Hi Roy

When at the travel agents they tried to scare us about booking on-line saying any mistakes would be expensive to correct. I ignored them and booked my whole trip (flights, hotel, transfers and insurance) on-line with jet2 and saved a bundle! Granted could possibly have saved more by booking it all separately but was easier for me to book the whole lot at one go, and I felt safer. Was straight forward with jet2 and would be happy to use them again.

From different posts on here get the impression lots of people book online without any problems.

Enjoy your holiday when you get it booked

I have been booking on-line for years and saving loads of money, usually booking flights and accommodation separately, as well as booking transfers and insurance. The good thing is that you can surf the net for the cheapest possible deals. If you are looking for a cancellation holiday try the site 'Sunmaster' we looked at this but didn't want a package, however it seemed to have some great deals.
This year we booked through 'Owners Direct' for self catering accommodation and booked flights through easyjet, but last year booked flights and accommodation through 'easyjet holidays'.
TravelRepublic are a site we have booked with before, and are quite reasonable, have heard some complaints about OnTheBeach, but booked a holiday with them to Morocco a few years back and had no probs.
It can be a bit nerve wracking if you are not used to it, but considering that thousands do it this way every year, and only a small percentage come back with complaints, I wouldn't worry.
Enjoy.

I think as long as you book with a reputable firm and pay by credit card you can save a fortune. I have used and would recommend http://www.travelrepublic.com. For example the aaprtments I booked cost £50 for the 2 weeks. Thomsons wanted over £300 for the same apartments at the exact same time.

If you are slightly worried always pay by credit card which also gives you some protection

As with anything simply hunt about for your ideal apartments, do your research on sites like this which will give you an idea of the apartments and what they have to offer/avoid

Stewart

A point to note is that travel republic are ABTA bonded travel agents so that would mean it is more secure.

Well - i could reel off a list of companies to avoid but won't publically for fear of being shot LOL

The ones already mentioned are good sites - Hays and Travel Republic

They won't screw you over or operate in a faceless manner like some companies mentioned on here

We have never been to a travel agent, it is just so much more fun and cheaper to do it on the net.
But just be careful when booking your holiday that you keep track of any extras that might be added to your final bill, for these can mount up, so if whilst booking you get to your final total before entering your credit card details and find it is a whole lot more than you expected, just go back and look at any extras you might be paying for, sometimes this is travel insurance which you can probably get cheaper booking separately, or transfers, which you might also get cheaper elsewhere, there will be an option to cancel the insurance and transfers etc., also if booking a cheap flight you can cut down on the luggage you take, which you will be charged for, by cancelling the luggage option and just taking hand luggage or booking one suitcase between two of you etc., then you can go ahead and book, paying only the amount you expected to pay. It might sound a bit tricky when put like this, but honestly, if we can do it anyone can!!!! Lol.

For the last 4 years I have booked my holidays with Thomas Cook. Before going into TC I researched prices on the net of package holidays where I wanted to stay etc and printed out details of prices.

I then went into a local TC shop and asked for prices for the same holidays. If it worked out more expensive with TC I then showed them the deal that I had got online and for each of the last 4 years they bettered the internet price!!

This year I have booked online because the hotel we are staying at is not available through tour operators.

Ian.

I have used the internet to book quite a few holidays but you do have to carefull and avoid making mistakes. If booking for others make sure you have the spelling of their names correct etc. One time when i was using onthebeach, it was impossible to book 3 rooms for 5 people, the website didn't have the facility for choosing how many rooms, it kept putting us in two rooms. I decided to book the single room first and then do the other rooms separate. BIG MISTAKE, when I tried to make a second booking for 2 double rooms the site gave me a different higher price, and I had no choice but to book the rest of my group at a higher price. when I logged in the next day on my office computer the lower price was still available.

Just be careful and don't make the booking unless you are completely happy with it.

The previous poster is right, sometimes mistakes can be made, but when this has happened to us we found a telephone number for the company and rang them up to rectify it. Am not sure if OnTheBeach have a contact number to call, but am sure that most do, so if you are not sure about anything give the company a call, it will put your mind at rest.
Also make sure that you print off all necessary paperwork, accommodation voucher, flight booking, insurance details, etc.

I must admit, it's the first time I have done it on line, and I have been sitting
waiting for our holiday details to drop through the letterbox.
We did print off accommodation vouchers and flight details, but I thought they were just
receipts, and the proper stuff would arrive soon.

I have been panicking as nothing arrived in the post, till I got told on here that
what I thought were just receipts, are in fact all our holiday booking details.
Oh well, we live and learn. I should have realised technology rules these days!!!

Have a look through the complaints threads to discover the holiday companies to avoid.
There is ONE in particular that seems to be pretty bad.
I wouldn't even touch them with YOUR 10 foot pole.

thankyou all very much for the replies. is anyone familiar with h*llo suns*ine? don't want to post the real name in case i get in bother!