overseas holiday

travelling_light

Never taken family abroad. Now realise this is something I really want to do before they all go seperate ways. Can anyne recommend good way to book - local agent or internet. Possibly France or Spain. Want it all - stuff for teens; nice scenery good food and fun. all of course as cheaply as poss. camping of self catering fine. I appreciate any help or suggestions many thanks

jetboy

Depends really on when you want to go. You will always get good package deals at the start and end of season. Outside these times (ie mid june-mid sept) you are more likely to save ££ by doing it yourself. Easyjet and jet2 have holiday package engines on their sites for piecing it all together but it's often cheaper to shop further eg get a flight off Easy, hotel off alpharooms etc. If your are piecing it together yourself remember that it may be cheaper to travel outbound with one airline and back with another. For package deals from ireland try www.holiday-special.com . The merger betwen Thomas Cook and Mytravel may have reduced capacity from NI but at the minute there are some deals to be had. I have a feeling that merger will throw up some teething problems this summer though.

IvanOpinion

You can probably put together the component parts of a holiday a bit cheaply by surfing the web however make sure that you also budget in transfers etc. and remember that if one part goes wrong then there is no recourse on the other parts (e.g. if you miss a connection etc.)

On the other hand a package from a good TA should include everything but may cost a bit more. However if something goes wrong you have somebody to go and shout at and expect the TA to sort it out for you.

If I were not used to travelling abroad I would probably choose the tA route for peace-of-mind. However this is a money saving site so you could try posting on the travel section of this board with your preferred destination etc. and see if some of the TAs that post there can help.

Ivan

jetboy

Personally, I wouldn't consider using a tour company for a European Trip because it is the piece of mind you refer to that is the misconception. There was a very interesting demonstration of this in the travel forum regarding a Thomas Cook holiday from ABZ to TFS recently. I completely agree that at least you do have something to moan at if it does go wrong (whether they actually do anything is another matter). Many tour operators are charging for transfers now anyway, charging for inflight meals and there is the threat of 'fuel surcharges' looming in the background too. They also charge a ridiculous amount for insurance to the unwary. That said you are paying a premium to have all the sourcing done for you and if you are a novice it may well be easier to take the hit on your first trip until you find your feet a little.
Irrespective of what method you use to book your trip make sure you and your party get EHIC cards (used to be the E111) for European medical care:
www.ehic.co.uk

harpo1

Try leisuredirections.co.uk - I've used them many times, for camping holidays in France & Spain. They use the same mobile homes as Keycamp- the same reps, the same sites, the same everything except cheaper - up peak season. You can get 7 nights in a 3 bed mobile in the La Garangeoire in the Vendee for £521.
Have a look. Good luck

Js_Other_Half

harpo1 wrote: »

Try leisuredirections.co.uk - I've used them many times, for camping holidays in France & Spain. They use the same mobile homes as Keycamp- the same reps, the same sites, the same everything except cheaper - up peak season. You can get 7 nights in a 3 bed mobile in the La Garangeoire in the Vendee for £521.
Have a look. Good luck

I've used this company several times with no problems too.

Pretani

This camping site in Amsterdam is a great place to stay. Place is buzzing all the time and you'll not find more nationalities per square km anywhere in the world. 4 of us went there when we were alot younger, stayed in the log cabins. Its only 5 mins from city centre which is handy.

Golden_Anemone

harpo1 wrote: »

Try leisuredirections.co.uk - I've used them many times, for camping holidays in France & Spain. They use the same mobile homes as Keycamp- the same reps, the same sites, the same everything except cheaper - up peak season. You can get 7 nights in a 3 bed mobile in the La Garangeoire in the Vendee for £521.
Have a look. Good luck

Js_Other_Half wrote: »

I've used this company several times with no problems too.

It's www.leisuredirection.co.uk. Thanks, it looks great value.

cooki2222

i book flights with airline direct and booked my hotels with booking.com for my trip to rome(4days) then on to malaga(7days) came to about £400 for flights for the 2 of us and just over £850 for accomodation.

the flight from rome to malaga cost the most at 245€ but got good prices on flights out and into belfast from aerlingus.

Try belfast to malaga price wise, some lovely hotels in costa del sol