i normally use travel republic, alpharooms and findmeaccom. i have very occassionally found other firms that are cheaper, but not normally by that much that i would use anyone else.
although i have had little niggles with all of them, i have not had a holiday ruined probably because i tend to go to the same area so know the resorts well enough to be able to cope.
i also use ryanair, and have nothing but good things to say about them, so far

I'm afraid I am very boring and tend to book with Thomson, I have booked with them for years and other Thomson associated companies too - I know there are cheaper out there especially if you DIY, but I am confident enough to do that, so I will stick with Thomson

I don't book on price alone but on hotel selection, as may of those i like are no longer on the main TO portfolio's I have tended to book built holidays through either A! or Fleetway, however for our next jaunt Thomson [shop] came up with a better all round deal,I always found its worth talking to them rather than going off the web prices [ they started with the list price less the on-line discount then a good secondary discount] making them just a tad over the built holiday but with better flights [I hate Easy-jet which was on the cheaper offer] and ABTA/ATOL protection

I book my flight first at the moment I favour Easyjet and try to get them as soon as the flights are released. I used to use Thomas Cook but due to an incident with dreadful customer service I have given them a miss this year. I do hunt around for not only best prices but most convenient flight times and airports. I got a few good flights to Dalaman this year for 90 pounds each return including luggage and I have somewhere to stay. If I need hotels/pensions I just ruck up to somewhere and always find something. If I want to book in advance I look around on internet and phone or email them. I rarely use a travel company or agent although did go on a Neilson windsurfing holiday to Dahab recently as we got a last minute bargain. It was good value.

We tend to stick with the bigger names Thompson , First choice , Thomas Cook etc.

Its getting easier to book as they are all becoming the same company now!!

Also we use Flybe for weekends in europe as we can fly from our local airport and get a good price if booked well in advance.

I look on Thomas Cook and Thomsons websites along with their associated companies and then go to the Travel agents in town and ask them to match the web price.
They have never refused (up to now) and sometimes get the holiday with more discount.

Hi
Always go with one of the larger TOs, usually Thomson, going with them again this year and for the 1st time ever we are going with Thomas Cook this Easter, so we shall see how they compare to Thomson.
I am always a bit dubious of booking flights and apartments separately, feel more confident with the larger TOs so end up paying abit more.....
M

Ive only ever used the big TOs - Thomson being the favourite. Although I look, and think the prices are brilliant, I have never done a DIY holiday. I worry too much that things might go wrong and wouldnt have the first clue on how to rectify them or that things will go belly up and we will lose all our money. Id rather pay the extra for the peace of mind that a big company brings.

margaretcarroll wrote:

Hi
Always go with one of the larger TOs, usually Thomson, going with them again this year and for the 1st time ever we are going with Thomas Cook this Easter, so we shall see how they compare to Thomson.
I am always a bit dubious of booking flights and apartments separately, feel more confident with the larger TOs so end up paying abit more.....
M

We have used Thomas Cook for the first time twice in the last couple of years Margaret, The only difference on the negative was the legroom on the plane seemed smaller, but on the plus side one of the holidays was £790 cheaper than with Thompson for exactly the same hotel etc and we flew on the Sat as opposed to Thompson's Monday flight .

For our main package holidays we use Direct Holidays who might offer the same holiday as Thomas Cook but usually it is cheaper and we automatically get 20k luggage allowance, meals and transfers. (but will not book again when they have a 'sale' on though.)
Ryanair/Easjet and First Choice/Thomson hotels for short breaks because we would be still looked after by them even though
the flights weren't booked with them.

Usually book with Thomson I find them the best.

Danny wrote:

Usually book with Thomson I find them the best.

Best in what way Danny??

ive only ever really booked with first choice before but this year have booked accomodation direct with hotel and flights with thomas cook as they were much cheaper flight only than thomson/FC

First Choice. I search out and find the best price on line with them and take it to the shop, where they either honour that price or see if they can find it a little bit cheaper for us

Hi MilleMiglia.

I did DIY last time to save some money but that proved to be a mistake you can read why on the DIY Forum. I just find Thomson excellent never had any problems with them and they always have the best reps (well I find they do) and good service when things go wrong or you have a problem.

Danny

I'm a bit like jaytrip , look on the main travel websites , see something i like and print off go to the TA and tell them where i want to go and the dates hoping they will come up with the same , but if not then i produce my web prices and they smile and price match

ooo i may try that one maybe i can haggle a bit in the shop

I tend to look for the best deal I can get the last two have been Cosmos and the one before that was TUI. But if Thomas Cook showed the best deal or I thought a DIY was viable I would do that. Not much loyalty here I'm afraid.

We book everything independently now since coming to live in Cyprus.

Sites such as Travel Republic and Sunshine.co.uk only offer flights from UK airports so they're of little use to us as we haven't been back to UK since we left in 2004.

We tend to do trips to Egypt or Malta so book our flights directly with Egyptair and Air Malta who both fly out of Larnaca.

Accommodation is booked separately and for these we've used Travel Republic, Sunshine, Thomson and just recently I booked with lowcostholidays.co.uk as they were the cheapest for a single person travelling (I'm leaving my other half at home for my next trip ).

I've found it's always been cheaper to book accommodation through one of the above sites rather than direct with the hotel.

We do however, take the mini-cruises from Limassol fairly regularly and find we get a better deal going directly through Louis Cruise Lines or Salamis. We can go to Lebanon, Egypt, Syria and Israel quite easily and are only 10 minutes drive from our house to the new port. If we book in advance and the operator reduces the cost or advertises a special offer nearer the departure date, they will reduce the cost of our holiday or upgrade us - whichever we prefer.

Agents in Cyprus add on a "service fee" per person which is why we stay away from them. I arranged a trip a while ago for 10nts in Egypt (flying Larnaca > Cairo > Cairo > Aswan, 4nts BB in Aswan, 3nts Nile cruise Aswan > Luxor, 2nts BB in Luxor at the Sonesta St George, overnight sleeper carriage Luxor > Cairo then flights back to Larnaca from Cairo). The cost was a little less than 400GBP per person.

A local agent was offering 7nts holiday with the same route and the basic cost was more expensive for a shorter duration.

I spend a lot of time researching though, before I make my reservations!

Shell
Limassol, Cyprus