Is 'on the beach' legit?

[biggangster]

Is this website totally ok? Seems so much cheaper even when I've added luggage and upgrades. Any tips?

Yes, it's legit. Never used it myself but check out the reviews on Trustpilot and see what you think. https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.onthebeach.co.uk

We went to Lanzarote with them over Easter. No problems whatsoever. Flights were with Ryanair so we added baggage on the OTB site but then expected to have to pay separately with Ryanair to reserve seats. But it tuned out we had seats already reserved and great seats at that and all sat together.
We had to pay for transfer but was no bother at all.
First time we'd used them but would definitely use them again

It's legit

BUT

you don't book a package with them so if, like us, your flight is cancelled, they still
make you pay £4K for the hotel, and are not obliged to refund.

yes I'm still bitter

Some of their holidays are ATOL protected so if you are concerned about this try to find one that is.

We have travelled with on the beach a few time, ATOL protected- no problems at all.

Yes, respected travel site

Yeah we’ve just used it for a long haul package deal (returned last week and was epic and all as expected) and no issues / just make sure it’s an ATOL protected package and also we paid on credit card so we had insurance via them if anything went awry.

Wow that’s shocking - weren’t there alternative flights? Wouldn’t they let you change the dates for the hotel?

Legit yes, but the people chosen for their advert make me want to look elsewhere for a package holiday if I wanted one.

The prices are cheap. They book everything separately and it is not a package so if there’s a problem with any component of the holiday they are not obliged to remedy this. While the majority of their holidays go ahead problem free, when there is a problem it can be very costly.

There are a few FB pages dedicated to this company - have a look at the type of problems that people encounter and whether you’re prepared to take the risk.

They say they are ATOL protected

They are ATOL protected if what you buy from them is actually a package holiday.

Lots of deals that they sell are actually linked travel arrangements which means that the buyer has no ATOL protection. From friends’ experiences, On The Beach don’t make clear what you are buying or that there is a difference when legally the difference is huge and should be made very clear.

I've used them around half a dozen times with no issues. However, the last time there was some convoluted system to check in to the Ryanair flights which put me off.

They’ve been around many years, have you not seen their TV ads?

We've used them a lot, most recently last month. Never had a problem.

Nope won’t use them again after our holiday cancelled due to Covid, hotel refunded quickly but had to wait over a year for Flights. Wish I’d gone with TUI and have since booked several times with TUI, more expensive but get what you pay for.

Check but I think both On the Beach and Love holidays left ABTA after covid. They didn't want yo give out refunds that ABTA thought they should.
If they purchase separate items not a package you won't have the cover of a package if things go wrong.
Make sure ypu are aware if what you are booking/the terms etc

Yes legit, and had a couple of good holidays with them, then one where we lost a load of money. They really stitched people up over Covid cancellations. We lost £1800.

I’d say the chances of something going wrong are quite slim, but if it does, you’re goosed. I won’t book with them again unless it’s not an important holiday and I can afford to lose money on it.

What?! That's awful 😣

Isn’t it the case for all these companies like expedia, lastminute etc? You need to book a package holiday to get the benefits.