Is it possible to make changes to a package holiday?

[bendmeoverbackwards]

Looking to go to one of the Greek islands in May half term. I know we’ve left it very late but there seems to be reasonable availability from what I’ve seen.

However one of our party is our adult dd who has to be home by the Saturday. I can’t travel on the first Saturday as I have a commitment. So ideally we want dh and both dds to go Saturday-saturday and I would do Sunday-Sunday. Is this possible with a package or would we have to book hotel and flights separately?

Yeah just do two bookings I assume, as long as they’re offering those dates.

Then we would end up with 3 rooms and we only need 2.

I don’t think this would be possible but you’re best bet is contacting the package operator and trying to talk to somebody about it. Which company were you looking at?

Would probably be easiest to book your dh and dds via the package company, then book your flights direct with EasyJet or whoever.

Some of these tour operators are very hard to get hold of in the phone eg Love Holidays, On the Beach etc

Ah, see what you mean - book theirs as a package and your flights separately but you travel back Sat as well?

I would say there is almost no chance that the online only operators will allow you to do this (I work in this business)- your best bet would be Jet2, Tui, Hays or the like where you can talk to an adviser.

Is it just the four of you going? Would they be happy sharing one room for just the first night? And then having the second room for when you arrive?

Thank you @cherryassam out of those tour operators, would you recommend a particular one?

If you have a local store you can physically go in to, I’d go there - Hays is a travel agent that services multiple operators so they might be able to guide further. Otherwise, I think Jet2 usually has the best customer service but you do often pay for that in that they’re rarely the cheapest option.

I'd try and book a package Sun to Sat for all of you - EasyJet holidays usually allows this.

Yes a Sun-Sat would be an option - especially if it’s one of the bigger islands and you’re flying from one of the bigger airports. Smaller island or one of the smaller regional UK airports might not have daily flights yet - although is more likely to at half term

Or book Saturday - Saturday for all 4, and OP can just buy an extra single flight ticket on the Sunday.

I'm not sure why OP is suggesting Sunday to Sunday for her, unless there is some family fairness requirement for everyone to have the exact same number of nights. It will cause all sorts of complications particularly if the hotel is half-board or all-inclusive, because it's not just a case of adding a body to the fourth bed in the two rooms - there will be the cost of meals to add in. And the last Saturday night will be at single occupancy prices. Plus OP would be travelling by herself both ways.

I would be very careful with this. If it is booked as a package and you 'miss' your outbound flight, they often cancel your return.

Book Sat to Sat for DH and one DD, Sun to Sun for you and other DD. 2 rooms, everyone gets 7 nights, no adjustments needed.

Have you tried looking into booking your flights separately (i.e. through the airline's website) then the hotel with onthebeach etc? It can (but isn't always) be cheaper and that would give you the flexibility of flying back on different dates

Good point — I remember this from the 1980s, even on scheduled airlines. But these days a lot of packages are with Ryanair/Easyjet/Wizz who don't care if you take the outward leg or not (maybe you got there by boat instead). And in general I'm sure if you call them up and say "Stuck in traffic on the M25, going to miss the flight, will make my way there under my own steam" they ought to hold the return. But yes, worth noting, and of course there is an additional cost to booking the extra outward flight.

Not possible. If you don't take your outbound flight your return would be cancelled. You'd be put as a no show for the hotel too.

You'll need to book separately

Why don't you just all book the flights you want and the hotel separately?

None of Jet2, Easyjet or Ryanair etc sell return flights, they're all singles, so this doesn't apply. Honestly, people need to update their knowledge on these things instead of posting from last century.

I think I'd definitely look at booking separately as it's likely to not be possible or too complex for most package operators, with the possible exception of Jet2, which could well be cheaper to book as a package - we've often found this, but not with the added layer of complexity.

Therefore, I'd probably book the accommodation from Saturday for 8 nights (or book a week then just book a single night in a hotel or something for the last Saturday night if you have better choice of accommodation by sticking to Saturday to Saturday. Then book the flights with whoever does the best price/times etc.