package vs diy
 

I have been checking into going to NYC w/ my husband and 2 teen daughters in Dec. I have found some fairly attractive package (air + hotel) on some sites (expedia, etc). Anyone have any advice/negative experiences on doing the package route instead of making reservations individually for air/hotel/etc?

I have never used a package. Every time I think one looks great, there's a catch. Have you actually gone through the motions of booking the pkg. you saw to see what planes/hotels you 'd get and compare to what you could do on your own? For example, I saw a great looking pkg for an upcoming trip I'm taking with a hotel I wanted anyway. When I started to book it I discovered the attractive price included totally inconvenient plane flights. By choosing better flights, the price started inching, up, up, up.

Other people obviously use these successfully all the time though.

As mclaurie advised, be sure to do your own research to compare costs. I have found that you can sometimes get the best rates by calling the hotel directly. (For chains, call the exact hotel, not the overall 800 number.)

However, December is an extremely busy and popular time in NYC, so expect high costs. It's possible that at that time of year the packages will indeed be the best values for you.

Also check the hotel out on Tripadvisor.

I think it depends.

Of all places, I got a really cheap package to Miami on USAirways.com.

I looked at bidding out a room, low cost carriers, priceline, hotwire, hotel direct, and websites.

I got my airfare and hotel for about $100 more than the cheapest airfare I could find including all taxes.

I would check everywhere.

Did it once. Never again.

Why surfergirl? Tell us what went wrong.

I looked into package deals this June for a trip for 3 to CA, then to LV and back home.
The price was OK, it sounded good, but the flight times were horrible, 6AM mostly, and the hotels least expensive. I started changing flights and upgraded hotels, boy did the price go up.
I then booked my flight on Orbitz, my Hotels on the Hotels website, rented a car through Avis website, and then flew home from Vegas for less then the package was, with better hotels and flight times I wanted.
I guess they work for some, but for me it didn't this time. Does not mean I'll rule a package out, just will be looking at different ways before I make a final bookings.
To make a long story short, do your homework and check into all possibilities.

We have taken a few packages, but would not do it again. This was several years ago and there are just too many options via internet nowadays. Why not choose the times you want to fly, plus exact hotel and room that you want to stay in? I am not saying all packages are bad, because we lucked out on the ones that we chose which were through a travel agent. Nowadays it seems that a package always includes either inconvenient flight times or more connections, and usually just a standard room at a lower class hotel. If you upgrade, it will cost more so why not choose what you want to start with? Half the fun for me is in the planning.

One "package" option that may pay off is the hotel/air combo booking that some airlines offer. I have gone with this several times and the rates were significantly cheaper. You do get to pick your hotels from their lists and usually a big selection. I have used United Escapes and when pricing out the air and same hotel separately it was a $200 difference on a 5 night stay. So compare several options. This "package" included nothing else, just air and room.

Though an avid DIY traveler, a few times I have found a package that offered a better deal. For NYC and Paris trips it was during peak travel time, and things worked out fine. I do always check to see if I can do better than the available packages, though. Also be aware that on some packages you do not get FF credit and/or cannot use FF miles to upgrade, if those are concerns.
As usual, it pretty much boils down to the old caveat emptor.