I like to think of myself as something of an independent traveller. Even when I travel to a popular, mainstream destination I like to try and avoid package tours - booking trips myself just seems like more fun!
People often ask me whether it works out cheaper to avoid the package holidays. It's my belief that it can do, as long as you're prepared to spend time researching the destination, modes of transport and accommodation.
Although package tours should, by definition, be cheaper, it's not always the case. I also like to take into account the quality of the experience. That's not just about independence - it's also about picking out hotels that you just wouldn't see in the holiday brochures.
Many package holiday companies tend to opt for larger hotels where they can book up a number of rooms at a time. Such hotels can be perfect, but I sometimes like to pick out places to stay that are a little different.
This approach can often make for a far more interesting holiday, although I'd be the first to admit that it's also caused some problems in the past.
The toughest part of getting a good deal is sometimes the thing that you might imagine would be the easiest of all: booking a flight.
Now that we can book flights online, the whole process should be more transparent. Finding a flight should be a simple matter of a bit of price comparison.
Unfortunately it often seems as though finding the cheapest options takes far longer than it should. Many price comparison sites neglect to show you the prices offered by the very cheapest airlines.
I found this out when I was trying to book a flight to Paphos Airport, in Cyprus. Flights from the UK seemed to vary in price by hundreds of pounds.
I eventually got the best deal by booking direct with a budget airline and shunning the price comparison sites.
There are cheap flight and accommodation options out there but you'll need to be prepared to spend a little time to find them.
Find out more about Paphos Airport Cyprus and holidays, with further contributions from Keith Barrett. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.
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