Package holidays are a great stress-free way to get away from it all and spend some well-earned time in the sun.
The package holiday industry is booming with companies including TUI and Thomas Cook offering packages to hundreds of destinations around the world. But what exactly should you expect from a package holiday? We’ve pulled together this ultimate guide to package holidays to answer all your questions.
TUI
Thousands of free kids places still available!
Still browsing for your family holiday? Book with TUI now and benefit from thousands of kids places absolutely free! T&Cs apply.
Explore new summer destinations with these offers, updated every week! Spend your weekend on a city break in Europe or beyond from £89pp for flight & hotel. T&Cs apply.
A package holiday is a holiday bundle that usually includes return flights, hotel accommodation and often your food and drinks all for one price. Package holidays are usually booked through a travel company or with a travel agent and are designed to make travelling as stress free as possible.
By taking all the difficulty out of browsing for the best hotel deal, tracking changing flight prices and budgeting for food and drinks while abroad, you can sit back and relax on your holiday knowing everything is taken care of.
What is included in a package holiday?
Generally, a standard package holiday will include the following:
Return flights
Hotel accommodation
Depending on the package you book, it may also include the following:
Limited or unlimited buffet or restaurant food
Limited or unlimited alcoholic drinks
Selected excursions or day trips
Airport transfers
Are all package holidays all inclusive?
Not necessarily. A standard package holiday will probably only include return flights and hotel accommodation. An all-inclusive package holiday will also include all your food (three meals a day) and drinks for the duration of your holiday. When browsing for your holiday, you can usually refine your search by board type depending on what you are looking for.
Half-board vs. full-board
Half-board and full-board describe the amount of food and drink that comes included in your package price. Half-board generally includes breakfast and sometimes extras such as tea, coffee and snacks. Full-board usually includes three meals a day at on-site restaurants and buffets, drinks (although not always alcoholic) and often snacks as well.
This will depend on the type of package you want to book. Package holidays range from 5-star all-inclusive resorts in tropical destinations to 3-star self-catered packages in European destinations and prices vary accordingly. A week in a 5-star all-inclusive resort could set you back around £1,500 per person for a week in peak season. A week in a 3-star self-catered hotel could set you back approximately £600 per person.
Technically, you could, but booking a hotel and flight package and not using the hotel would almost definitely not be the cheapest thing to do! You can book flight-only packages from most package holiday companies, so we recommend you do this.
Yes. Although the amount of money you get back will depend on the package you booked, the company you booked with and the amount of time before you were due to leave. Finder highly recommends buying travel insurance before you book anything, so if you do need to cancel your trip for any reason, you have extra protection. You can get a travel insurance quote using Finder’s insurance quote generator here.
Again, this depends on the package you have booked. Some companies will allow an extension, but you will need to pay for a new flight as well as your hotel’s going nightly rate for the number of days you want to extend by.
You can take a package holiday year round, so there’s not really a best time to book. If you can book several months in advance, you are more likely to get a good deal. It’s also worth considering booking during popular sales such as Boxing Day sales or using travel discount codes or vouchers.
Unfortunately no, you must be 18 years of age or older to book a package holiday.
In need of a weekend away? Book your trip to Paris for just £142 (flight + 2 nights trip). What are you waiting for? Plan your magical weekend now. T&Cs apply.
Enjoy your holiday stress-free with amazing all inclusive deals from Love Holidays. Choose your destination and dates and let them relax and enjoy! T&Cs apply.
Know someone who needs a break? Grab a First Choice giftcard for the value of anywhere from £10-£5,000 and help them towards their dream holiday! T&Cs apply
Wanna have the time of your life without breaking a bank? Check out these cheap travel options and jet off to Australia, New Zealand or elsewhere already tomorrow. T&Cs apply.
Get away every 4 months without spending a fortune
You never know where to travel next? Check out Be Right Back subscription offer and go on a surprise trip without spending a lot of money and time on planning. T&Cs apply.
Not sure what kind of adventure you're after? Check out different trip themes offered by Intrepid Travel and find something that's perfect for you. T&Cs apply.
Turquoise waters, white sandy beaches and a tropical climate. Experience all of this and more when you choose a pre-packaged holiday to the Maldives with one of these travel sites.
Read more…
Discover the best deals and discounts from Jet2 this Black Friday and Christmas season. Get discounts off last-minute flights, holidays and city breaks. Read more…
Georgia-Rose is a publisher at Finder.com and specialises in all things shopping and travel. She has years of experience working in retail and tourism and as an avid budget traveller, she loves helping people find the best deals on everything from plane tickets to sunglasses.
When she's not jetting off somewhere new you'll find her watching cake videos or befriending stray cats.
How likely would you be to recommend finder to a friend or colleague?
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Very UnlikelyExtremely Likely
Required
Thank you for your feedback.
Our goal is to create the best possible product, and your thoughts, ideas and suggestions play a major role in helping us identify opportunities to improve.
Advertiser Disclosure
finder.com is an independent comparison platform and information service that aims to provide you with the tools you need to make better decisions. While we are independent, the offers that appear on this site are from companies from which finder.com receives compensation. We may receive compensation from our partners for placement of their products or services. We may also receive compensation if you click on certain links posted on our site. While compensation arrangements may affect the order, position or placement of product information, it doesn't influence our assessment of those products. Please don't interpret the order in which products appear on our Site as any endorsement or recommendation from us. finder.com compares a wide range of products, providers and services but we don't provide information on all available products, providers or services. Please appreciate that there may be other options available to you than the products, providers or services covered by our service.