
Cheap Package Holidays
Slash costs with late deals and haggling
Booking a package holiday can slash the cost of going away, particularly if you're heading to a popular beach destination. This guide looks at when's best to book, where to go and how to weigh up if all-inclusive is worth it.
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Package vs DIY holidays
The first thing to decide is whether a 'traditional' package holiday - where you book a ready-made package through a tour operator – is right for you, or if you'd get a better deal with a DIY package, where you book a flight and hotel separately through the same travel site.

As a rough rule of thumb, traditional packages are usually cheapest for seven, 10 or 14 days away in traditional holiday destinations.
If you want to go away for a shorter or longer amount of time, to a less-visited spot, on a city break or multi-stop holiday, it's likely you'll be better off with a DIY package or by booking each part of your break separately through different firms. Read our Cheap Flights, Cheap Hotels and Cheap Self-Catering Holidays guides, as well as Hotel Deals, for more on those.
Package holidays come with added protection – and more travellers now get full cover

Package holidays come with greater consumer protection through ATOL or ABTA. This means that if the travel company fulfilling your booking goes bust, you'll be refunded if you're yet to travel, or found alternative accommodation and flights home if you're abroad, and you're covered if you don't get the holiday you paid for, eg, if an airline goes bust, or bad weather stops you travelling.
For daily updated information on the current situation, see Coronavirus Travel Rights.
The rules around package holiday protection changed in 2018, meaning many more travellers get more coverage.
For bookings made since 1 July 2018, most DIY package holidays bought in the same transaction get the same cover as 'traditional' package holidays – ie, full financial protection (so you're entitled to a refund or be brought home if necessary if the firm organising your package goes bust) AND legal protection (so you're covered if you don't get the holiday you paid for, eg, if a supplier like an airline goes bust, or if bad weather stops you travelling). For more info, see Holiday Rights.
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Package holiday need-to-knows
Here's what you need to know before you look for a cheap package holiday deal:
How to haggle down the cost of your package holiday
The most important thing to understand before haggling is:
Tour operators make holidays, travel agents sell 'em.
Admittedly, they're often both subsidiaries of the same company, yet the distinction is crucial. Just as a Game of Thrones DVD is available from different shops at different prices, many different travel agents will try to sell the same tour operator's holiday at different prices. The aim's to find the travel agent who'll sell it to you for the least.
Getting on the phone to agents to haggle used to be a fairly sure-fire way to slice prices - it's got harder, though it's still worth a shot. When we tried with four holidays we failed to get anywhere with three, but did manage to shave £80 off a £1,930 two-week break in Barbados.
Step 1: Benchmark a price for your perfect holiday
The aim's to locate a suitable holiday and grab all the details. First benchmark a decent price online (using the sites listed above). Then, once you've found a holiday you want within your price range, ensure you write down as much info as you can, for example noting meals and transfers, plus the name of the tour operator.
Step 2: Call up travel agents and ask if they can beat the quote you have

Now you've picked a holiday, the aim's to get EXACTLY THE SAME holiday cheaper.
It's worth remembering to stay polite, charming and smiley throughout this, as travel agents don't like the tactic – or us – much.
You'll need to act quickly, as prices and availability change.
Try to negotiate in price per person, not total cost, as discounts will seem less to the travel agent.
Then continue the process with a few more, quoting the best price you got (maybe knocking a tenner off to speed things up) and see who can beat it.
Step 3: Call the tour operator directly
Once you've hit the price floor, to be absolutely sure, call the tour operator's own direct booking arm and see if THEY can beat what you've been quoted.
Step 4: Give the first broker the chance to match it
Finally, just to try to be fair, if a travel agent spent a lot of time with you to find the holiday in the first place, why not give them the chance to match – not beat – the price to regain your custom?
I wanted to travel to Southeast Asia. I booked a year before the holiday. I visited one firm who said it would be £4,000-£4,500pp. The next travel agent quoted £2,700pp, but I tried one more and got it for £2,200pp. Couldn't get it any less after that, so this is the one I booked the holiday with.
- Cass61
Recently we booked a holiday for a family of four to Florida. Initial quotes were in the region of £5,000-£6,000 for chartered flights, accommodation and car hire. By employing the haggling technique, we managed to get the final price down to just over £2,000 all-in!
- MoneySaver2
Add your success story and read others'. See Holiday haggling feedback.

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