the answer to that is there is no answer to what is cheapest! Do not just commit yourself to one way of booking. In the last few years I have booked through a travel agent, phoned companies directly, used Expedia to do the hotel and flights, used Expedia to do flight only and booked directly with the hotel ( and have had free flights!). I have priced holidays using all of those methods and gone with the cheapest each time. Well not quite every time- I did have an instance when the travel agent was £30 dearer but I thought it was worth paying the extra!

OK it depends where you go and what hotel you book. Last year the tour wanted £2000 for 2 adults and 2 children in 2 rooms for 1 week at the boughanville playa tenerife. I done it DIY for £1200, this year my holiday to majorca has cost me £1400 for 2 adults and 2 children to the vista badia majorca, thomson wanted £2800. I have priced up some hotels and flight and its been cheap with a tour op.

The secret is how cheap you can get your flight for, my flights this year cost me £50 each and you have to book flights as soon as they come out to get the cheap prices. Its best to fly with the budget airlines like easyjet, ryan air or airberlin the charter companys are too expensive most of the time.

Often if you can book hotels direct its cheaper than going through an agent.

If you fancy a DIY holiday cheack out to see if its cheaper diy or tour op and then book the cheapest deal.

I booked my accommodation directly with the hotel and I can cancel and get my my deposited refunded as long as I cancel 2 days before, you can't do that with a tour op or agent. Most hotel booked direct will let you cancel and refunnd you, but tour ops or agents keep the money, its the airlines that if you cancel within 56 days departure you will lose your money and tour ops and agents will keep your money. Saying that I used orchid travel for my hotel last year and I changed my mind on hotel 2 weeks before travel and they said I could have a refund if I want or change accommodation.

You use DIY if you can if its cheaper than the tour ops. Wait till the flights come out for 2006 with easyjet, ryan air or if you can stanstead from to palma majorca only air berlin

Mike

Try booking a holiday for a family of 5 during main summer hols - you're looking at between £3500 and £4500 - we've got away this year for £1500 and if we'd booked flights thru' Easyjet when they first came out we'd probably be looking at just £1200

You have to do your homework and shop around on the net just like you would with a main tour operator but certainly for larger families it's well worth doing!

Plan in advance, and get those cheap flights. Hotels etc are the easy bit, but getting cheap flights is the key for me.

I still book "off the peg" 7 day holidays with holiday companies, but out of season as late as possible. I know I need to be flexible, but as there are lots of places still to discover, that's not a problem.

Robby

As Robby has said the key to it is cheap flights. Keep an eye on when the low cost carriers flights come out. Easy Jet usually just after Christmas. Picked our flights up to Majorca for 50 pounds each. Accommodation for 140 pounds for a 3 star apartment for the week.

Also booked flights to Turkey for next year at 144 pounds each.

I dont think flights are the issue here.I know for a fact that the flights can be booked quite cheaply.The question here is hotels charging more or as much for the accomodation than the tour operators charge for the full package which obviously includes the flight.

Of the surfing Ive done so far I think it is cheaper booking on line in the low season but they seem to double their prices in high season.

Wanye you need to book hotels early, one person told me they got 2 adults and 2 kids 14 nights in a A/I 3* alcudia for £1100 plus there flights it came to £1400. They could of never of got that with a tour op and they booked the hotel early, cheacked out the hotel last month and it had gone upto £1700 at the same time.

I booked my apartments for £1150 for 14 nights direct with the hotel, they worth £1150 because they are quality 4* apartments not like the bellvue apartments in alcudia that I could of got for £500 with no air c o n and a list of unhappy holiday makers. If it was just me and the missus I would use the tour ops but with a family the tour ops fleece you.

If you are looking for hotels now when the summer hols are about start you will not find anything cheap. Everywhere will be fully booked or have hardly any rooms left. If you want to go tenerife this year I can give you some web sites that will be cheaper than the tour ops. Sol hotel in majorca £375 per person including flight in august thats a good deal. Or do yopu want a 3* hotel including flights for £200 in august, you will not get that.

Iv'e just done a couple of searches for accommodation in Ibiza for next year on Med hotels and Winter Sunshine Holidays and nothing is coming up at the moment. It maybe a bit early yet.

I agree with Sandyglen. It's too early for the major accommodation suppliers as no ones got the rates August 2006 yet.

Give it a month or so and they'll be on.

Jazz

I have looked at ibiza-hotels.com for prices for 2006 and the prices given are the ones Iam basing my commemts on,very dear.Can anyone suggest hotels were they think I might get a good deal.

Wanye its too early for next year but try http://www.wintersunshineholidays.co.uk or com http://www.medhotels.co.uk. Thomson do accommoadtion only on there web site. There are so many sites to chose from. I would look around september october time for next year. Hotels I book direct with don't even have their prices for next year yet.

Wanye if you fancy majorca and sa coma or calla millor protur have their prices for next year.

http://www.protur-hotels.com/home.php?lng=uk

The vista badia or safari park 4* apartments are £1200 per apartment sleeping 4 in august 2006 for 14 nights. Chose june or sep and its much cheaper.

You have to be prepared to book well in advance and do a lot of hard work surfing etc but I have not yet found a holiday cheaper when booking through a tour operator.

For example, we have booked a week near Barcelona in a four star hotel, half board for two adults and two children for the half term week in October. We have paid a little over four hundred pounds for the four of us. The tour operators want more than that for one adult for the same week in that hotel! We got our flights for £80 each. We booked flights and the hotel in March this year. We have this week just booked five nights for the February half term, which includes valentines day, in Paris in a four star hotel half board. Again, we have paid £435 for the four of us for the hotel and got the flight for a total of under £400. The private taxi transfer is £60 total to and from the airport.

Use the search engines for finding the hotels and get the flights as soon as they are released. Some hotels offer much better discounts through someone such as Superbreaks than they do on their own web sites or use a site such as http://www.flights.me.am/ and http://www.hotels.me.am/ to do a thorough search which links with a variety of companies.

PS We started going it alone due to the constant battles we had with tour operators over poor or lack of customer service. We do still book the odd package but usually last minute bargains!

wayne zab, booking in August is a problem, it's hard to get good prices due to being peak season.
Be patient, and with luck you will get what you want.
August hotel prices should be out in a few weeks, and then you can start putting together your package.

All the best,

Robby

One thing i have noticed though when booking flights, booking really early can sometimes work out more expensive, ive noticed particulary with bmi and ba, sometimes their prices drop a bit more around 2-3 months before departure ive had this a couple of times where ive booked say 5-6 months before i go to see them drop later on. really annoying
maybe its best to book the hotel before the flights on diy sometimes?

Hi i think it all depends on when you book your flights just booked flights for 23 rd august to malaga 435 pounds return for 3 people half board 3 star hotel 315 pounds so all to gether 750 pouns plus a small transfer feas we are staying torremilinos so still cheap for a week for 3 people . A lso got 3 flights for majorca a week alinclusive hotel 500 pounds flights 111 pounds so for 611 pounds plus transfers booked them last dec from doncaster.Also flights to alicante 127 pouns for 3 and a week alinclucive hotel cristal park 346 pounds so for about 445 pounds a week holiday in oct booked flights last dec.I have booked for me and my hubbie to go to torremilinos in nov 18 th till the 21 st flights from doncaster flights cost 85 pounds for 2 of us but not booked the hotel yet but seen a 4 star for about 85 pounds half board for two of us so it will be cheaper than going to blackpool for my birthday so it all depends on when you book your flights I am looking around now for next year i will book as soon as they come out .sandi

If you are a couple, looking for a hotel at the height of the season then you won't save much money, if any, even with very cheap flights, because there is no reason for hotels to offer good deals when they can fill every room. Where DIY wins every time is when you want an apartment (or villa) for a family of four or more. You may end up paying almost the same price as you could in a brochure, but for that price you'll end up with an apartment twice the size, with separate bedrooms for the kids, a hire car and flight times that won't ruin your holiday! It's not just about saving money, it's more about doing what I want to do, when I want to do it.

On hotels last year in tenerife we had 2 rooms return flights , taxi transfers all for £1200 for a week at bouganville playa, tour ops wanted from £2000 to £2400 for the same holiday.

This year my holiday is costing 1 bed apartment air cond 4*, return flights and taxi transfer for 2 weeks in august £1400 thompson the only UK tour op who does the apartments wanted after the so called discounts £2800. Now I call that cheaper on both holidays and not by only £50

Hi all

We booked our DIY holiday this year through med hotels and easyjet. We'd decided we couldn't afford to book anything this year and then someone suggested I try med hotels. We got a really good deal in a 4 star apart-hotel in Roquetas de Mar, Almeria, and easyjet had cheap flights there.

I checked out the brochure prices and for 2 adults, 2 children in a two bed apartment with no meals on flights etc it was coming out at over £2,300. Including what we expect to pay for taxis, we've paid less than £1,300 and we're flying from Stansted which is much more convenient for us!

I'm still panicking that it's all too good to be true and that something will go wrong, but we're going out on the 9th so we'll soon know!