Advice on not using the main travel agents

chris3349

I have only ever been away abroud once with my OH i am only 26 we went to gran canaria last year we went with a company called travel value which we found on teletext holidays as it was cheaper than thomas cook, comos etc had a great time they arranged transfers which ment we got to the hotel much sooner than the thomas cook people however as we are not really all day sun bathing people we wanted to go on 3/4 trips and as we would have no rep with travel value we were worred we would not be able to get any but luckly the day we arrived we got a phone call from the thomas cook rep inviting us to the welcome meeting i dont know if this was because we were in a suposid thomas cook exclusive hotel (in which case did travel value just book us through thomas cook OR did thomas cook just take on all the indipendantly booked people at the hotel to sell trips etc we ended up booking all our trips through the rep as no trip stand etc on the sea frunt. We want to go to turkey this year but again are worred about not having a rep if we book on teletext holiday as its cheaper we are on a budget should we worry or will any rep sell us trips even if we are not in there group or will there be sea frunt sellers that will sell us trips cheaper.

Sorry for the long read and spelling mistakes any feedback appreciated.

WishI'dReadSooner

Tip - from a seasoned traveller.
NEVER book your trips from the travel reps - they are invariably half or less the price if you book them independantly. Just an example but we were glancing through the tours at a hotel in Turkey. Market visits at £10-£15 each - what a rip-off! We caught a dolmus for less than £1 return each & didn't have to wait for all the hotels to be visited making the journey over an hour, compared to our 15min journey from almost outside the hotel. Hmmmm

Turkey - depends on what resort you book but normally you'll have no problem whatsoever booking your own trips with English speaking guides.
Even smaller hotels usually can book independant trips for you BUT shop around.

Turkey - you can get cheap dolmus (bus) to most places.
Once you've booked then do some research & then ask on here - I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

As regards booking with a small agent/agency - pay by credit card & make sure they are ATOL/ABTA bonded (just in case you end with an XL style fiasco) & also look up the hotels they offer on trip advisor or the likes. Again ask on here if need be.

Turkey is lovely, the people are very friendly & helpful, it depends on what kind of holiday you like as to which resort you should choose.

duchy

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Person[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ally I'd check out the trip prices on your hotel noticebo[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ard [/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]and then pop into [/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]any booking [/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]agency in town [/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]and comp[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]are prices-you'll prob[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ably p[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]ay h[/FONT][FONT=verdana,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]alf.[/FONT]
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chris3349

WishI'dReadSooner wrote: »

Tip - from a seasoned traveller.
NEVER book your trips from the travel reps - they are invariably half or less the price if you book them independantly. Just an example but we were glancing through the tours at a hotel in Turkey. Market visits at £10-£15 each - what a rip-off! We caught a dolmus for less than £1 return each & didn't have to wait for all the hotels to be visited making the journey over an hour, compared to our 15min journey from almost outside the hotel. Hmmmm

Turkey - depends on what resort you book but normally you'll have no problem whatsoever booking your own trips with English speaking guides.
Even smaller hotels usually can book independant trips for you BUT shop around.

Turkey - you can get cheap dolmus (bus) to most places.
Once you've booked then do some research & then ask on here - I'm sure someone will point you in the right direction.

As regards booking with a small agent/agency - pay by credit card & make sure they are ATOL/ABTA bonded (just in case you end with an XL style fiasco) & also look up the hotels they offer on trip advisor or the likes. Again ask on here if need be.

Turkey is lovely, the people are very friendly & helpful, it depends on what kind of holiday you like as to which resort you should choose.

Great advice thankyou I booked last time with travel value and they were atol/abta protected so will make sure i do the same this year I am looking to go to marmaris so i persume lots of trip sales people around i am after a holiday where there is lots of night live but by that i mean sevel pubs offering entertainment eg comedians, singers quizs etc open till 1-2am at least i do not need the young clubs open till 5 or 6 am as i am too old for all that lol i have been recomended marmaris but also what do people think of icmeler as all i need is a choice of pubs and marmaris may be to young any throughts.
I did any people selling trips other than boat rides in gran caneria last june i was in puerto rico but maybe i was just not looking properly and went with the easy option there were leflets in the reception area but the staff removed any that were for trips and just keep selected ones

Lobell

When in Marmaris several years ago, we booked a 2 day trip to Ephesus & Pamukale through a tour company that operated from a kiosk along the sea-front. It was half the price of what the rep was selling the same trip for and was well organised.

We usually holiday in Greece and always book our trips independently. Going to Kenya this year and I've already started contacting local Safari companies to compare prices.

With regards to Marmaris v Icmeler, well Icmeler is smaller and a bit quieter but still has plenty of bars, restaurants etc. Marmaris is much bigger with a massive amount of bars etc so something for everyone and I wouldn't say you'd be 'too old' for Marmaris as it caters for all ages. I think you can take the Dolmus from Icmeler to Marmaris anyway (will cost a couple of quid each max.)

chris3349

Lobell wrote: »

When in Marmaris several years ago, we booked a 2 day trip to Ephesus & Pamukale through a tour company that operated from a kiosk along the sea-front. It was half the price of what the rep was selling the same trip for and was well organised.

We usually holiday in Greece and always book our trips independently. Going to Kenya this year and I've already started contacting local Safari companies to compare prices.

With regards to Marmaris v Icmeler, well Icmeler is smaller and a bit quieter but still has plenty of bars, restaurants etc. Marmaris is much bigger with a massive amount of bars etc so something for everyone and I wouldn't say you'd be 'too old' for Marmaris as it caters for all ages. I think you can take the Dolmus from Icmeler to Marmaris anyway (will cost a couple of quid each max.)

Thankyou for your advice i am reasured there are kiosks along the sea front (do these operate all year i am planning on going in june? ) does anybody know is icmeler a lot cheaper as can get a week in marmaris for around £250 per person if its not then maybe marmaris is where i will go and avoid the clubs.