DIY Travel Guide - booking holidays without a travel agent

Holiday makers are choosing to book online in greater numbers than ever before. You can easily book your own discount flights and then choose from a huge range of discount hotels, making considerable savings compared to high street rates. It is possible to make huge savings also on car hire and travel insurance. In all, savings of 25% or more can be achieved.

Added to this, you can create your own holiday features, rather than settling for a package deal that may not completely fit in with your needs. In short, you can pick from a vast and growing range of travel deals, save money and get to select individual choice tailored to your particular requirements. Effectively, you are not paying the agent commission. Often you will find that the agents own travel insurance is a lot more expensive - you can make big savings by buying your travel insurance online.

If you choose to book self catering apartments or holiday homes directly with the owners you can holiday in great quality accommodation at low prices - for example, typically a 3 bedroom holiday home in France, catering for up to 6 people, can be booked for between €400 and €700.

It is advisable that you purchase suitable travel insurance product before you depart. Travel insurance should include supplier insolvency cover - ask your insurance supplier for advice. Always book your travel products from secure reputable sources and paying with a credit card offers additional financial protection

There is no doubt that holidaymaker's will continue to use the service of good travel agents. Travel agents provide a great service to people who don't have the time or simply want their holiday arranged for them. Travel agents can offer great advice in their area of travel and offer a one stop shop to help resolve problems encountered during your trip. But this service obviously comes at a premium.

DIY travel arranging is great for people who don't mind spending the time booking the different elements of their trip and handling problems that arise directly with the travel web site, but for many busy people the traditional travel agent offers a great time saving service. Most of the larger travel agents have web sites as well as high street outlets.

Web based travel agents

If you live in the UK , for example, Directline holidays is an ABTA approved travel agent with an easy to use, secure web site which offers the best of both worlds - offering great package holidays at low prices.

Cosmos Tourama is a specialist web site from the same company, with over 45 years of experience, and they sell quality escorted touring holidays throughout Europe, USA, Canada, Africa, South America, Asia, Australia and New Zealand

If you live in Ireland and would like to buy a package holiday then our list of Irish online travel agents may help you