Do yourself a favour and give up with holiday companies in my opinion.
Their days are over: they are overpriced and have far too much control over todays customer.
They are fighting a losing battle - Joe Public has wised up nowadays - long gone are the days where you need a package company to book a holiday with.
All of a sudden europe has become smaller with the help of the internet. Book yourself a DIY holiday, you probably wouldnt dream of booking with a travel agent inside the UK, so why bother in europe ?
I have done it loads of times and so have all my friends. Do not be afraid, do it. Do no succumb to scare tactics by holiday companies, who at the end of the day will rip you off and more importantly for you, will mess you about.