Hi Jordy

For flight info please post in the relevant thread HERE.

Thanks.

Pippy

Jordy...The likes of TC, VH and First Choice use allocation on arrival and make there prices up on "extras" that you will get as standard if you were to book direct with an owner.

Speak with owners that advertise on here and compare prices.

TC quoted someone £400 for pool heat on the resort that 3 owners i spoke to said pool heat was between £180-£220, they challenged TC on this and was told this is what the price was, so they canceld the vacation and booked direct with a resort owner... but each to there own..

Malcolm

Malcolm,
Thanks for the info, as you say I believe there are better deals to be had direct from the owners.
The only reason I'm doing a package is so that I can get a direct flight from my local airport. Our daughter is 6 yo and I reckon it would be less hassle going direct rather than having one or more changes,

Cheers
Jordy

Some members prefer to go the TO route

Pippy

Hi Pippy,
excuse my ignorance, what does TO stand for?

Cheers
Jordy

Tour Operator

Hi Pippy,
Thanks for that, it would have been bugging me all night trying to guess the acronym.

We used to do mostly independent travel and didn't mind if we had to stay over somewhere for a night but now we have to fit in with school holidays, which is always more expensive.

Also the only direct flights to Florida from Newcastle are with the TOs otherwise it means adding at least one extra flight or a lengthy drive,

Cheers
Jordy

I'm looking to do the same with Thomsons, mainly because it seems to be the cheapest option for a family of 5.
I checked the fly-drive option and private villa but seems to end up more expensive. Or am I doing something wrong???
If anyone can tell me any different, I would be pleased to hear.

Hi Jordy
I'm in the same situation as you, my local airport is Newcastle and the only Florida flights are with Monarch from May to October, any dates outside of this and you are snookered!.

The biggest problem is that it doesn't matter which TO you book with it's a usually a Monarch flight you end up on, this year Thomsonfly are operating a 767 on the route as well, this should be a much better choice, although there's no seatback IFE they are promising 33" seat pitch in economy and 37" in premium economy on their longhaul flights. The only problem is the price, for May 3rd they want £959 for flight only or £743 for the cheapest package option at the Best Western Plaza. not very competitive prices by any means!. For £1500 for two of us I can get flights with twice the baggage allowance, a 3 bed condo and fully inclusive car hire and still have change!.

I vowed never to fly Monarch again, their seat pitch is about the worst going, 28 - 29" for a trans-atlantic flight is criminal. I know flying from other airports adds additional complications but (in my opinion and for my circumstances) it's worth the extra hassle. I got Star Class Premiere flights with First Choice from East Midlands last March for £300, a 2-1/2 hour drive down plus £90 for a nice hotel for the night with 2 weeks car parking and txi to/from the airport included still ended up cheaper than "cattle class" from Newcastle. In November we flew from Manchester, there's a direct train service from Newcastle to Manchester Airport, booked in advance it cost about £40 for two of us and there's a much bigger choice of flights from Manchester all of which are usuallu cheaper than Newcastle.

Hi Jeff,
That price from East Midlands is excellent. I may be wrong but I'm assuming this was not during the School Holidays.
The problem me and a lot of others have is that we are tied into School Holidays which is when all the Tour Operators increase their prices.

We are planning to go in the summer but also made a spur of the moment decision to go to Orlando at Easter. Flying Jet2.Com from NCL to Gatwick, overnight in a Hotel and then Charter Flight to Sanford.

We've booked everything (Flight/Car/Villa) with the dreaded Travel City Direct simply because they were the only Tour Operator who could tell us up front how much it would cost for the Car Insurance and Pool Heating. I would really have liked to book a Private Villa even if the cost worked out the same as TCD at least we would know which exact Villa we would be staying in. I sent out a general Enquiry Form on a well known Villa Owbners Site and up to now have still not received a reply, which is not surprising because Easter is one of their busiest periods.
Sorry for rambling on but my conclusion is that DIY is definitely the way to go IF you are not tied to School Holidays or you know well in advance exactly when you can get time off from work.

Cheers
Jordy

Hi Jordy We went March 20th to April 3rd, the Easter Hols (I think) stared an April 7th or thereabouts. I know the same flight from Manchester on the following Saturday (24th) would have been £858 each!. Luckily I'm not tied to the school hols, my eldest (20) isn't interested in going on holiday with me, my youngest (13) has decided that as she's flown several times before she now has a much greater risk of crashing so doesn't want to fly!, that leaves my middle one (17) who would do anything rather than go to college the college are OK with taking time out of term as he is Autistic and is doing a vocational options course so not a lot of actual lerning gets missed.

I'm looking at Canada at the moment, CanadianAffair were flying the Thomas Cook 757s from Newcastle last year, there have 35" seat pitch as standard but this year most of the flights are with AirTrandstat who use an airbus A310 with reduced pitch, should be 33" according to the web site. Prices for Setember/October are from £198.00