ilovetulips

We are planning a trip to Europe with another couple next year. We want to visit Paris, Amsterdam, and Switzerland. We live in Autin and I am expecting airfare to be around $1000 per person and I have researched some nice hotels for about $110/nite. We are planning a 12 nite trip. Is it most economical to book it individually or should we consider a hotel/airfare package and try for Paris/Amsterdam/London instead? I am trying to look at it from all different angles. If you have used packages please let me know which one. Thanks in advance.

Flyboy

There is no blanket answer so it is best to price out both ways and make comparisons. There are times when we find we can access a lower airfare or get a break on hotels through a package deal. Other times, there is no advantage and still other times, it is less expensive to assemble the individual elements yourself. I've found packages to be particularly advantageous for Asia, but we've used them in Amsterdam a couple of times because nice hotels can be pricey there and the packages offered a lower-cost way to book them. The hotel rates you're citing look decent for the destinations you are talking about.

MelJ

If it's your first trip to Europe OR your first trip together with this couple, I'd probably try to find a good package deal that at least includes airfare and hotel. Primary reason would be to insure that everyone understands the exact costs and deals and you aren't planning it for four people then being held responsible if something doesn't work (lousy hotel, cancellations, etc.) and you won't find yourself being the spokesperson to straighten things out. It can lead to resentment on your part and problems if the other couple feel they are paying money but can't say they don't like something because it will hurt your feelings.

With a package deal you all look over the choices and are equally blind or informed. Also, some really can be less expensive and certainly go a long way toward taking care of details for you.

Although we normally travel independently, we've used go-today.com for some fly/drive packages and they were great to work with. Also used British Airways fly/hotel once to do London/Rome and it was fine.

Have a good time!

StCirq

Looking at it from all different angles is exactly what you should be doing, as either one might be more economical. One thing to consider is that package deals will often put you in hotels that are less than convenient for seeing the main sights of a city. If hotel location is important to you, it may be best to book them on your own.

ira

Hi love,

You want to visit Paris, Amsterdam and Switzerland. Why are you considering a package that takes you to London and not Switzerland?

$110/nite for a dbl is a very good hotel rate.

I have yet to find a package deal in whch I get the same quality and convenience for less than booking it myself.

francophile03

I don't care for packaged vacations. The main reason for me is that you can only choose from the hotels the tour operator offers. Most of the times the hotels are not the best in terms of location and quality.
If you book everything independently the most expensive component would be the airfare and then the travel from one city to the next. Hotels are much more easy to book as there are many choices.
I'd feel more comfortable knowing that I picked my own hotels rather than wonder about the package's hotels. Even if the airfare cost is higher I'd still want to book independently.

jsmith

We have comfortably used packages a few times including a London, Paris and Amsterdam trip. Ours have been through the airlines and have included air, hotel, transportation between cities and sometimes transit to and from the airport. There is generally a selection of hotels with different price ranges and you might wish to ask for opinions on this board before making your selection.

Unlike some others we get no particular enjoyment shopping for hotels, train/plane fares, etc. so are happy to have those arrangements made.

These packages can be flexible. The days in the cities don't have to be consecutive and you can add time before, after and during. We have flown to London for three days, taken the Eurostar to Paris for 5 days as a package. The 5 days in Paris followed a 14 day tour of France which wasn't part of the package.

We also flew to Rome for 3 days and returned through London for 5 days as an air/hotel package. Sandwiched between Rome and London was a 14 day tour of Italy.

By the way, you might want to access my note on the Amsterdam flower auctions posted today.

Melissajoy

I am planning our family's first trip to Italy for June. I was considering booking a fully escorted tour, but when my honest travel agent began telling me the truth about what you really get, both the pros and the cons, I decided to listen to the independent travellers on-line and do everything myself. The result has been I have learned A LOT and am still learning...you have to when you do it yourself. I also looked at package deals, such as Costco has some package deals for good prices. If I had liked their choices of hotels, I might have used them. But when I looked up their hotels I didn't like some of them. So I think you should research the cities you are visiting, choose the areas and hotels you would like, and then see if any package deals offer that. If they don't, do it yourself. Include your group in the choices so they won't blame you. (Some people aren't very picky and wouldn't mind your choices. Other people, like me, can be very picky about hotels.) Have fun!

MD

I generally booked by trips on the internet by myself. It depends, I would say, on your tolerance and finances.

My general experience is that tour operators generally seem to list the more North-American-like experiences; the Hotels, etc. So you'll find the equivalent of the Holiday Inn or Comfort Inn type hotels, but not usually the ones which would be significantly less expensive but with more character.

Do you tolerate sharing bathroom facilities, if it saves you 50% on accomodation? Would you be willing to climb 3 flights instead of an elevator? After all, to some people, a hotel is just a place to sleep.

Unfortunately, travel agents seem to be getting the squeeze from everyone these days. How much time is the agent going to spend finding that extra special deal on car rental - how likely are they to know the rules of, say, car rental in Italy unless they do a lot of these bookings. Who will spend severl days trying to connect with Santa Maria to book you to view the last supper? They'll use the quickest method, which will cost a bit more.

If you enjoy making these arrangements, do your own. If you would rather pay someone else, go ahead. But don't expect to get the service for free.

(At work, our travel agency charges us $64 just to book an airline ticket for business travel).

ilovetulips

Hello again! Thanks for all of the advice. I am hearing both pros and cons for booking a package deal. My concern as someone mentioned is getting a hotel that isn't in a centralized location and seems a bit "generic". Ira, I asked about London/Amsterdam/Paris because that seems to be much easier to find a package vs. Amsterdam/Paris/Switzerland. I am looking strictly at independent packages and not escorted tours. I will probably just wait and see what the dollar vs. euro does prior to going and see what will work best for our group. Thanks again and I will check some of the websites mentioned!