I would appreciate advice from members on this holiday choice.
I want to go to Madeira, again. I can get a package of flights, hotel, transfers and the services of a rep, from a travel agent. The flights are at stupid o'clock in the morning and the airline charges extra to get 20kg hold baggage and only allows 5 kg hand luggage. This costs £425 per person for a week.
I can book flights with the Portugese national airlline around mid-day both ways, normal sort of luggage allowance, 20/10kg, check-in on line and select my seat. I can book the same accommodation direct with the hotel including transfers and pay about £250 per person.
So long as I have adequate travel insurance what am I risking by saving £200 each on the planned holiday?
At my age the back up of a travel company is reassuring but comes at a high price!
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I'd have to say DIY, Perky. Check the terms of your travel policy carefully to see that it covers you against the possible disruptions, including Icelandic ash, then go for it.
Another option worth considering is to make the booking through a travel agent. You may pay a little more - even there you may be pleasantly surprised - but if problems arise you'll have a well-connected ally to put you ahead in the queue of all those who booked online.
Bon voyage!
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It is mostly driven by price IMHO.
Travel firms often offer cheaper flight + hotel package. In that case it makes sense to travel with them.
Otherwise, DIY plan is often cheaper and more flexible.
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I would also go DIY but do make sure you pay by credit card so you have some recourse in case anything goes wrong. Holiday insurance doesn't always cover everything.
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Thank you all. WDB - I did get an agent to quote and it got me the scheduled flights instead of charter and everything else I wanted but was still £200 each, more than the DIY option. I shall try another agent and see if I can narrow the gap.
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Have been to Madeira 6 or 7 times and apart form the first trip have always gone DIY. Hotel I use doesn't even ask for a deposit when booking.
Wouldn't use TAP - expensive and not good at timekeeping. Use EasyJet. DIY is much more flexible - you can travel when you want and stay wherever you want. Using a travel agent in Madeira is no more necessary than using one for a trip in the UK. English is widely spoken and people are very friendly and helpful.
You will of course have to arrange your own transport to Hotel so factor that in the price. A taxi cost about Eur 25 one way from airport to Funchal. You can either pre-book or just go tothe rank at the airport. Madeira is one of the more honest parts of the world so don't worry about getting ripped off.
Recommend Tripadvisor for Hotel reviews. Their Madeira forum is also a great source of info.
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We visited Madeira in April and, like CGN, followed the DIY way.
Easyjet, accommodation and car hire all booked on t'internet. The apartment owner even offered to arrange the airport transfer at a good price. We picked up the hire car at the airport and drove into Funchel.
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...We visited Madeira in April...Easyjet, accommodation and car hire all booked on t'internet....
Sounds like a piece of cake. :)
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We always do DIY.
We also DIY'd Madiera a year ago. Booked flights on Easy Jet, Hotel booked via the web, as was hire car. I have a yearly travel insurance policy and pay via credit card to cover anything going wrong.
We have done all of europe like this, and doig the states like this this year.
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Many many thanks! The overall opinion seems to be DIY. I probably shall use TAP as they are £124 return, in total and they have reay sensible flight timeings and they fly 7 days a week. I plan to print out my possible bookeings and see if an idependent agaent get within 10%, to give the security of a genuine "Package". Thanks particularly for your input Zero
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Another vote in favour of DIY. Annual travel insurance is almost always cheaper if you plan to be out of the country more than once a year. We get it free with a particular bank account.
I sometimes use Expedia ifI'm feeling lazy. They'll let you just book flights or flights plus hotel or indeed flights plus hotel plus car if you want.
Had some good deals from them.
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A bit late to the discussion, but I would only use a package if it's somewhere that's unusual or very different. I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of package holidays we've had over the last twenty years. There is no more or no less to go wrong than with a package. As far as I'm concerned, the only benefit of a rep is that, if you don't speak the language, it is easier to get problems at the hotel sorted, although if you are in a major tourist resort it's likely they speak english anyway. And a good hotel will help you sort out excursions etc.
Having said that, sometimes they are cheaper than DIY, and it's always worth checking. One thing to beware of is if there is more than one flight leg involved, booking the flights separately means you have no comeback if the first is delayed and you miss the second. We drive everywhere so not a problem for us!
Good luck and enjoy the holiday!
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There is absolutely no reason to go for a package holiday. Organising a holiday is a part of the fun!
The one place where a package can make sense, is a skiing holiday. In chalet holidays the TOs provide the food almost for free - compared to staying in a hotel - so packages can work out very good value indeed. Moreover, any bad weather delaying your coach back to the airport is SEP.
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We currently like some Greek islands. Getting there independently probably uses the same charter flights. So package better. Stay to where the airlines go (especially EasyJet, Jet2, etc.) then independent.
Here's a question that I often wonder and the OP may like to see an answer. If you go the annual insurance route for holidays (we do) then what happens when it runs out just before your next trip and there's a problem? Our annual policy started early May a few years ago to coincide with a holiday. We often go away the first week of May. So if I renew near the time... what if there is a problem and a claim is needed? We would be covered before and after the trip date. But which company pays?
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Re travel insurance I think the only way one would get continuity of cover would be to renew with the same company, in the circumstances you describe.
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>>Having said that, sometimes they (packages) are cheaper than DIY, and it's always worth checking
I found that earlier this year, unfortunately.
Cockroaches and bed-bugs have convinced me to never, ever use 'son-of-Tom' again!
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I totally avoid them, and Tom the Caterer. The former give you a measly 15kg of checked luggage and only 5kg cary-on. It is OK for me but 15kg doesn't cover my partner's sponge bag! I booked a holiday with the catering lot and chose mid-day flights. When I picked up my tickets in April the folder included a letter addressed to me, dated January which had never been passed on, telling me that my 1300 check-in had been changed to 0530. The wailing and gnashing of teeth could be heard all over Berkshire!
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Perky - Did anybody mention that Funchal airport is one of the most difficult for pilots due to the wind shear off the mountain.....check it out here
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7Ad4y9hPE4
I've been to Madeira many times , forget the package route.DIY on the internet every time, pay on credit card.
Getting a taxi from airport to Funchal was around 30 euros.
Recommended restaurant is Portao down near the castle in the old town.
Try Blandys for the Madeira wine tour and sample the Bual 1957.....
Take the cable car to Monte ....and the botanical gardens , forget the sledge down the hill .....
Take the old road to the Nuns Valley and admire the views ( but not if you are driving )
You quite often get fabulous firework displays at the harbour in the summer but the New Year display is quite amazing.
Lovely place...lovely people .
Enjoy your holiday.
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Many thaks H Person! I remember when the runway was so short and the aircraft had such poor performance that they took off light and went to Porto Santo or Lisbon to pick up more fuel to get to UK.Now I think they can gete 747s is and out, from USA!`
For the benefit of those who kindly commented and/or are thinking of trying the DIY roue here are my findings - holiday for two different flights but same hotel and transfers included
Child of Tom £940
Another company's package £543
Self help - buying the flight, hotel
and transfers seperately £507
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We did Madeira earlier this year and DIYed the lot - flight (EasyJet), hotel (used TripAdvisor) and car hire. That way we got a small hotel near the centre of Funchal not used by the tour operators, thus avoiding being out on the fringes where most of the hotels are.
It all worked well, except for a delayed landing on the way out, as the Madeira runway was cloud-bound and pilots need visual to land; we went to Porto Santo and waited there for a couple of hours before successfully landing on Madeira.
We tend to DIY most of our holidays, but if a good package comes up we grab it.
PS Agree entirely with reptocileh's posting above. Did all of those things plus tea at Reid's. Plenty of other nice restaurants away from the Old Town.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Tue 17 Aug 10 at 16:00
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Holiday - Package or DIY? - WillDeBeest
