Booking a "lad's holiday" to Zante

melb

hi there I want to help my son and 13 of his mates all 17 and 18 get the best deal for their post A-Level holiday to Laganas on Zante at the beginning of July this year. Flights seem extortionate (between £270 and £350 per person) but are limited in choice so I think we need to book them quickly and there are convenient ones at good times with Jet2 from leeds at the lowest of this price range. Now to the accommodation. We've DIYed all our holidays for many years but I don't know how I would go about booking for so many people. I think they will go for some sort of aparthotel with basic kitchen facilities like a fridge.
I've seen 2 places that look good The Canadian and the Cactus. has anyone booked this kind of multi-person holiday before? Should they all book separately so no-one is owing anyone anything? Should they find what they want but then go to a travel agent to book it so that a) they have a rep in resort and b) they can pay in instalments even though it may cost a little more? Can you even book jet2 holidays in a travel agent?
I know some of them have visited travel agents and come away with brochures and I have warned them not to book anything in the shop until they have gone home and done research and discussed with parents etc.
Any help/advice would be appreciated

MrsE_2

Will they all be 18 by the time they fly?
The reason I ask is can they even get medical insurance if they are under 18 travelling without a parental figure - do their mates count?
Just something to think about?
You might be better veering towards the corner of the market that specialises in young & lively holidays, rather than booking them I'm somewhere where every other guest is after a quiter holiday & the apartment owner blames them for everything & anything. Like if something is faulty, might want to start fining them rather than accepting it was like that.

stephb34

You can book Jet2 in travel agents but they are about 10% dearer than doing diy on the net as that's how jet2 pays the TA. If I was your son I would steer clear of being lead passenger its a nightmare and I would suggest to him to book in smaller groups than 13 but all at the same time and pick who he thinks is his most reliable couple of friends to be on his booking. Make sure each individual has all of their deposit in full before they book don't let him lend any of them it as even who you think is your best friend they still let you down where money is concerned. When they book there room sizes it would be wise to check if someone drops out how much is the under occupancy as that's how much more the lads that are left in a room will have to pay and if they're working to a budget they may not have enough money. Insist they all take insurance and not very cheap policies with excesses of £300 a time. If I were you I would get them to book on the high street where you can walk in and chat and make any alterations, if you do it on the net or telephone you could end up with a huge phone bill. I've seen it so many times

melb

thanks to you both - really good advice especially from Steph as I've read many tales of woe on here about people backing out of holidays and the ones left going having to pay a lot extra. Good point about the ages - I didn't think about the insurance aspect but was thinking in terms of them having to be 18 to go on an 18-30 holiday. I've been looking at accommodation which seems to be set up for the teenage crowd - ie 24 hour music by the pool and quite tolerant of noise. the thing is with the package holidays aimed at this age group the cost is about £500 each whereas if I book the flights with Jet 2 (and they have 10% off at the moment) I can get them a week for about £340 (plus transfers but it's only a short distance from the airport). Would I be best approaching the hotels direct maybe to see if they have the room for 14 people as a few seem to be getting booked up already.

MrsE_2

If you did book apartments then I guess the accommodation costs would be quite cheap & if people dropped out they could absorb the extra without too much hardship. At least everyone would be responsible for their own air ticket (make them book seperatly).
I would be really wary of booking in a large group because of people dropping out.

zagfles

Make sure they all have EHIC cards whether or not they have insurance as well. These are free (avoid the rip-off websites which charge for them, go to official NHS site where they are free http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx)

There have been stories about people not being able to get state treatment in Greece so insurance would be a good idea, but watch out for exclusions in a lot of policies like "under the influence of alcohol" - I suspect this would make the policy almost useless for a typical "lads" holiday

With a large group you're probably best booking cancellable rooms, as someone is bound to drop out. Or perhaps if it's a lot cheaper to book non cancellable rooms, maybe book a couple of cancellable ones and rest non-cancellable to give the flexibility. Maybe if some aren't certain they'll go, book a cancellable room but no flight and get them to book the flight themselves nearer the time if they're going (they'll probably pay more).

stephb34

You can be 17-35 on an 18-30s holiday lol, you need a letter of permission off the 17 year olds guardian. Think the deposits are quite low for that type of holiday but not sure of the actual holiday cost, have any of them been on holiday without parents before, would they benefit from being on a package. If you book jet2 flights only do you have to pay in full for them at time of booking?

richardw

Are some of the 17 year olds related to the 18 or older lads?

Does it have to Laganas ? San Antonio on Ibiza and Magaluf on Majorca might be cheaper and still offer the essential ingredients of a lads holiday.

melb

thanks for your further replies and help. That's a good tip about EHIC cards - my son has one but will alert others. Another thing I thought was make sure they all have (in date) passports! Yes I think they will have to pay the full amounts for the flights - but at least that will show who is actually committed. don't think the 17 year olds will be related to the 18 year olds. To be honest don't know many of his friends as they seem to be friends he's made while in 6th form so don't tend to see them or their parents. They seem set on Zante for some reason - don't know why? I think I'm going to suggest the Cactus apartments to them as they seem the best bet - although it is hard to communicate with someone who is surgically attached to phone/laptop/TV while apparently finishing off his "personal statement" to hand into school tomorrow!

duchy

Not all complexes accept single sex groups either so make sure the property they choose doesn't turn them away on arrival if they do take the advice (which is basically good) of booking per room instead of one big booking unless there is a good group booking saving (and his mates are reasonably reliable)

dawyldthing

Zante does seem to be one of the more expensive places to go. Corfu is another that can work out quite cheap. Check on Martin Moneys link for flights to try and get some of the cheapest and also check out Manchester as they will have more flights available