Does anyone just book an apartment and flight?

[SwanShaped]

I want to go on holiday with my small kids. It seems that flights and an Airbnb are the same price as a week in Cornwall. What are the downsides to just booking flights and an apartment rather than going through a travel agent or using a resort?

I prefer booking separate flights and accommodation as it's more flexible but the downside is that if one is cancelled, you won't get a refund for the other part (as you would with a package holiday).

I never use a travel agent or a resort or a package holiday. As I'm single, those things aren't open to me anyway.
The downsides is that it's obviously more stressful. When you book flights, the price changes all the time. You can check the price, then ask work for holiday then the price has already changed and a different date could be better. If you use a company like Ryan Air there are not return flights so you might choose two singles and the price of the return could change while you're booking your 'go' flight.
Then you have to think about how you get from the airport to where you're staying. Cheap companies often fly into inconvenient airports. And you have to consider whether you'll feel safe arriving somewhere in the middle of the night.
And because you're booking everything separately, there's no connection between different transports, they won't wait for you if one thing is late.
Anyway, I suppose all this is obvious isn't it and the real stress is always travelling on a budget.

I have never used an agent or booked a package.
I can only think of the downsides of an agent or going to a resort, no positives in my mind!

Just think about how you will get from A to B and how you will manage eating etc - e.g. self catering - can you walk to shops/public transport/hire a car/restaurants nearby?

Yes all the time

That way you can choose exact accommodation that suits you, arrange separate flights that work best etc.

Quite often we add an extra day or two also so we can see city close to airport also. Ie fly into Capital city , hire car and drive 2 hrs to beach or mountain after for main holiday, then drive back, drop car off and stay 1-2 nights in city before taxi/ tube to airport.

Hotels or apartments are usually always cheaper going direct as well

Every time you look at a flight, clear your cookies. Otherwise the prices increase as a response to your interest. Alternatively book your flight from a different device/wifi to the one you did your research on.

We usually book house and flights ourselves.

A resort if just a hotel as well, so you can book the hotel/ resort and flight separately as well as apartments

I’ve not been on holiday abroad in years and years. But the place I went to last year in cornwall had increased its price and is now over £1000. And last year, we had our coats on at one point. Good point on checking airport transfers to the town. I was thinking of Alicante. Seems nice enough with cafes and the beach.

Good tip on the cookies and flight prices

Have a look on Easyjet and BA holidays. They both have sales on right now and it’s often cheaper to book the hotel with the flight. Plus they will include luggage and with Easyjet transfers to and from the airport

Pre book a transfer as well, it's usually cheaper than hopping in an airport taxi.

I haven't used them for a couple of years but I used to book through alpha rooms, as you were given various flight options to choose from then loads of hotel options. The hotels all had the trip advisor link/rating next to them so it was easy to navigate, then you could book it all together in one place.

This is what we do for nearly all of our holidays. We make sure we book accommodation with a good cancellation policy.
It works out far cheaper in my experience.

I e been booking flight and accommodation for about 18 years when I had small children.
These days I tend to book the first night and last nights accommodation and see where I end up in between.

Really glad to know I’m not on the wrong track! Hadn’t heard of Alpha room so will check it out. I’m happy to be a bit of extra research if it saves money. Now just need to decide whether to risk going this year or to wait until the covid situ is more stable next year. I keep imaging paying over £1000 to sit on a beach in the rain and then imagining a beach in the sunshine for the same price.

We usually book a flight and a separate apartment. Getting from the hotel to the accommodation - either bus/train or hire a car (often very cheap!) depending on where we are going and what the local transport links are like.

For best prices look on booking.COM or air B and B etc in the area you want, then look up those hotels/ apartment names directly and you will find they are probably 5-10% cheaper. Most will have at least a 30 day before arrival cancellation policy.

It’s pretty late to get some place snow though if your wanting for summer 2022. Many will have been booked up several months ago for the peak summer weeks

When I went to New York 10 years ago I boooed flights and an Appartment through air bnb. It was great

I’ve been doing this this for a good while now.
We’re going to Copenhagen in February 🤞🏻
Flight booked, Airbnb booked, taking metro into the city.
We went to Portugal in October, flight to Faro, hire car and an apartment.
Previous to that we went to Porto and Lisbon. Flight, Airbnb’s.
Do your research on the area of how to get around and the facilities in and around the area you are staying.

I’ve never used a travel agent, ever. It feels like an old fashioned thing to do?
Ive used airbnb since 2014 with no issues.

We've always done this as most package holidays have you in the same room as your DC and we prefer more space.

These days with the covid issues I only book cancellable accommodation ( through Booking.com or vrbo) and Easyjet flights are good because you can change them - but can be more pricey than others airlines.

Just make sure your travel insurance covers this type of holiday.
Particularly the medical costs in worse case scenarios

The biggest risk is that the accommodation is not as described, so if you mitigate that with some good research and have a good insurance policy then it’s fine. We’ve not done a package holiday for a while now, unless the hotel is we want is cheaper that way.

@SwanShaped we started doing this when DC were younger. When they started school, we couldn't have afforded package holidays in peak school hols but this way we've had at least 2 holidays a year.
Can seem intimidating but once you've done it once, you'll wonder why you didn't do it before.
Flexibility is great, you can have any length of holiday. It's often cheaper to fly back on day 8 or 9 rather than standard 7 or 14. Once we managed 17 days for way less than a 14 day package.
Just do your research. Check for any apartment on all sites for reviews and try and speak to owner first.
Don't forget your travel insurance!

We do all the time. You don't get atol or abta protection, but pay on a credit card and through a reputable company and you'll be fine. We booked flights and car hire through Jet2 last time and as that was classed as a package holiday we got the benefits of that by it being protected.
I can't say that it is particularly cheaper at the moment though. I was looking at flights to Cyprus in May yesterday and it was £500 more than we paid for Sicily in 2020 and that was without the extras like luggage, food and booked seats.

Yes I do all the time. You save quite a bit using Airbnb, vrbo, booking.com etc and booking your own flights. Just make sure you have insurance. Do a bit or research if it's a place you have never been to before e.g distance from the airport, cost of taxis etc enjoy!