Breaking away from package holidays

danz0l

As the title says we are thinking of breaking away from package holidays in favour of sourcing our own. We kinda did this like year with Disneyland Paris and it proved cheaper and a more rewarding experiance.

So we are a family of 4 (kids being 14 and 16 when we travel so classed as adults) and are thinking along the lines of Spain (maybe Barcelona or Madrid).

I've sourced fair priced flights that comes to around £400 for the times travelled (5th - 14th August) and am now looking to accomadation.

I happened on this site http://www.holiday-rentals.co.uk/ and have to admit i'm very keen but nervous to try this type of accomadation.

Has anyone done this before and what are the risks ? Also does anybody have other sites similiar to this they would recomend or any advice they care to offer us (being all too new to this type of holiday organising).

Really look forward to your advice and comments

Carol444_2

There are normally no issues with a DIY holiday, but a few things you should be aware of:

Villas are normally set well away from any beach or town center, so if you want to be near enough to a beach or town center to walk you would be better off with an apartment.

Private owners will normally book accomodation Sat/Sun to Sat/Sun in the school holiday period (no one wants to be left with half a week they cannot sell).

Private owners can usually arrange transfers for you.

If you do not intend to take a car make sure there are restaurants/shops close by (don't get stuck in the middle of nowhere with only a 2-hourly bus service which you have to walk half an hour to get to).

If cooking for yourself check if there is a supermarket nearby and if there is a taxi service from it, and how much that costs.

Private owners can normally give you an idea of how much a meal at a local restaurant costs, how much drink costs etc.

Don't go self-catering where there are predominantly AI hotels around (i.e. Tenerife) as the restaurants, shops and bars in that area will be far more expensive than restaurants, shops and bars where there is a high level of apartments.

Check if you have to pay any extras (cleaning, safe).

Check if there is air-conditioning in the summer and proper heating in the winter.

Having said this, it can be far more fun to be in your own place abroad. A pool and a beach, and a couple of trips out are normally all children seem to need in order to have a good time.

Jelliebeen

Hi,

I always do DIY holidays - it works out cheaper than a package and has so much more atmosphere.

I usually book through holidaylettings.co.uk - they do the same as HR. If you're nervous you can phone the actual company up and ask for some background info on the owner - I've done that a couple of times. However, to book you go through the owner directly.

If you're worried about your airline going bust you can also get scheduled airline failure cover now - protectmyholiday.com is one such example, although I think more companies are including this as standard in their cover.

Obviously, you need to get your own travel insurance if you go this route. If you're travelling within the EU make sure you have a valid EHIC card (replaced the E111).

All the owners I've rented from have been really helpful and given me local hints/tips, even meeting us at stations etc before we picked the car up!

Make sure you check the finer details carefully and before you book just make sure that there won;t be any extras to pay. Some people do like to add these on rather than have an all inclusive price. If they do, I don't book and go somewhere where cleaning, linen and utility costs etc are included in the price. Some people do try to be cheeky, so just make sure you ask before you sign anything!

You just need to pay attention to all the details and you'll be fine. Go for it!:T

danz0l

Thanks Guys. I've never really got into the whole "package holiday" way of doing things. Sure i like that its all sorted for me but i never truly felt a sense of being abroad and hate the pool culture idea of holiday making (although ironically love being around the pool,just not with everybody else).

Thanks for the tips regards cleaning fees etc as i never even considered those. Also thanks for the ideas that transfers (for a fee of course) may be do-able with the landlord.

I understand the point about Saturday to Saturday rental so will have to opt for one week instead of two due to location here and getting to a good valued airport.

Incidentally if anyone knows good sites for booking cheap flights i'd love to hear from you.

And thanks for all the advice so far.

Jelliebeen

As much as I dislike them, Ryanair seem to be ever expanding and serving the DIY market well. You do need to be aware of extra charges though, so make sure you tally it all up before you book any flights. And if you're travelling with kids then you need to be aware of their recent 'one piece of hand luggage only' campaign. Basically you can have up to 10kg but this all has to be in one bag. Anything else and you're fined and it goes in the hold.

easyJet are also another goody as are bmibaby.

Sometimes, however, it may be just as cost effective and a whole lot more pleasant to fly with the big carriers like BA, Lufthansa and Air France.

Carol444_2

Flights to which airports/from which airports?

Also I have heard that ryanair airports are nowhere near the actual city they are flying to, so be sure you have taken transfers into account when choosing what appears to be a cheap flight.

What price and destination have you come up with so far.

You mention Barcelona and Madrid, do you prefer city holidays?

getmore4less

For flights start with www.skyscanner.net

Do check you travel insurance carefully. It may not cover what you think, especialy suppliers going bust.

Same with the Credit card if you book bits seperately you are not covered for losses if one componant of the trip fails only the bit that fails.

danz0l

Carol444 wrote: »

Flights to which airports/from which airports?

Also I have heard that ryanair airports are nowhere near the actual city they are flying to, so be sure you have taken transfers into account when choosing what appears to be a cheap flight.

What price and destination have you come up with so far.

You mention Barcelona and Madrid, do you prefer city holidays?

Not al all. If i'm honest we can count on one hand the amount of european breaks we have had so we are not sure where to go. Looking anything cheap to be honest. So far the best prices have been to Madrid and Barcelona (around £450 for the 4 of us) hence the interest but the property rental prices are higher there. Alacante seems another possibility but i'm certainly open to any suggestions

munka1

Last year we did 2 DIY holidays, 1 to Menorca in a villa for 2 weeks and the other, for a week to Lanzarote also in a villa. These were the best holidays, we could do as we pleased, had own swimming pool, could eat, sleep or go wherever we wanted when we wanted. We used 2 companies holidaylettings.co.uk and ownersdirect.co.uk, both of them you contact the owner direct so you can find out exactly whats included and whats extra, be careful of some, a weeks rental might seem cheap but then they add cleaning, pool heating, air-conditioning etc and then they don't sound too cheap, but most of the villa/apartments/townhouses etc all state what's extra and what's included. Also both times we have flown by Monarch and for when we went they were the cheapest, but it depends where you fly from. We will never go on another package holiday again, not when you can have everything to yourself.

danz0l

getmore4less wrote: »

For flights start with www.skyscanner.net

Do check you travel insurance carefully. It may not cover what you think, especialy suppliers going bust.

Same with the Credit card if you book bits seperately you are not covered for losses if one componant of the trip fails only the bit that fails.

Thanks will certainly try this. I love the "open" location idea of doing things. Makes things interesting.

angel13

danz0l wrote: »

Not al all. If i'm honest we can count on one hand the amount of european breaks we have had so we are not sure where to go. Looking anything cheap to be honest. So far the best prices have been to Madrid and Barcelona (around £450 for the 4 of us) hence the interest but the property rental prices are higher there. Alacante seems another possibility but i'm certainly open to any suggestions

i have been looking for a barcelona break and i came across these apartments that i really love. if you email them they will email back within a few hours with prices and they are very very reasonable. otherwise the only place i have seen using them is lastminute and then you cant book in advance.
http://www.whotells.com/
not sure if you will like them as much as me and i would really love to know if they are as nice as i think they look

otherwise how about booking a villa through hoseasons or jamesvillas. if you search you can find ones that are away from the tourists. also these sites are fantastic and the brochures ive been sent are excellent.

http://www.casas.co.uk/content.php?pageid=12
http://www.longtravelproperties.co.uk/props/ptemp2p1l.asp?propertyid=13