diy holidays

[judyian]

how do most of the people who use this forum go about arranging there holidays ???.
do most people do as we do and book the flights for the holiday as soon as aegean releases them,,then look for the rooms & transfers after securing the flights,,or do they just book through icr [ or others ] ??? i was just wondering what other people do,,.we have been holidaying in turkey for a few years now and tbh other than the first couple of times i have done the bookings myself , i have found that it adds to the excitement [im only 47] looking round all the hotels+ apartments,and deciding where to stay,,next year for instance we have booked the demi [ cannot spell the rest ] through icr,,because last year we booked our rooms with a multi national company ..who then booked the rooms through another [ cheaper ] company,and we ended up in the private hotel,,which was not the hotel we booked,,so this year we decided to play it safe..would like to know if we are the only ones who do it this way..


EDITED: To remove """

[tannedjulie]

we do it this way but had a bad expierience last year when our airline kthy went bust, luckly we had our credit card with us and just booked other flights with the help of the turkish airport workers, we did get money back and any other expenses. This year playing safe we are using easyjet and going back to the moonlight which we went to last year and loved it first time weve gone back to the same place.

[viking pete]

We tend to do things the other way round, accommodation and transfers through ICR, excellent service and they are always there if you need them.
We now book our own flights, thisyear and 2011 with J*** from Leeds / Bradford muchmore pleasant experience overall than Manchester.

[carol0912]

We do it diy also. Came back with money in August and booked flights from Glasgow for August next year and got them for a great price-£229 each. They are now paid. Booked same accomodation- Prestij aparts and will pay this when we get there. Also checked transfers with ******** and can get them for *** return for both of us. Havent had a problem doing it this way and will continue to do it as we can save quite a bit. By the way, flights with TC and include 20kg plus 5kg hand luggage. Total cost around £686. Not bad for 2 adults 21/08/11 to 4/09/11.

[bill atkinson]

we book flights as soon as aegean comes up for the year in advance,i.e. best price possible ,and with our credit card,i. e. safest way. then book the apartment through whoever, small deposit,pay the balance when we get there,safest way? then the transfer, pay when we get there,safest way? then pray the airline does,nt go belly up,if it does then ,you have only lost your small deposit on your apartment,the rest is re-claimable on your c.c. as pensioners its the only way we can risk doing it . bill

[JT]

All good ways of booking but of course there are things that we ICR can do better.

For instance a lady called me yesterday to book the Bonjour hotel, I gave her the prices with and without flights and transfers and as there were only two of them I di tell them that our transfers would work out expensive compared to a normal shuttle.

I booked her into Bonjour hotel with flights and transfers through the flight company for £20 per person.

She then she told me that her friend who had booked with us at the Bonjour last year had booked direct with the hotel this time and was going mad as they had paid £170 more for the hotel and transfer going direct.

Sometimes people think they are getting a better deal if going direct and in reality its not like that 99% of the time.

The only places you do get cheap are the ones that are not popular or the ones that have had bad press and have been taken over and they are trying to re build a reputation hence the very cheap rooms.

As soon as those places start getting good reports then them too will go back up in price.

Always check all prices and never forget that if you do book direct and the owner gets a better price from someone then you wont have a room and you are then looking everywhere for a room which may be impossible during high season.

Book with an agent and if anything unforeseen does happen you wont have to worry about anything.

One more point is also you have to remember as tanned julie and viking pete said, they are playing it safe going with easyjet or jet 2.

How does it mean playing safe, they are not bonded with anyone and if they go bust you wont get a free flight from anyone you will just lose your money then search for a flight to get you out to the hotels you have booked.

Be careful out there

[tannedjulie]

the only reason i do diy is that its cheaper i set a budget each year i know if you go with a travel agent it is more secure, but the prices for 5 of us are rediculous going with them which means i would never get a holiday abroad so i take my chances with diy, yes we had to pay out a extra 1000 pound last year when kthy went bust but our credit card compony gave us it back 4 weeks later.

[JT]

Julie it is not always cheaper believe me to do it yourself.

We get our flights a few days before they go on sale to the public so people getting in quick with us get a cheap deal as we don't put anything on the price.

Accommodations in Turkey are 99% of the time cheaper booked with us than direct with the owners.

All you have to do is use us as you would look diy yourself and let us see if we can beat or maybe match the price.

If we beat it then great.

If we match it then it's still a safer bet as you would be covered if any problems arise.

A perfect example this year was our very own Redrhino/Gene.

He has been booking Uysal for years and the owners this year decided to sell his room on him as they had a better offer as Icmeler was busy.

I tried to help him even though he was not our customer and eventually got him a room close by but he did in the meantime get a room in another place centre of town.

Just be wise choosing options as there are lots of ways to do it.

When I go away for a holiday I check everything to the letter and believe me 9 times out of 10 I get a better deal letting it go through an agency like ourselves.

[redrhino12]

Entirely true John,and we were not the only ones who had their rooms sold days priour to booking into the Uysal.
After years of useing this Apartment complex I could no longer recommend it as I have done in the past.
I have used ICR to book our flights because as John says they have access to the bookings a couple of days before the general public,the price we paid was the advertised price with no mark up.
I have used ICR many times and also done everything myselfe,
It is only when you encounter a probem with your holiday that the advantage with booking with ICR makes you really apreciate what the travel company offers you.
Peace of Mind.

gene

[JonnyH]

All good ways of booking but of course there are things that we ICR can do better.

For instance a lady called me yesterday to book the Bonjour hotel, I gave her the prices with and without flights and transfers and as there were only two of them I di tell them that our transfers would work out expensive compared to a normal shuttle.

I booked her into Bonjour hotel with flights and transfers through the flight company for £20 per person.

She then she told me that her friend who had booked with us at the Bonjour last year had booked direct with the hotel this time and was going mad as they had paid £170 more for the hotel and transfer going direct.

Sometimes people think they are getting a better deal if going direct and in reality its not like that 99% of the time.

The only places you do get cheap are the ones that are not popular or the ones that have had bad press and have been taken over and they are trying to re build a reputation hence the very cheap rooms.

As soon as those places start getting good reports then them too will go back up in price.

Always check all prices and never forget that if you do book direct and the owner gets a better price from someone then you wont have a room and you are then looking everywhere for a room which may be impossible during high season.

Book with an agent and if anything unforeseen does happen you wont have to worry about anything.

One more point is also you have to remember as tanned julie and viking pete said, they are playing it safe going with E******** or jet 2.

How does it mean playing safe, they are not bonded with anyone and if they go bust you wont get a free flight from anyone you will just lose your money then search for a flight to get you out to the hotels you have booked.

Be careful out there

Agree with this to an extent, JT.

However, I cannot see E****** OR Jet2 going bust in the near future. Never say never though in the current financial climate.

I'm sure that there will be a lot more people deciding to go DIY nowadays with their holidays as with the commission and general added costs that Travel Agents and the big holiday companies put on, the cost of DIY can sometimes be substantially less.

Jonny.

[Madkitty]

Sept next year will be the first time DIY for us but only as we have won free flights - normally its thomas cook im afraid to say but only as we can pick up some bargains e.g marti la perla £700 for 2 weeks in june AI. cant wait to try the diy option though and using ICR!

[DIANE C]

However, I cannot see E****** OR Jet2 going bust in the near future. Never say never though in the current financial climate.

MM we thought that about Globespan and they went belly up for us this year and they were our 2nd airline to go bust this year!!!!!

Diane C

[tannedjulie]

thanks jt if you did the apartments we wanted i maybe would of contacted you as i know you do a good job, and i was watching aegean flights a lot but hubbies work wouldnt give him his dates for his holidays so have just booked up a nd these flights had gone up a lot, but i love this forum and log on every day.

[Madkitty]

indeed never say never - did anyone think pontins would go into administration!

[dotty]

I'd be happy to book my holiday through ICR but unfortunately they do not sell the hotel we go to (Golmar Beach). Also flight prices seem to be a lot more expensive, same flight through Aegean works out £115 cheaper.

[JT]

Hi Dotty,

We don't sell the Golmar Beach as people who book with us don't seem to want to be that far down the strip and it doesn't look good for us to just sell one or two rooms a season so we cancelled the contract.

The Marbas next door is more popular and we sell a few rooms there but not like anywhere else in Icmeler.

As for Aegean, well we sell them for the same price you see them on the Aegean site but we do get these released a few days before the public.

The reason we do not show Aegean prices is that after the first or second wave of bookings with them are sold, they go up in price like easyjet or ryanair so we dont list them as H4u flights end up cheaper later on in the year.

If you check our prices online you will see that though they are H4U's flights we still have a lot cheaper than they are selling them for themselves.

For instance, go to Aegean site and input 1st August 2011 1 person flying Manchester to Dalaman and it gives a price of £423.50, go to H4U site same flight is £337.50, now go to our website and get the same flight and our price is £264 so a saving of £159.50 on Aegean and £73.50p on H4U even though it is the same flight.

As I said before do not just go into things with tunnel vision and thinking everything is black and white, do your research and you will come out ahead.

I never searched for that date btw as it was the first dates I looked at and there are lots more around that date too.

On another point, when you book an Aegean flight there is no refund for anything at anytime as in if you want to cancel with us then you will get some monies back depending on dates you cancel

[Katiehutchinson_1991]

we always book the apartments ourselves direct with the owner as they give us a good deal as we always go back and they give us a private transfer too which is the same price as ICR which is generally the price for a private transfer like that
then we book our flights ourselves too direct with the airline
we dont necessarily get the best deal but we get our holiday how we know and want it
and a private transfer is a must and well worth the money compared to the coach option
xxxxx

[dotty]

Thanks for explaining John. I know the Marbas is quite popular, but personally I just can't break my ties with the Golmar, been going there for almost 10 years now. I will be looking for flights for next September, but don't think I can afford to book this side of Christmas. Thanks again

[viking pete]

All good ways of booking but of course there are things that we ICR can do better.

For instance a lady called me yesterday to book the Bonjour hotel, I gave her the prices with and without flights and transfers and as there were only two of them I di tell them that our transfers would work out expensive compared to a normal shuttle.

I booked her into Bonjour hotel with flights and transfers through the flight company for £20 per person.

She then she told me that her friend who had booked with us at the Bonjour last year had booked direct with the hotel this time and was going mad as they had paid £170 more for the hotel and transfer going direct.

Sometimes people think they are getting a better deal if going direct and in reality its not like that 99% of the time.

The only places you do get cheap are the ones that are not popular or the ones that have had bad press and have been taken over and they are trying to re build a reputation hence the very cheap rooms.

As soon as those places start getting good reports then them too will go back up in price.

Always check all prices and never forget that if you do book direct and the owner gets a better price from someone then you wont have a room and you are then looking everywhere for a room which may be impossible during high season.

Book with an agent and if anything unforeseen does happen you wont have to worry about anything.

One more point is also you have to remember as tanned julie and viking pete said, they are playing it safe going with E******** or jet 2.

How does it mean playing safe, they are not bonded with anyone and if they go bust you wont get a free flight from anyone you will just lose your money then search for a flight to get you out to the hotels you have booked.

Be careful out there

My choice of airline now is based on 1.. from Leeds/ Bradford (convient and pleasant experience) and 2.. Jet2 seem to more or less stick to the flight times when you book.
Dont think they are the cheapest by some way (it does seem the cheapies that seem to be at most risk) but the holiday experience starts for me when we lock the front door.
Very few companies are 'safe' nowadays - Northern Rock and the farce we had to deal with when XL disappeared overnight for example. All we can do is make informed choices and back our own judgement ( as we are happy to do with ICR). Jet2 seem to be trading well showing good profits but who knows - certainly worth a couple of £ protection insurance though.

As with everything you pays your money and makes your choice.

Hope everyone has a safe and secure booking and flight in 2011.

[ajgaj]

I look into booking the full holiday with ICR but unfortunatley the flight days did not suit us