rowell

Are there any travel agents in Dubai, am wanting to go away in March and all flights that come up are from UK, wanted to book a package rather than separate flights and accom.
Thank you

Meow

Why would you want a package, when you can frequently get a better deal by booking flights and accommodation separately?

Emirates, Etihad and Al Futtaim all have 'travel agency' arms.

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Blue Cat

when we went to London it was way cheaper to get a package deal. Went with Emirates and stayed at a Jumeirah Group hotel. We paid about 1000 dhs more than the airfare but that gave us 5 nights in a hotel which was I think about 140 quid a night.

commander

be wary of this when going through websites like expedia.com

For my holiday to Thailand it was cheaper (all through expedia) to book the flight from Hong Kong-Thailand and the hotel in thailand on seperate transactions.

I called expedia in the US to ask him how it worked out about $600 extra to book it as a package, the sales advisor hinted that it is where they make money!!

Spugsy

I never, ever book hotels through expedia or any of those, use them for flights only - find a hotel you like best and go direct, usually works out better.

commander

we tried that mate, as thats what we do usually also, and the best rate that i received from the hotel was more expensive than expedia.

If it was just the pair of us, or if our daughter was a little older we would have just booked one night and then went and found accommodation.

Our hotel was fantastic but empty as it was off season, im sure we could have got it a lot cheaper by turning up, but with a baby its not an option!

Spugsy

oh, have you been to thailand yet?? where did you go?

commander

Koh Samui, bloody lovely.

Apart from the odd stray cat, beggar and guy scaring my kid with a monkey with no teeth, it was ace.

so relaxed.

shorts, teeshirt and flip-flops every night. perfect.

Lovely beach and some food that made my mouth (and arse) water..

we will go back.

Blue Cat

we booked it with Emirates, honestly it was way cheaper, when I tried to book them separately it worked out about 7000 dhs more! I suppose it depends on the destination and the hotel at the end of the day

Spugsy

ag class, told you you'd be fine and you'd love it,

we've had to put our trip off for a few months as the prices are pretty high,

who did you fly with? and how much, if you don't mind me asking? Emirates to Bangkok is about £700 but down to about £550 in march.

commander

We used emirates air miles to hong kong then flew direct from HK to koh samui with Bangkok air. They were brilliant.

Spugsy

wicked mate, we're off to kao toa I think after a few mad nights in Bangkok, bloody love that country so, so much.

commander

That'll be ace, never been to bkk.by all accounts its some place...

Bought one of those books about the bangkok hilton.

Don't be getting into any bother over there lol

Spugsy

bangkok is amazing, dirty,sleazy, authentic, vibrant - go for 2 days, it's just an amazing place - plus my mate from the Toon lives there so I'll be out on the lash with him.

Autonomy

koh tao is top.... are you getting the speed boat over from Chumpon... loved it.

Commander - Koh Samui airport still the palm tree open air affair?

So can't wait to go back again soon....