What sites or comanies are people using to book package holidays now 2026?

MadeInKerry · 17-01-2026 12:47PM #1

Been doing DIY holidays for as long as I remember and just run out of ideas now and want to find a website where i can just put in a dates, a few countries etc and see a list of hotels and flights.

Something like loveholidays, but i keep reading recently that when things go wrong with loveholidays they really go wrong. Tried cassidytravel but the search option is terrible. I dont want to be having to pick up the phone to have aconversation about what I want. I want to see lists with prices.

Anyone got any suggestions. How are you guys booking your holidays and how do you find the service?

Viscount Aggro · 17-01-2026 12:50PM

Do you realise there are no more package holidays.

No more charter flights.

These companies are scraping a flight from airline website, adding on a hotel, apartment, and a percentage for their service.

Anyone can do this at home.

MadeInKerry · 17-01-2026 12:54PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124155220#Comment_124155220

Yes I do. Call it a figure of speech, like calling a vacuum cleaner a hoover. Hopefully everybody else who reads the question knows what I am asking for.

Mo Ghile Mear · 17-01-2026 01:33PM

I haven’t used TUI myself but reports from friends have been positive. And their website seems to be fairly user friendly, with a good selection of options and prices.

BK5 · 17-01-2026 01:34PM

I know there is no need to go with a company these days, but went with booking.com a few years ago for a holiday we were not going to take for 8 months. Paid a few hundred upfront and for 7 months they took €108 a month, it really was a pain free way of paying for a holiday.

dzer2 · 17-01-2026 01:36PM

On the beach for sun holidays

raxy · 17-01-2026 01:48PM

I've gone with TUI a few times & it's always worked out well. I've found them quite good when anything has gone wrong. I've tried pricing holidays separately (for the same hotels) but could never get better prices than what packages go for & you've nothing left to organise.

We had a flight cancelled before & didn't get to fly out until the next day. TUI had e-mails sent explaining the compensation within 20 minutes. Loads of people in the airport going crazy shouting at the staff in the terminal even though there was nothing they could do. Ended up getting enough compensation that almost covered the cost of the package.

I've booked with Easyjet from Belfast this year. Worked out more than €1000 cheaper than booking with TUI for the same hotel/dates. I checked the prices of the holiday this morning & it's close to €2000 more than what we paid now. It's over school midterms so prices from Dublin were crazy. Deposit was small & nothing to pay until a month before travelling.

MadeInKerry · 17-01-2026 05:20PM

Thanks guys. Ive heard TUI were good alright. Just looking to take the hassle out of it. This year is just going to be pure relaxation without me having to plan or organize anything. I used to enjoy all the organizing before, but im getting lazy now. 😀

Dial Hard · 17-01-2026 05:26PM

TUI are great and still do have their own charter fleet on certain routes. We're going to Mexico with them in July, they fly a charter Dreamliner on that route with an option for upgraded economy including priority check-in and lounge access. This will be our third time doing Mexico with them and I literally couldn't fault them. Option to pay monthly (at no extra cost) is also hugely helpful if you need it.

Cosmo Kramer · 17-01-2026 05:48PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124155220#Comment_124155220

There's a huge gap in the Irish market for someone like Jet2 to move in and relaunch the package holiday, similar to what they have done in the UK. Irish holidaymakers are getting screwed year on year being forced to pay upfront for flights and having to organise the hotel bookings and connections themselves, while still not actually saving any money compared to UK and continental travellers.

Traveling with young kids it's fantastic going with the likes of Jet2 where everything is done for you from when you check in at the airport until when you get back. And because they operate their own aircraft and buy hotel rooms in bulk it usually works out cheaper than the low cost airlines as well, with the added bonus that you don't have to put up with getting treated like complete crap - you can actually enjoy the journey as well as the holiday.

fdevine · 20-01-2026 11:43AM

TUI, loveholidays, onthebeach & Budget/Abbey - no issues with any of them

onthebeach again this year as they were €200-300 cheaper than the rest for the same flights and same accommodation and can be paid in instalments once the flights and €10 pp deposit are paid

Tried booking flights and accommodation separately but didn't work out any cheaper

What sites or comanies are people using to book package holidays now 2026?

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