# Sun holiday: package or DIY?



## Male Doon (17 Apr 2009)

My wife, three kids, and I went to Gran Canaria last year, very enjoyable but looking to go somewhere different, around early July, perhaps Malaga and environs..
Would really appreciate feedback on whether it is worthwhile organising our own flights, accommodation, insurance etc, or would it be "safer" to pay what seems like a lot more for a package deal?


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## joer (17 Apr 2009)

Try Alpharooms , Iwill be surprised if you get any cheaper.


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## Concert (17 Apr 2009)

Ye Alpha Rooms are by far the cheapest provider if you are doing a DIY hol.  We have used them for years and gone all over the world.  We made huge savings as opposed to booking a package and they are very flexible if you want to make changes etc


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## helllohello (17 Apr 2009)

check cheap flights with ryanair, easyjet and aerlingus. pick which apartment you want to stay in and then google, google and google. it is amazing the different prices that you will get for the same hotel/apartments. i have booked with alpharooms, booking.com, 1800hotels and many others - whoever comes up the cheapest. most airports have connecting bus service to major towns and insurance will proberly be cheaper online too.
enjoy looking and getting that bargain.


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## Grizzly (18 Apr 2009)

It works most of the time but not all of the time. Flights to Malaga are never really cheap and especially during the school holidays. Apartment prices are usually higher during the summer holidays. Transport costs when you arrive can be expensive.
I do all of my DIY holidays out of the high season and it works a treat.
Perhaps look around for one of the less popular destinations but with easy onward transport especially if you are dragging around 3 kids and suitcases. Otherwise a package might be the better option.


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## Male Doon (18 Apr 2009)

Thanks, all, for the replies...will have to get moving soon on organising it one way or the other. Once the basic arrangements are in place, MBH takes it from there and looks after all the details so she is looking to have something in the bag so as she can get cracking!


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## oldnick (18 Apr 2009)

You've chosen an expensive time of year and an expensive destination,flight-price wise. 

Unless you really are saving a few hundred Euros then stick to a package holiday with a licensed travel firm-  
where there are no charges for bags or other hidden fees, 
where you get proper transfers between hotel and airport (unless you get accommodation very close to airport you might end up paying 50 euros each way in a large taxi) 
-and where you have some legal come-back if things go wrong .

At present, prices for early july are high -for a family of five about 3.000 -3.500 for two-bedroomed apts in decent  family accommodation for two weeks. By the ways things are going I'm sure operators will come down in price - as they have done for May and early June. 

the DIY alternative won't be much cheaper than booking a package -even flights with all extras won't give you that much change from 1.800 and you wont find great accommodation with the accommodation providers for much under a grand.


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## Bar101 (18 Apr 2009)

if you want something different - ie better quality and often a better price - try out www.jamesvillas.ie 
I went with them (+ better half + 2 kids) to Portugal a few years ago and they were excellent. They can organise flights as well, but it is worth checking out your own flight arrangements as the latest Aer Lingus options can work out cheaper. 
Add in a cheap car hire and your 3000-3500 euros can turn into a high quality holiday and no reps (sellling you every trip under the sun) and no neighbours (drinking till dawn).

Enjoy.


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## Leper (19 Apr 2009)

Bar 101 gave an excellent summary between booking through a travel agent and booking privately. Old Nick was a little disengenous towards booking privately (for the record I am a holiday home owner who rents out the apartment when we are not using it ourselves).

Twelve/thirteen years ago we booked our family (6 of us) summer sun holiday on 1st week of January for £2500. By mid February the exact same holiday (location, apartments, flights, dates, etc etc - no difference whatsoever) was on offer for £1200. 

The travel agent put me in touch with the Holiday Company where I advised that it would be cheaper for me to cancel and rebook at the lower price. Needless to say, the holiday company informed me verbally that they would work something out bearing in mind we were good customers every year. We went on holiday, met loads of people who booked at the lower price and when we returned home, the Travel Company told me to whistle Dixie.

Proof positive that a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it is written on.

The following years I booked flights, apartment, car-hire privately and saved absolute fortunes. 

For the record - Holiday companies charge for transfers at a rate per person (this can be added to what you think is the total price of the holiday).

Commission slaves like Holiday Reps sell car-hire, tours, services etc at higher rates than can be had locally. They tell lies about insurance, costs etc. Good quality car-hire with insurance can easily be sourced on the internet at a fraction of the price at your destination.

Let's talk about "legal come-back" - you have little or none, read the small print. Even holiday insurance can mean something different after a claim.

Paying €3000 - €3500 (and without carhire) for a 5 person holiday in July is lunacy (I know, I paid that and more before I copped on). Thinking out loud - the people in our place (5 also) are paying €1800 incl apartment rent, flights, car-hire for a two week holiday in July and this is in a place used by the Holiday companies not out in the sticks. 

But, you have the choice and legal come-back. What legal come-back means, I don't know.


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## oldnick (19 Apr 2009)

Just a quick defence of my comments above...
The query mentioned Malaga and I said it was a dear place at a dear time. 
And I stick by that. 
Flight prices from dub to Malaga early July with all extras/luggage etc range from 1250- 1.800 depending on the day you fly in and out, weekends being the priciest. 
Add taxi fares - tour operators, except Budget, do include transfers in their brochureprices that may amount to 100 euros return for five persons - or at least 300 euros for a car that can take 5 pax and luggage -
- and that leaves accommodation....... Sorry, but you won't find great accommodation for five persons for much under a grand along the C del Sol in July

(..as a matter of interest look at the Jamesvillas prices for C del Sol in July. Anyway, travel agents can book you a James Villa at the same price as you pay James Villa.).

Now the key statement I made that seems to have been ignored -perhaps I should have print it in bold - "*operators will come down in price*". 

There are ,or course ,cheaper places around -Portugal is cheaper as is Alicante and Ibiza. (cheaper meaning flights as well as accommodation).
And, again, whatever is in the brochure will come down in price.

I was merely pointing out the pros and cons of booking a package v DIY, especially for a family in high season.

P.S. "_legal come-back"_ means ,amongst other things, if you pay an irish travel company and it goes bust then the govnt refunds you. it also means that if you had a genuine grievance then you can get some compensation. It also means that if you ended up in a ****-hole and have a good travel agent then he/she should be able to move you within a few hours without you having to fight it out with the owner.

However, i admit it depends on how good the travel agent is. A good travel agent advises clients to delay booking a package until the price is reasonable. A good travel agent doesn't just book tour operator deals but can book seperate flights, accommodation of all types and car-hire at the same price as you can. 
And a good travel agent should help clients overseas in distress, whether they find themselves in a ****-hole and want to get out or whether there's been a medical emergency.

I'm a good travel agent. Obviously leper has never dealt with one . Regrettably there are- or,rather, were - several lazy/greedy ones about which may lend validity to some of lepers points.  But times have changed.


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## Leper (20 Apr 2009)

Old Nick, Thanks for your comments, I have no doubt while a little naive you meant well in what you said.  And lots of what you said is true, but give me a shout and I'll compare the prices we charge for private accommodation against any you can come up with.

But, Leper goes into a Travel Agent with three and a half grand in hand and the Travel Agent is going to advise me to wait until the price gets cheaper?  I'd love to be the Sales Girl in say Budget Travel advising the customer (out loud) to keep your money for another few weeks and the price will come down.  I would suggest that the Manager would sack her on the spot and she would end up head first through the door out on to the street clutching a P45.

No offence is meant in this post


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## Grizzly (20 Apr 2009)

My son recently booked a two bedroomed apartment in Majorca for two adults and two children for circa €500. Flights with Ryanair came in at about €300 and he expects taxi transfers to come in at circa €100.
The difference being is that he is going in May and not school holiday time.


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## Shawady (20 Apr 2009)

We booked flights with Ryanair to Majorca last September and we only had to pay for taxes and bags (€240 all in for 2 adults and 2 kids). We then dealt with the hotel directly. I reckon we saved nearly a grand compared to the brochure price.
The flights were cheaper because we flew Wednesday to Wednesday rather than travel at the weekend. If you have this option it might be worth considering.


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## oldnick (20 Apr 2009)

leper -you make a very good point about the reaction of the manager when a salesgirl says the price will come down -don't book now.

This is why travel agencies are closing -because people often don't trust them and because ,frankly, many of the staff are very young inexperienced kids who know far less than the average client who is now an experienced traveller with internet access.

I suppose it depends on the locality of the travel agency. If ,like me ,you are situated in a working-class suburb in West Dublin where everyone seems to know one another, where money is short and when ,if they have a crappy holiday they tend to use a more traditional approach to getting satisfaction than composing a complaints letter (especially from our esteemed clients who dwell in wheeled accommodation), - then it's essential to get a reputation for truth and honesty (God, what a cliche!).

If we tell Mrs O'Brien that the price in the Costa del Slum for her and her five kids and three partners is 6 grand and we know that the price will go down but don't tell her-and next week her neighbour gets it for half -price, then in the parlance of the area we're "f....... dead meat". Or ,less dramatically, we lose Mrs O'Briens custom in the future. And those of whom she talks(shouts) to.


Now, if we were in a big shopping centre or in the city centre where agents tend not to know their clients then, yes, agents think they can afford to be less forthright.
They're wrong of course because in the long run they only create more lepers.

The problem is worse with those agencies owned by the tour operator such as you mentioned. Their raison d'etre is to act as outlets for their own product -whilst being able to sell ther companies products as well.

 So you are quite right about the reaction of Budget boss if a Budget counter clerk - (sorry, that should read "travel consultant") honestly tells the client

"Look, Mr Leper you are quite right that 3.000 -3.500 is a rip-off but I know from the sales stats that the tour operators are in deep **** and that they'll decrease in price by anything from 20-50%. You may not get exactly what you want but we'll sell you in an equally drab property in a tower-block for half the price overlooking an overcrowded beach by a polluted sea"

the boss would be furious -and ,funny you mention it, all staff in Budget shops have already on three-day weeks so mention of the P 45 is very germane.

(the boss would also be annoyed if the girl offered a competitors holiday which was cheaper).


To get back to the origianl quote -no, I can't find anything under 2.8k with a tour op -nor can I find anything under 2.2k D.I.Y -which is I admit cheaper than 2.8k but I know that i will.
One caveat -if a very large tour op goes bust next month then all holidays will increase in price -as well,suddenly, the fares of cheap airlines.

Now, I suppose I should go off and sell some rip-off holidays....


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## Leper (20 Apr 2009)

Thanks Old Nick = Perhaps we should do business together?

Regards

Leper


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## Male Doon (20 Apr 2009)

Well, thanks again, everyone, for the great response to my query...(quite enjoying the jousting between Leper and Old Nick!!).
I would be fairly flexible in some respects, e.g., Greece would be another option, and a mid-week departure/arrival wouldn't be a great problem either. Portugal is out...we were there three years ago and had enormous hassle with the local bank trying to retrieve my credit card which was swallowed by the ATM...encountered the most un-helpful you could meet, so that left us saying, rightly or wrongly, "no more Algarve".


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## spursfan1234 (20 Apr 2009)

u can get cheap flights to faro and lots of resorts around there


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## kilty (20 Apr 2009)

Bar101 said:


> if you want something different - ie better quality and often a better price - try out www.jamesvillas.ie
> I went with them (+ better half + 2 kids) to Portugal a few years ago and they were excellent. They can organise flights as well, but it is worth checking out your own flight arrangements as the latest Aer Lingus options can work out cheaper.
> Add in a cheap car hire and your 3000-3500 euros can turn into a high quality holiday and no reps (sellling you every trip under the sun) and no neighbours (drinking till dawn).
> 
> Enjoy.


 
A friend of mine went to Malta with them a couple of years back, he was full of praise for the standard of accommodation that they provided.


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## oldnick (20 Apr 2009)

So, Maledoon ,tell us what you decide -to follow wise Oldnick's advice or dodgy Leper.
Only joking- there's pros and cons to both sides.

Have only just got in after a hard day ripping off clients on over-priced package holidays and am knackered so I'll say no more.
Leper-I'll contact you -may do business; nothing more-I'm happily married. Well, married.
cheers.


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## Male Doon (21 Apr 2009)

Well, Oldnick, on reading your post, you have me curious as to the location of your travel business! I work near Liffey Valley, I wonder if it is in that general area of Dublin?
Anyway, I was talking to a driver who delivers to our place and he was telling me that he does DIY all the time now, using Alpharooms and Skybus Malaga for airport transfers ("no more being dragged around half a dozen appartments in the middle of the night hoping that the noisy people at the back of the coach aren't staying in our place!"). But it is just himself and his wife travelling and they usually avoid the July/August peak.
All in all, I'm in the throes of decision-paralysis right now...I would love to have some experience under my belt doing DIY and at the same time I really would not look forward to paying the best part of four grand for the safety of following the herd, so to speak.
I was looking at the Alpharooms website but I found it a bit confusing, too many options! I am going to try phoning them tomorrow, to try to cut to the chase...Meanwhile, I really appreciate the time that everyone took to reply to my query, thanks again...


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## oldnick (22 Apr 2009)

Male Doon - I confess that this year everything has gone crazy -airlines, tour oeprators and hotels are all desperate and selling at very low prices. So comparisons between packages and DIY are not as before.

In May tour ops are offering one packages  for 200 and that includes all taxes, luggage, transfers, flights accommodation -add a child for 150!
At the same time Ryanair are for a "few days only" (until the next sale) almost giving away seats in May and June-including taxes and luggage  for under 100 to many destinations. Actually on some dates in May without luggage fifty euros return. I'm tempted to fly to Bergamo for a couple days at that price.


You are going in peak season. But, despite brochure prices of 3.000-plus for five, I repeat my belief that they'll go down and that you'll get a good holiday for five  for under 2.500,assuming your kids are not 21-year olds at college.

in a few days tour ops will start their mid-Summer sales. They deny it but I'm 96% sure.
So stay indecisive, it may save you money.

yeah, my travel agency near you .i cant advertise on this site but if you look carefully you may strike Gold.


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## spursfan1234 (22 Apr 2009)

alpharooms confusing?? i dont understand , its all very simple and laid out for you to follow. DIY is the way to go.


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## ljsd (23 Apr 2009)

DIY - definitely cheaper- 2 weeks in Portugal in August in a 2 bed apartment for 2 adults and 2 kids (over 2)worked out over 4K with a package company.  Doing it ourselves booking the same resort with a private apartment owner and aer lingus flights and taxi transfer works out at under 3K. Have done it before and no problems, far less hassle at the airport and a better standard of apartment.


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## 007007 (23 Apr 2009)

hello
we just booked flights to Faro from Shannon in June for EUR140 each, renting an apartment found it on www.holidaylettings.co.uk for EUR170 each, its in Alubeira, very central, 10mins walk from beach pubs.  4 of us going.  might rent out a car which will cost EUR150 between.

Last year i waited for a last min deal to Portugal, cost EUR280 each..

Never booking with travel agents again!


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## gebbel (23 Apr 2009)

007007 said:


> hello
> we just booked flights to Faro from Shannon in June for EUR140 each, renting an apartment found it on www.holidaylettings.co.uk for EUR170 each, its in Alubeira, very central, 10mins walk from beach pubs. 4 of us going. might rent out a car which will cost EUR150 between.
> 
> Last year i waited for a last min deal to Portugal, cost EUR280 each..
> ...


 
Your last minute deal with travel agents cost €280 each while the DIY package is €140 + €170 = €310 each? 

Should you therefore not be championing the travel agent?!


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## oldnick (23 Apr 2009)

So, 00707,  because last year you paid the enormous sum of 280 euros for your holiday and this year you got it cheaper (i assume it was cheaper and that your figures above are wrong -otherwise gebbel is right) then you won't deal with a travel agent.

At present I -along with all travel agents - am selling  one week holidays in May and early june for _199 euros_. That's ,like, this year. 

And, lsjd - I wonder if you could tell me what resort/accommodation you were quoted 4k for your Algarve holiday. As the price range of holidays we're selling for a family of four in Portugal in August ranges from two grand to a high of 3k I'm really puzzled.


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