Please can someone help? Booking my first overseas holiday!

jess07907

Hi all,

First of all, please excuse my naivety, I have never been abroad before, let alone booked a holiday before, and I am now trying to book my first holiday abroad (our honeymoon!) for myself and hubby to be.
I have spent hours trawling Tripadvisor & the net in general, and have found the hotel/room/board basis & the flights that I want.
My question is, who the hell do I book with? It's only 5 nights, so Thomas Cook & Thomson won't do it. But there are thousands of websites all doing the same thing at a different price - onthebeach.co.uk, travel republic, low cost holidays, purple travel etc etc.
Please can someone help?!

Thank you!

jacques_chirac

Can you book the elements separately? You can often get a good price booking each part directly.

I have used OTB, TR and LCH with no problems, but I have seen many complaints about OTB so I would avoid them if possible.

Also remember to book insurance as soon as you book. It will cover you if you need to cancel (for certain reasons) before the trip.

claire16c

If you tell us the hotel & dates I'm sure people will help.

jpsartre

jess07907 wrote: »

My question is, who the hell do I book with?

The airline you will be flying with and the hotel you'll be staying at. Alternatively you might be able to book both on the airline's website. I would steer clear of the sites you mention. They compete on price alone and if there's an issue that needs to be sorted you will need to go through their customer service department, you will not be able to sort it out directly with the airline. Of course, if there's a massive price difference then you can consider whether that risk is worth running. Where and when are you flying to/from and where are you planning to stay? People may be able to give you some tips on routings, prices, when to book, etc.

jess07907

Thank you everyone!
It's 20th July, 5 nights.
Luton to Palma - Easyjet - 0600 flight out, 1615 flight back.
Hotel is the Ferrera Blanca 4 star AI in a suite. For 2 adults.

I can book it all on the Easyjet website, including the hotel, but I read somewhere that this isn't ATOL protected? Is this right?


Thank you again!

jpsartre

That is correct.

lea2012

If you can I would book your flight directly with easyjet and then book the hotel with someone like Holiday Nights or Last Check, whichever one is cheapest. I have used both of these many times with no problems so far.
As others have said OTB have a few negative reviews on here and looking at Travel Republics facebook page they don't look too good either as lots of complaints on there. (https://www.facebook.com/travelrepublic)
I've heard of LCH but not used them as always found others cheaper, but don't know much about Purple holidays so can't comment on them.
For airport taxis we always use airporttransfers.co.uk and again never a problem so far.

Archergirl

If you fly with Easy jet, make sure you print you outward AND homeward boarding passes before you go, also its only £3 to choose your seats, nice for a honeymoon to make sure you sit together.

maman

Just wanted to check that OP has sorted passports in plenty of time?

Archergirl wrote: »

If you fly with Easy jet, make sure you print you outward AND homeward boarding passes before you go, also its only £3 to choose your seats, nice for a honeymoon to make sure you sit together.

I've never travelled with Easyjet but have booked with them for next June. All I have at the moment is the 'travel plan' which tells me to book my boarding pass 'from the comfort of my own home'. When should I do that?

zagfles

jess07907 wrote: »

Thank you everyone!
It's 20th July, 5 nights.
Luton to Palma - Easyjet - 0600 flight out, 1615 flight back.
Hotel is the Ferrera Blanca 4 star AI in a suite. For 2 adults.

I can book it all on the Easyjet website, including the hotel, but I read somewhere that this isn't ATOL protected? Is this right?

Just get a decent travel insurance policy which should cover you for the same.

zagfles

maman wrote: »

Just wanted to check that OP has sorted passports in plenty of time?

And to make certain the flight tickets are in the same name as the passport - ie don't book the flight as Mrs <new hubby's name> when the passport is in your maiden name. Passport name must match ticket name.

I've never travelled with Easyjet but have booked with them for next June. All I have at the moment is the 'travel plan' which tells me to book my boarding pass 'from the comfort of my own home'. When should I do that?

Think it's about a month before, it should tell you somewhere.