Greek holiday prices?

[caroline7758]

My daughter and friends (age 17/18) are planning to go away after their a-levels next June and are having fall-outs over whether to book now or last minute. They have found a Thomson holiday (hotel and flight, not sure whether any meals included) in Xante at around £400 per person for 10 days. Having never been one to go to touristy places for holidays, I've no idea whether this is a good price or whether it would be better to wait. There are 8 of them going , so guess it might be hard to find something for that number at the last minute. What do you think?

[caroline7758]

[ACE]

Get flights seperate and let them rent a villa, I know it is a lot of work but with 8 going they could save £100's The earlier you book flights  in most cases the cheaper they are. just watch out for the surcharges. Self catering I know, but we have found it is cheaper to eat out.

[Digeroo]

For such young people I would suggest booking through a good tour operator rather than booking separately.  If things go wrong such as volcanic ash etc they are better at sorting it out.

I would suggest checking out Thomas Cook they are sometimes a little cheaper than Thomsons, but you get less leg room on flights!!  Looking at prices you may get B&B at that price but it may be better to go self catering and get more facilities at the hotel.

Turkey can be a bit cheaper than Greece.  But they don't take kindly to people being drunk and disorderly.

Late deals are a bit of a lottery you have to be very prepared to take what is on offer.  You have to spend sometime looking about 6 weeks before you want to travel.  It takes away the best bit of the holiday which is anticipating it.   It is not easy if you have to get lots of people to agree because by the time you decide on something that holiday may have gone. 

I have in the past got some great bargains but used to spend hours on Teletext waiting for something to change and then ringing within minutes.   Sometimes they offer you something more expensive and you have to fight with them to get the one from the advertisement. 

Anyway hope they find what they are looking for.

[Ellen K]

I'd say that price isn't too bad for 10 days and if it is exactly what they are looking for (departure Airport, location in Xante etc) then go for it.

[Paulines7]

I have been abroad with Thomson and they are an excellent company.  

I agree with Digeroo that they would be better to get a package as they are so young.  £400 each sounds reasonable for a 10 day holiday.

I had holidays on some Greek islands during my late teens and early 20's with my friends and thoroughly enjoyed them.  I love everything about Greece, the clear warm water for snorkling, the food, climate, friendliness of the Greek people, music and dancing.......just everything about the country.   :D

Thirty years or so later, my husband and I had trips to Thassos and another where we stayed in Athens for a couple of nights then went off to Andros for a week and then to Paros.  I can't wait to go back at some future date to explore some more of this beautiful country.

I am sure your daughter will have a good time.

[earlypea]

Blimey, aren't young people pampered these days!

I used to catch the bus from London to Athens, hop on a boat and sleep on the beach.  It was lovely though.

[Mrs Gumboot]

We've been to Greece regularly and usually book late. Pay around £300-350 for a fortnight on a self catering basis. Would be problematic booking late for that many people though, especially in high season. Would recommend they go with a company though, especially if it's their first time away. We ran into trouble this summer with the air traffic control strikes & it's so much better to have a rep to sort it out, plus you don't have to worry about transport to & from the airport.

All in all I wouldn't leave it too late or they might not get into the same apartments. Have they tried haggling bearing in mind it's a larger party?

One other thing - we always go self catering as you get a fridge! Food's not too pricey out there if you're careful where you go but not being able to keep water or sandwich materials cool in the middle of the summer is a serious problem.

[rosebud]

 I would suggest that they go to Thomsons, & haggle yes they do , do it especially for group bookings. Give it a go well worth it. ;D

[1066]

I used to catch the bus from London to Athens, hop on a boat and sleep on the beach.  It was lovely though.

;D  ;D  ;D - now that is bringing back some happy memories - didn't do the bus though!

Anyway Caroline, it might be worth thinking about costs when they are there, as I've heard Greece is quite pricey these days (Euro and their economic probls), so maybe they should check out costs when there as well, I hear Turkey is still cheaper......

[PurpleHeather]

Exactly how many of them are there? Ten and more could get a discount as a 'party'. If some pull out, those who are going may still have to pay for their untaken holiday.

Thomsons did have a special 18-30 type holiday company and yes I have been on them.  At the beginning and end of the season they provide a very cheap holiday in basic but clean accommodation, usually in either an apartment or a bed and breakfast hotel. ( a lot of older people have found these hotels excellent out of season for a variety of reasons. One:- they provide single accommodation cheaper)

Try these sites

http://www.club18-30.co.uk/

http://www.thomascook.com/search/holiday/searchResults.jsp?_requestid=55011

Few if any of the youngsters ever manage to get to the breakfast so the hotel comes up trumps on that. The hotels usually have a bar/eatery place where they make extra money by providing the bacon egg beans burgers and pizzas at a reasonable price kids that age want. The reps for the age group are party animals themselves and have seen it all and done it all themselves. They are not shy about how they speak to these kids either.

Apartments have twigged on to asking for a refundable deposit (you do get it back) they charge for breakages of absolutely anything and I have even heard of kids being charged for a window broken by some one else throwing a stone at it.

Also, the safes in these places are well known to be 'unsafe'. Even though the hotels charge for lost keys, some of our own country folk will sell on their safe and room key to a local resident, often another Brit. ( they make a bit of profit on this) who knows when another party arrives and coolly goes in and rifles the lot. Be warned. The insurance wont cover loss when no breaking and entering is involved as there is no sign of a crime.

As for price £400 is not  that cheap. It is probably about right for a fortnight But remember, most hotels/ complexes prefer families and respectable couples. Only the dregs of places charging what they can get will even consider taking a party of what they consider to be potential vandals.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8h9VJz-dqM

If there is trouble The Travel Company can evict the troublemaking party and I assure you that if they do this they return them to an airport as far away as possible from where the party lives so (as an example)  Glasgow trouble makers could be flown home to Gatwick and visa versa.

BUT if you book a package, the tour company does have an additional duty of care. Book the flight, accommodation, transfers etc separately and you can be on your own in the event of a problem. Like a strike or a Volcano erupting. I would strongly suggest paying a few quid more for a 'package' but they usually work out cheaper overall.

As the kids are new to getting a holiday on their own, I suggest that they roam the various travel agents over the next few weeks to see what they can learn. Also search the internet.

Personally, I find booking six to eight weeks before I go, gets me a good discount. Though I would not get the same choice as I would if I booked now.  Often, just after Christmas, companies start to make offers. So the kids have plenty of time to shop around.  

Drugs and sex. Both will be available at these places. So lets not just hope the kids know the score about what to beware of. TELL them about being careful their drinks are not spiked and the dangers of unprotected sex and how to protect themselves. Huge numbers of nice innocent kids go away and come home with something they do not want.

Make sure too that they don't cut corners with cheap insurance. £5 sounds brilliant but some parents have had to remortgage their homes because the insurance cover fell short of what their kid needed. An air ambulance home costs a fortune. It can happen. That is why we take out insurance.

Apartments are fine if at least one of the party can cook and they take sufficient funds for food (yes they can eat out but most kids can not budget so when funds run low, they can end up hungry) Resort shops sell things like pot noodles at £3 each.

You should also investigate before they go, how to get additional funds to them in an emergency.

Make sure they know that even though their flight home is at 2 am they still have to vacate their room at 10 am the day before.

Also, watch out for 'room only' that means you have no where to make a cup of tea or coffee or even toast. No fridge either So, you have to buy meals and drink out. They sound cheaper but are not.

If the kids are going in an apartment I would also pack, in the suitcase things like tea, instant coffee, salt and pepper, even some dried foods which can be easily made into something and don't weigh a lot. Even a box of cornflakes.

The fiinal problem is making sure that every one who is on the list has the money. I have met loads of people who ended up paying out for friends who simply 'let them down'.

My intention is not to put you or them off. I hope they have a wonderful holiday, I certainly did in the 60s going abroad without parents. Just wanted to fill you in onone or two hazzards I know about.

[Ellen K]

The thing is: after Christmas they'll be busy preparing for their exams so they won't have much time to plan a holiday - best to sort it now and they'll have something to look forward to.

But that thing about what happens if one of them drops out needs looking at....

Otherwise, I say go for it!

[caroline7758]

Thanks for all your responses. I have two older ones who have been abroad with mates, and this one went to (and survived) Newquay 2 years ago, so I'm not too worried, but she doesn't want to spend over the odds, I think the idea of going to a travel agent and haggling is a good idea- I'll see what she thinks. Trouble is at the moment one girl has taken responsibility for sorting something out and it's hard to please everyone! If they can get it sorted soon, they can look forward to it and concentrate on their A-levels!