mrdave85 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I've been looking for a cheeky week in the sun for me and the missus. I'm remiss to book through sites like icelolly.com or onthebeach.co.uk though. No one I work with has ever booked through them, has anyone had any experience or knows of any such sites that are any good? Thanks in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 23 minutes ago, mrdave85 said: I've been looking for a cheeky week in the sun for me and the missus. I'm remiss to book through sites like icelolly.com or onthebeach.co.uk though. No one I work with has ever booked through them, has anyone had any experience or knows of any such sites that are any good? Thanks in advance i have used broadway travel before, they are a similar sort of site and were ok. I think aslong as you have abta or atol backing they are ok. Both of those are well known sites. I do usually find these sites are usually only cheaper if booking a hotel and flight separate though. The main operators booked online do seem as cheap as anyone when i look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RamsPolls Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Do not use Onthebeach They have awful customer service and I have been on 3 holidays with them and had at least 1 problem with my booking each time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesterRam Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 be careful of using cheap holiday sites, remember lowcostholidays.com going under whilst moving from the ATOL scheme, its a hotbed for fraud and unscrupulous wide boys. make sure the ATOL is current and pay with a credit card. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chester40 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 I think the word you used was 'cheap'... Having used both, Broadway Travel is 'middling' compared to Onthebeach. My mate told me not to use Onthebeach after a problem with a group booking. We wanted a really cheap week so risked it. It was great. Used it twice more and have had no problems...think issue is if there are problems they can be hard to reach. Website is really easy to use too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostyn6 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Just book flights separately then check hotels through sunshine.com and booking.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Im always in favour of booking the hotel direct and a flight only, the amount of money holiday companies pass on to the hotels is really poor, the hotel then hopes to make money from drinks/food etc. Often is quite a bit cheaper too, it does of course carry more risk but if you are insured it should be ok. You do of course not have the services of a rep but in my experience they are little more than glorified excursion sales operatives and are ok when everything is ok but can vanish quicker than lord lucan on shergar if there are any problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McRamFan Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 On the Beach act as an agent providing a web search interface between you and various third party suppliers of travel products (e.g. flight, hotel or transfer). As do Icelolly. Stay well away. You won't get a good deal and it can be a grey area as to where ATOL and ABTA protection begins and end. You will get a better deal and less hastle looking at last minute deals with the main players, Thompson, TC, Jet2 etc. Or in person, Thomas Cook and Thompson shop staff have some latitude in giving out discounts, so someties the old fashioned face to face barter can be better, worked for me got an extra £40 quid off an online price for a w/e in Munich. For 30 mins work online you can easily find something that ticks most boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LesterRam Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Thomas cook is the best, nothing to do with me being related http://www.holidaydiscountcentre.co.uk are cheap, they have small independents and are ideal for 2-3 people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Ram Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 1 hour ago, LesterRam said: be careful of using cheap holiday sites, remember lowcostholidays.com going under whilst moving from the ATOL scheme, its a hotbed for fraud and unscrupulous wide boys. make sure the ATOL is current and pay with a credit card. Good advise right here.. ^^^^^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 4 hours ago, RamsPolls said: Do not use Onthebeach They have awful customer service and I have been on 3 holidays with them and had at least 1 problem with my booking each time. Had you pegged as a Hayes & Jarvis man, Kuoni or Mark Warner at worst? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angry Ram Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 45 minutes ago, reveldevil said: Had you pegged as a Hayes & Jarvis man, Kuoni or Mark Warner at worst? Hayes & Jarvis are good as are Premier Holidays.. Used these loads of times.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GboroRam Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Groupon. Seriously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G STAR RAM Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 16 hours ago, RamsPolls said: Do not use Onthebeach They have awful customer service and I have been on 3 holidays with them and had at least 1 problem with my booking each time. Which would beg the question 'why did you carry on using them after the first time?!' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrdave85 Posted February 17, 2017 Author Share Posted February 17, 2017 Cheers for the advice all, I'm going start doing my homework of booking my own vs packaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 We got a last minute booking at a Thomas Cook shop for a week in Beni and it cost about £200 more than if we'd booked the flight only ourself. Ours included the hotel too and transfers. so there are deals to be had in the shops like someone posted earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rev Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Don't always take the websites link to trip advisor at face value either, booked a Thomson holiday recently and they'd put the reviews for a different hotel (from hell) on the webpage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boycie Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 50 minutes ago, reveldevil said: Don't always take the websites link to trip advisor at face value either, booked a Thomson holiday recently and they'd put the reviews for a different hotel (from hell) on the webpage! Plus, why is it you can read 5 pages of 5 star reviews and then see one bad review, and then you're all "hmm, I knew it was too good to be true" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sith Happens Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 15 minutes ago, Boycie said: Plus, why is it you can read 5 pages of 5 star reviews and then see one bad review, and then you're all "hmm, I knew it was too good to be true" I do take bad reviews with a pinch of salt if they are mostly good. Its often down to the customer not understanding the product they were purchasing and then trying to pick holes in everything to make the hotel look bad. I think to get a good understanding you have to read quite a few reviews and take a general overall view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mostyn6 Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 I've missed an opportunity to point out that we do have a resident travel advisor amongst us. If you want something that's not a budget holiday but is the best deal, speak to Nick @therams69 I hope that's his username anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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