learning about travel

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

Where is a good place to learn the best way to get good value on holiday. For instrance should one book hotel separately or get flight plus hotel.


A friend of mine wants to go to spain for xmas.He will travel alone. Is 471 euro for three night with flight and meals a good deal? Is Ryanair the best value?

i think this should be in the main travel board. sorry

Ponster

Thread moved by request (kinda)

naughtysmurf

Is it a good deal, who knows, possibly but if the food is inedable & accommodation in an undesirable area, probably not, the only way to figure it out is by doing a bit of research, Tripadvisor is good, look at the reviews for the accommodation, price it up yourself by booking flights & accommodation separately & see how it compares, we tend to DIY it, not necessarily cheaper but more bang for your buck generally

CelticRambler

Chances are there are some really good deals to be had in Spain right now due to the collapse of Thomas Cook and hotels there desperate to make up for the thousands of cancelled bookings ... but you/your friend will need to go looking for them. Use a general booking site intially (booking.com, lastminute.com, expedia.com, hotels.com, etc, etc) to get an idea of what the "right" price is, then think about contacting a few hotels directly to see if you can get a better price, or extra service for the same price. The more nights you book, the more likely you are to be able to get an extra night free ... but it depends on all kinds of factors.

As for flights: Christmas is generally one of the dearest times of the year to fly, although SonNo.1 is coming home on Christmas Eve this year because it's cheaper than flying at the weekend. Again, use a site like flights.google.com to get an idea of what the "right" price is for flights to airports within your region of interest at/around the dates of interest, then go directly to the airline's website to make sure you're seeing all the terms and conditions (e.g. baggage limitations).

Above all, resist the temptation to book something on impulse until you've figured out what those two "right" prices are. But once you've done that, keep checking for flash sales and if a great deal comes up, book it as soon as you see it.

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

CelticRambler wrote: »

Chances are there are some really good deals to be had in Spain right now due to the collapse of Thomas Cook and hotels there desperate to make up for the thousands of cancelled bookings ... but you/your friend will need to go looking for them. Use a general booking site intially (booking.com, lastminute.com, expedia.com, hotels.com, etc, etc) to get an idea of what the "right" price is, then think about contacting a few hotels directly to see if you can get a better price, or extra service for the same price. The more nights you book, the more likely you are to be able to get an extra night free ... but it depends on all kinds of factors.

As for flights: Christmas is generally one of the dearest times of the year to fly, although SonNo.1 is coming home on Christmas Eve this year because it's cheaper than flying at the weekend. Again, use a site like flights.google.com to get an idea of what the "right" price is for flights to airports within your region of interest at/around the dates of interest, then go directly to the airline's website to make sure you're seeing all the terms and conditions (e.g. baggage limitations).

Above all, resist the temptation to book something on impulse until you've figured out what those two "right" prices are. But once you've done that, keep checking for flash sales and if a great deal comes up, book it as soon as you see it.

Very helpful, just the 'where to start' info i need. Thanks

fritzelly

Where in Spain?
Why stay in an hotel? Look at airbnb - can get some great places for a fraction of what you would pay for an hotel
When I go to Spain (Torremolinos area) I book a penthouse apartment (and it's a great apartment), costs circa 500 euro for 7 nights for 2 of us, add in a cheap Ryanair flight for around 100 (even cheaper this time of year) and you get a weeks holiday for 300 euro (cook what you want or eat out)

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

fritzelly wrote: »

Where in Spain?
Why stay in an hotel? Look at airbnb - can get some great places for a fraction of what you would pay for an hotel
When I go to Spain (Torremolinos area) I book a penthouse apartment (and it's a great apartment), costs circa 500 euro for 7 nights for 2 of us, add in a cheap Ryanair flight for around 100 (even cheaper this time of year) and you get a weeks holiday for 300 euro (cook what you want or eat out)

Malaga looks good I know it is the Torremolinos area. My friend has a medical condition i am not sure he could manage in a penthouse apartment.

naughtysmurf

Merrick Bald Lyrics wrote: »

Malaga looks good I know it is the Torremolinos area. My friend has a medical condition i am not sure he could manage in a penthouse apartment.

add decent medical & travel insurance into the budget too, pre existing medical conditions are usually not covered in the average policy

vulchor

tripadvisor, trip.com, booking.com, expedia.com

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

If in a penthouse would there be shops with uk type food. And hoefar are the shops from the apartment?The European breakfast seems very high in sugar. Do any hotels serve UK breakfast?


Thanks all

CelticRambler

What's "UK type food"? Everything that the French eat for breakfast is on sale in Asda, so it'd be easier if you just said what you wanted to have!

But in any case, there will be shops somewhere nearby, and there will be a wide range of edible food available. Here are three Lidls in Torremolinos - are they UK-ish enough for you?

fritzelly

Merrick Bald Lyrics wrote: »

If in a penthouse would there be shops with uk type food. And hoefar are the shops from the apartment?The European breakfast seems very high in sugar. Do any hotels serve UK breakfast?


Thanks all

Depends where you stay. Along the Costa del Sol you are never far from a shop selling "UK" type food - its not outer Mongolia
Plenty of restaurants and cafes do very cheap full English/Irish breakfast

dennyk

Is 471 euro for three night with flight and meals a good deal?

Could be a good deal or could be overpriced; it really depends on the details. The only way to know for sure is to read the terms to know exactly what's included in the package and then price out similar individual options yourself; that's dead simple with flights (just go to the airline's web site and look at tickets for the same dates, or use a service like skyscanner.com to compare multiple airlines) and with the hotel (again, check the hotel site for dates, or use Booking.com or a similar aggregator to do a broader search). It's a bit harder for meals, but you can check out nearby restaurant menus and get an idea of what a typical lunch or dinner would cost you in the area. Food is going to be the smallest portion of your total bill in most cases anyway, unless you're like me and like to hit up a Michelin-starred place from time to time.

The catch with such package holidays is often the quality you'll be getting, and a lack of flexibility in your arrangements. The flights might not be at the dates or the times you'd prefer, the hotel may not be in the location you'd like or might be a kip, and the food may be mediocre to awful or served at off hours because the restaurant is just selling off its undesirable booking slots to the package holiday folks. If you take the time to plan your own, while you may not always save much if any money (and might even pay a bit more sometimes), you can select exactly the flights and the hotel you'd like and you can have your meals anywhere you please. I'd be especially wary of any package holidays that don't provide the exact details of where you'll be staying and such; that often means they don't want you to look up the hotel in question and see all the bad reviews, or figure out that you can find nearby accommodations much cheaper or better accommodations for the same price, or it's so they can show you the pretty pictures of the one decent "example" hotel on the beach or in the city centre and then shuffle you off to some ****ty alternative property miles from where you want to be.

Really it's down to what your friend wants. If he's happy with the flights and hotel included in the package, doesn't really care about the food, and the price is reasonable, then why not?

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

CelticRambler wrote: »

What's "UK type food"? Everything that the French eat for breakfast is on sale in Asda, so it'd be easier if you just said what you wanted to have!

But in any case, there will be shops somewhere nearby, and there will be a wide range of edible food available. Here are three Lidls in Torremolinos - are they UK-ish enough for you?

thanks for the lidl links:)

spurious

Mercadona (big Spanish supermarket) in Torremolinos would also have many 'recognisable' foods.

Flights in any school holidays are going to be expensive. Myself I am going to Torremolinos for a long weekend in the third week of January and paying 59 euro for the flight and 54 a night for self catering accommodation.

I am expecting most of the places that cater to the 'egg and chips' brigade to be shut, although there is a sizeable ex-pat population in the town, but Spanish people eat out too and there will be a number of places still open.

fritzelly

Just booked a week here end of November
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17551895

Flights and accommodation - under €600 for 2 people

Lots of bargains to be had this time of year.

80j2lc5y7u6qs9

fritzelly wrote: »

Just booked a week here end of November
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/17551895

Flights and accommodation - under €600 for 2 people

Lots of bargains to be had this time of year.

thanks for posting that it helps;)

BohsCeltic

I always book flight and hotels separately. But sometimes travel agents can have good deals due to cancellations e.t.c.

I use skyscanner to check for flights then book on the official airlines page and booking.com for hotel as they give you some flexibility and you can read the reviews e.t.c.

For me it's about setting aside some time and shopping around to get the best deal. I actually enjoy doing it too.
When i go to Asia i will book a hotel that i got a good deal on and have the option of free cancellation. So if i find a nicer one later for a similar price and higher rating i will book that and cancel the original one.

Blaizes

If you want good value I’d say you’ve to do a lot of research. Look at flights for example with Ryanair or Aer Lingus for example open up the year calendar see the flight prices for different days and months.

Then check hotel booking sites ( best know is probably booking.com but others can be cheaper) Some will offer better prices on different days of the week.You could also book directly through the hotel which may be cheaper. They may also offer different packages with breakfast or dinner included and pay now reductions.

The best advice is to devote some time to it, you could set up price alerts to be emailed to you also.

You could also look at award winning travel agents in Ireland and see what they can offer.

Deal doesn’t sound bad but then again there are so many variables that it is hard to say.

Blaizes

dennyk wrote: »

Could be a good deal or could be overpriced; it really depends on the details. The only way to know for sure is to read the terms to know exactly what's included in the package and then price out similar individual options yourself; that's dead simple with flights (just go to the airline's web site and look at tickets for the same dates, or use a service like skyscanner.com to compare multiple airlines) and with the hotel (again, check the hotel site for dates, or use Booking.com or a similar aggregator to do a broader search). It's a bit harder for meals, but you can check out nearby restaurant menus and get an idea of what a typical lunch or dinner would cost you in the area. Food is going to be the smallest portion of your total bill in most cases anyway, unless you're like me and like to hit up a Michelin-starred place from time to time.

The catch with such package holidays is often the quality you'll be getting, and a lack of flexibility in your arrangements. The flights might not be at the dates or the times you'd prefer, the hotel may not be in the location you'd like or might be a kip, and the food may be mediocre to awful or served at off hours because the restaurant is just selling off its undesirable booking slots to the package holiday folks. If you take the time to plan your own, while you may not always save much if any money (and might even pay a bit more sometimes), you can select exactly the flights and the hotel you'd like and you can have your meals anywhere you please. I'd be especially wary of any package holidays that don't provide the exact details of where you'll be staying and such; that often means they don't want you to look up the hotel in question and see all the bad reviews, or figure out that you can find nearby accommodations much cheaper or better accommodations for the same price, or it's so they can show you the pretty pictures of the one decent "example" hotel on the beach or in the city centre and then shuffle you off to some ****ty alternative property miles from where you want to be.

Really it's down to what your friend wants. If he's happy with the flights and hotel included in the package, doesn't really care about the food, and the price is reasonable, then why not?

Really good post, hadn’t read it before I posted. Excellent advice imo because the holiday could be cheap but in the wrong location or with awful food or in a bad hotel etc. We travel with our kids so always have to research accommodation and location well as would be terrible to end up in a dump and it would destroy the holiday imo.