If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

To package deal or not to package deal - that is surely the question. Some people swear by the good value of buying a bundle including a flight, accommodation and meals through your travel agent; others will say the best way to save money on your holiday is to research everything yourself and book the most reasonable options available separately.

So what’s the answer? It depends. Some package deals are truly a bargain, when airlines or hotels decide to join forces to sell off seats or rooms that otherwise would remain empty. Other times, you could definitely get a better deal by combining your own ideas.

The best way to get a bargain package is to do plenty of research. If you see a holiday package advertised, find out how much it would cost if you booked the components individually, or flew a different airline. Then ask yourself if you really need all the components of the package.

For example, an all-inclusive meals package that involves paying for breakfast, lunch and dinner for every day of the vacation may work out cheaper in a comparison with paying for the meals separately at the same hotel restaurant, but chances are you won’t need full meals each time, or you’ll be out sightseeing and won’t want to trek back to the hotel for lunch anyway.

Also check into the quality of the hotel used in a vacation package that sounds too cheap to be true. You might be able to upgrade to a better hotel for not much more money, or it might be that the package is only so cheap because the hotel is mid-renovation. Basically, follow the “buyer beware” rule and remember that usually if something is too good to be true, there’s something wrong.

Tags: bargain deals | travel | vacation