would you go DIY to save £350?

TBeckett100

we are looking at a thomascook package holiday. for 4 adukts and 1 infant the cost is £1805 all inclusive. If i paid for the ryanair flights and bought the hotel separate, the total cost would be £1450.

package deals are protected i know, but wondered whether saving £350 quid was really worth it?

Barneysmom

If it's protected I would, I'd be really careful that if anything went wrong, I'd get my money back or at least a flight home anyway.

ferf1223

we always book DIY and would certainly do so to save £350 - even with the recent ash-related incidents.

I suppose it depends in part on the hotel booking - if you book direct, what cancellation rights do you have? It varies quite a lot depending on how you book. Just thinking that if the cancellation rights were very flexible, and you could say cancel the hotel without penalty if your outbound flight was cancelled and not rescheduled quickly, your only risk would be potential accomodation costs if your return flight was cancelled and not rescheduled very quickly.

But even then, under the European regulations, wouldn't the airline be responible for picking up the additional accomodation costs if your return flight was cancelled?

So by my understanding, if the hotel booking is flexible and can be cancelled, you're no better off booking a package, are you?

ferf1223

ok - and also, just realised I'm not sure what sort of protection you're talking about - if it's if the companies go bust, using a credit card should offer protections I think.

mtc95

Bear in mind that if Ryanair decide to cancel your outward flight for any reason, they will only refund your money for that flight. They are under no obligation to offer you an alternative flight to your destination and if they do, it will almost certainly cost a lot more at that late stage.

If the return flight is cancelled then in theory, they may be responsible for paying for extra accomodation and getting you home but it will probably be a struggle as they are renowned to trying to get out of their responsibilities as was seen during the volcanic ash affair.

Of course, you would have to be very unlucky to hit a problem like this but it does sometimes happen so it's as well to be aware of the risks.

alanrowell

ferf1223 wrote: »

we always book DIY and would certainly do so to save £350 - even with the recent ash-related incidents.

How about the even more recent troubles with Goldtrail?

ferf1223

alanrowell wrote: »

How about the even more recent troubles with Goldtrail?

Wasn't 'Goldtrail a package holiday company?

stephb34

TBeckett100 wrote: »

we are looking at a thomascook package holiday. for 4 adukts and 1 infant the cost is £1805 all inclusive. If i paid for the ryanair flights and bought the hotel separate, the total cost would be £1450.

package deals are protected i know, but wondered whether saving £350 quid was really worth it?

What about transfers they're included in a package, is that price after asking a travel agent for a discount. When you divide the £350 into 4 it doesnt sound quite as big a saving, which its probably worth the extra money for peace of mind. If its your main holiday i personally would take the package, if it was just a cheap weekend break getaway then i'd use the low cost carriers.

TBeckett100

thanks all. i think i will pay the extra. no offence but 4 hours of an eastern european cat squealing bullseye baggies BOGOF and starfish telecom calling cards is enough to put me off!

Poly,put_the_kettle_on

Our Thomas Cook holiday was cancelled last minute when they pulled out of the island. We arranged to go independantly instead. The owner of the apartments was lovely, and when chatting he told us what a pittance he gets from the operators- we vowed then & there that if we went somewhere like that again, and we could, we'd do so independantly.

I do hate to see the little guy squeezed by the multinationals.

peachyprice

ferf1223 wrote: »

Wasn't 'Goldtrail a package holiday company?

That's what I thought too.