Who should I book a European city break with?

[mumma24]

Not sure who to book with that gives the best deals/service. Who do you recommend?

I usually book all elements separately. Find out what destinations are available from your local airport and take it from there.

In light of recent experience, ( selecting and booking flights online, then getting confirmation with different times and prices, then having to pay a lot extra to get the flight times we needed) I would recommend going through a travel agent.

Recently looked at a trip to Rome and I found Jet2 city breaks worked out cheaper than doing it separately.

Do it yourself but book flights direct with the airlines, don't use agents that try to lull you in with a low price and then push it up.

@DelphiniumBlue who did you book with?

Booking.com.
But when I was researching how to get it sorted, it seemed that it wasn't the only company with those issues. The problem is that unless you screensave your booking, you've got no proof that you booked correctly in the first place.

I just book direct with the airline and hotel - ?!

I always book budget airline flights then book a hotel or airbnb. Prefer to book direct if hotel as it's almost always either the same price or sometimes cheaper or with 'free' extras like breakfast. WIth most people using third party hotel booking sites which charge hotels commissions of up to 25% this must surely end up making travel more expensive for everyone as hotels raise prices to cover these costs? Plus it means you have another third party to deal with if something goes wrong rather than just contacting the hotel directly.

Also the selfish people who book 2 hotels both with free cancellation, because they cannot decide which one to stay in, thereby falsely increasing demand (and therefore prices) plus depriving someone else of the opportunity to book that room.

We’ve used Travel Republic for our last few holidays (flights/hotel). Never had any problems. Always book the low deposit option on the hotel, as if you need to change anything it’ll only cost £25 to do so. We use Hoppa for our transfers and have always been good for us.

Look at skyscanner for flights (shows all airlines/dates) if you are unsure of where you want to go but have fixed dates just put everywhere in the destination airport and it will show all destinations in price order.

Look at booking.com together with tripadvisor for accommodation then test the prices are the cheapest on trivago.

When I booked Paris for DD I booked flights direct with the airline (Flybe) and a hotel through Booking.com.

When we went to Rome it was easier to book a Jet2 package. I have found that usually it is cheaper to every element separately, but not always. We booked our summer holiday through Jet2 as a package as it was cheaper (plus, I really rate them as a tour operator).

As above, another book it all seperately vote. You keep control and the price is usually better. Where we go will be dependent on where flights on budget airlines from the nearest airports go to but I use Skyscanner and Kayak to get the cheapest flight prices and usually use booking.com for the accommodation. For the first time in 15 years I've used a travel agency (Omega Flight Stores) to book flights for a holiday next Easter that involves a transit and they've been utterly rubbish & useless - the flight might have been cheaper but after the airline changed the flight time they didn't inform me or suggest a solution - it's been really frustrating so I'm going back to DIY after this!

I used Superbreak recently for our trip to Venice. Meant it was covered by ATOL in case anything went bust!

Oh, and I still booked the flights and hotel separately so had complete control of the price. If anyone is a civil servant, use your access to Edenred for 12% discount as well. Huge amount off a holiday.

I made a mistake a while ago doing everything separately and it was complicated.

This time I wanted it all in one place and through one company so I used e bookers. Flights, hotel and transfers.

Did it through a click through site and got cash back on it too.

It seemed like good value too for the flights and the hotel. The transfer was a bit of a rip off but I was unfamiliar with the destination so worth the extra for peace of mind.

I'd use e bookers again for sure. They used budget flights that didn't even come up when I searched the airline separately. And we got a room upgrade to a suite.

We normally do it seperately, but really worth checking BA Holidays. We’ve had some great deals with them, and their filter process is quite good.

I’ve just booked a trip to Lithuania direct with Ryanair and Airbnb. £360 for flights and accommodation for 2

Ive just booked a city break to Rome. Flights with BA and hotel with booking.com.
I shopped around and it seemed the best value. Lots of choice of hotels on booking.com

Agree superbreak are good.

I second booking.com too. I also use Expedia and earned £20 off a hotel rate from points earned through a mini break booking. I prefer apartments to hotels and Airbnb is great

Check flights on SkySkanner,then book direct with company,then book an apartment through TripAdvisor. We much prefer apartments to hotels for city breaks.

In the past I've booked a couple of trips with BA - flight & hotel in Rome and Berlin and am looking at fitting in one last pre-Brexit city break in October half term, maybe to Copenhagen, which I'll also book via BA.

I like to book it all separately. I can choose my own dates and also which hotel I want to stay in. I don't need transfers from the hotel I get a bus or a train.

Just a note of caution be careful when using third party sites when booking flights/hotels. My DD and her friends recently booked flights and a hotel through Travel Republic.
The flight was with BA and was cancelled after they arrived at the airport. However this meant BA's contract was with TR so they would only deal with them. Unfortunately TR do not have a 24 hour helpline, you have to email them and it can take up to 4 days to get a reply. Not much use when you are stranded at the airport and don't know what to do.

I would usually book separately but sometimes BA has good deals for combined bookings.sometimes use Booking.com for hotels but often book direct - much more likely to be upgraded on arrival (when travelling as a couple).