if it's an interest free cc) . We have a comprehensive annual travel insurance policy so I'm not concerned about other issues cropping up.

[CostanzaG]

I've actually found package holidays to be an absolute bargain. Depends who you book with and where you go I guess.

[Dowser]

I paid £4,400 for 6 adults ( 2 children were classed as adults) and 4 children for a week in a 4 star hotel in Tenerife, peak season half board.

So ten people altogether..including flights in September so still a busy time

Priced separately that would’ve been so much more

I think it’s always wise to shop around

[Elphame]

I only book package deals for skiing trips.

If the plane is delayed or diverted due to bad weather or you get trapped in the resort on changeover day due to bad weather (all of which have happened to us), it is the tour company's problem to resolve.

Otherwise I will always book direct.

[Noneyerbuisness11234]

Op did u look into that part of turkey they use euros and the main holiday makers are German we as a family went a few years back and absolutely hated it we got moved to the other end of turkey there’s not much for kids to do but the hotel was beautiful we were glad we went package deal because then we had a rep to help us but each to their own wat I hate u may like and vide Versa

[killpop]

Not always the case. I'm an overthinker and overplanner and always check out all my options first before committing. Never paid more for a package than it would cost to do things myself.

Going away to Spain this year - 3 adults, 3 teenagers (so adult prices), one child... two apartments between us (3 bedrooms and two living spaces with beds)... AI, 4*... £3.5k

[BlooperReel]

I think it can vary wildly, we have got a bargain of a package holiday to Turkey next year, less than £3K for 4 of us for 2 weeks.

[The80sweregreat]

It all depends on where your going and having someone else to make sure you get to the right resort and just having someone around, such as a rep, to ask questions and so on.
there was a programme on the other day about all this the other day and the man doing it himself on line did not work out much cheaper than the people doing AI package holiday, but if your not going there to drink as much as you like ( or do not drink) and wont eat much, then its not worth it. I like a package for peace of mind really - plus you can pay it off etc.

[thecatsthecats]

Best bargain we ever got was a package holiday.

£330pp. Turkey, all inclusive... but unbeknownst to us when we booked it, the hotel was actually a 5, but due to the rating system they used, as they were new, they had to advertise as a 3!

A week of luxury cocktails, a full, enormous range of facilities, free mini bar in room and excellent food available genuinely 24/7. Bloody amazing.

I thoroughly recommend looking for new hotels from premium chains!

[BarbaraofSevillle]

Do it separately and put it on a 0% credit card

^^ This. If you need to spread the cost, booking a much more expensive package just to access this facility is a stupid way to do it. Many hotels don't require you to pay until you go, and there's always credit cards - if you're spending money you would have spent anyway, and arrange things so you don't pay any interest. It's a no brainer.

They also give you protection if something goes wrong - eg when Monarch went bust 2 days before we were due to travel, our credit card refunded the cost of the lost flights and the price difference as new flights were £££s in comparison. Most travel insurance doesn't cover you in these circumstances.

I've compared booking separately vs packages and sometimes packages are cheaper, sometimes booking separately is cheaper, but I've never seen such a huge difference, so I'm wondering if you're really comparing like with like, ie same room type, transfers, same time flights etc etc.

We once got a week's package in a 4* HB hotel in Tenerife for 2 of us for just £200 more than the flight alone, so the hotel, breakfast and evening meal cost less than £15 pppn.

When we went to Gozo, it was cheaper for the package than the same hotel and flights, before I'd even looked at the cost of luggage, which we needed as diving, and the ferry and 2 road transfers.

[Chickaletta16]

@IamtheDevilsAvocado there are 6 of us x