would you go DIY to save £350?

peachyprice

DIY all the way for us, we've only been on 2 packages, we had problems with both in terms of poor service from reps, poor accomodation, poor communications etc.,

At least if you DIY and things aren't right you've only yourself to blame and can sort it yourself rather than relying on some incompetent rep.

And lets face it, you're far more likely to encounter problems at your resort/hotel than the airline going bust.

Also, picking up on Polly's post and the poor deal many hotels get from tour operators, independent travellers, in my experience, get a far better level of service at hotels than the package guests.

TBeckett100

peachyprice wrote: »

DIY all the way for us, we've only been on 2 packages, we had problems with both in terms of poor service from reps, poor accomodation, poor communications etc.,

At least if you DIY and things aren't right you've only yourself to blame and can sort it yourself rather than relying on some incompetent rep.

And lets face it, you're far more likely to encounter problems at your resort/hotel than the airline going bust.

Also, picking up on Polly's post and the poor deal many hotels get from tour operators, independent travellers, in my experience, get a far better level of service at hotels than the package guests.

my experience has been that package guests get better treatment than those who book through the likes on alpharooms etc. all hotels i haven booked diy have given me rubbish rooms and told me there is no space in the hotel to switch rooms, yet an hour later, a coachload of saga arrives and they get the better end,

Doshwaster

I always do DIY. It's such much better to choose the flights you want, the hotels you want and the schedule you want. And I don't need a teenage rep to hold my hand and tell me what to do.

Anyway, Ryanair are probably the least likely airline in Europe to go bust.

Leper

This is a No-Brainer - Go DIY - and save the £350.00

nw_man

DIY for sure.

cubegame

I'd do it at the drop of a pin.

I might consider lowering the saving to go with another airline who won't be looking for every reason possible to extract a few more euros out of you. Holidays are stressful enough without having to worry if your boarding card is on the right weight of paper!

;-)

ferf1223

TBeckett100 wrote: »

my experience has been that package guests get better treatment than those who book through the likes on alpharooms etc. all hotels i haven booked diy have given me rubbish rooms and told me there is no space in the hotel to switch rooms, yet an hour later, a coachload of saga arrives and they get the better end,

Maybe, but my experience has been that those who book direct with the hotel get better treatment than those who book with any 3rd party. So it probably depends on where exactly the OP is going and how they would book the hotel...if direct with the hotel, no intermediary, I'd be suprised if they weren't at the top of the food chain.

Though obviously the OP has decided not to go DIY now, so...

peachyprice

TBeckett100 wrote: »

my experience has been that package guests get better treatment than those who book through the likes on alpharooms etc. all hotels i haven booked diy have given me rubbish rooms and told me there is no space in the hotel to switch rooms, yet an hour later, a coachload of saga arrives and they get the better end,

I wouldn't ever use a site like alpharooms, I always book with the hotel direct. Nine times out of ten you get a better deal going direct.

davidlizard

A decent insurance policy covering independent travel would address many of concerns that could arise from DIY travel. There would be plenty of change left over from the £350 after that.

As for having a rep on hand with local knowledge, there are plenty of locals more than willing to help with travel insurance support if things go really bad.

I prefer the flexibility DIY travel brings - freedom to choose airline/flight times, duration other that 7/14 nights, hotel etc etc. We also avoid all the little tricks to save the travel company a few pounds that inconvenience us greatly - for example, waiting 3 hours at the airport for people on another flight so they only need to put on one bus, taking 4 hours to bus us to the hotel after visiting every hotel on the island, flying at night to use the cheap landing slots, changing hotel at the last moment and so on, and generally avoiding being herded around like cattle by a pushy 18yo rep.

Pelican_eats_pigeon

peachyprice wrote: »

I wouldn't ever use a site like alpharooms, I always book with the hotel direct. Nine times out of ten you get a better deal going direct.

Even when it doesn't appear you could get a better deal, some hotels are prepared to match rates offered by booking websites if you ask them directly. It all depends if you speak to the right person of course, but I've got a pretty good success rate with it.