direct holidays

...Cut It Out! Go Direct!" Direct Holidays cuts out the middle man and helps you to cut the cost of your holiday, so in other words there is no travel agent involved and therefore no commission.
They offer holidays to all the popular destinations such as: The Canaries, the Balearics, Spain, The Greek Islands, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Turkey; as well as worldwide destinations such as: Tunisia, Mexico, Florida and Jamaica and they ...
...
I have used Direct Holidays about 5 times and I have never been disappointed with the service I have received. They really do offer excellent value for money. When looking for a holiday I like to do a lot of research and shop around for the best deal, however each time no one can match the price I get from Direct Holidays. Actually the last holiday I booked I thought I'd try going into a Going Places Travel Agents to see if I could lower ... more

>>>>Overview<<<<
"Why pay commission? Cut It Out! Go Direct!" Direct Holidays cuts out the middle man and helps you to cut the cost of your holiday, so in other words there is no travel agent involved and therefore no commission.
They offer holidays to all the popular destinations such as: The Canaries, the Balearics, Spain, The Greek Islands, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Cyprus and Turkey; as well as worldwide destinations such as: Tunisia, Mexico, Florida and Jamaica and they offer flights from all major UK airports.
They are part of the Thomas Cook Group along with Airtours, Cosmos, Going Places and My Travel. In addition they are ATOL Protected so this gives you peace of mind when using them.
I have used Direct Holidays about 5 times and I have never been disappointed with the service I have received. They really do offer excellent value for money. When looking for a holiday I like to do a lot of research and shop around for the best deal, however each time no one can match the price I get from Direct Holidays. Actually the last holiday I booked I thought I'd try going into a Going Places Travel Agents to see if I could lower the price and even though they are part of the same group they couldn't match the price I received from Direct Holidays, they were in fact a few hundred pounds more expensive!

>>>>Booking<<<<
There are a few ways to look for and book a holiday from Direct Holidays: in person at a shop (they have shops in Glasgow, Aberdeen, Belfast, Newcastle, Liverpool and Dublin), on their website www.directholidays.co.uk or by ordering a brochure and booking by telephone.
Each time I have booked with them I have used their website, as it is very convenient and easy to use; there are also more hotels on the website than there are in the brochure.
There are a couple of ways to look for a holiday on their website. 1) You can click on the Guides tab at the top of the page and this takes you to a page of all the destinations they offer. You can then click on where you want to go and what area you want to go to, it then shows you what hotels they offer in that area. 2) You can use the search facility on the homepage. Use the drop down menus to choose your departure airport and destination, then choose your dates and how long you want to go for and click search. It will then show you a list of hotels available, each with a small picture, brief description, board basis and the price per person. You can click on a hotel and a pop up window will show you more pictures and give you more information about the hotel such as the situation, facilities, if it's near a beach, what's included in the board etc. Once you decide what hotel you want you can click Quote and it will give you a final price.
In my opinion, the main thing that makes Direct Holidays better than a lot of other travel companies is the fact that there are no hidden extras; everything is included in the price per person that you see when you are looking through the various hotels. In-flight meals, fuel supplements, coach transfers etc are all included in this price. The only extras you have to pay for are private taxi transfers and pre-bookable seats.
Booking online is so easy, once you have entered all of the passenger details and card details you are pretty much done! They then send you a conformation email which includes a holiday checklist which is always helpful when you're packing, especially if you're like me and get really worried about forgetting things.
As I said before you can also book over the phone and the price over the phone is exactly the same as you would find on the internet. I know a lot of other companies give you a discount for booking online and I don't feel that this is very fair as there are a lot of people that don't like doing things over the internet, or perhaps don't even have the internet. I have never booked over the phone but I have telephoned them a few times about other things such as room requests and I have always found them very polite and helpful.

>>>>Payment<<<<

Direct Holidays make paying for your holiday really simple; they also sometimes offer low deposits sometimes even as low as £20 per person when you book your holiday early. You can then make payments to your holiday whenever you like either online or by phone. I prefer to do it online, but I have also done it by phone (this is an automated system so you don't actually have to speak to anyone). Like most major travel companies, Direct Holidays require the holiday to be paid in full 8 weeks before departure.
They accept most major credit and debit cards; however there is an extra charge for paying by credit card (2.5%).
I have found Direct Holidays to be very good with their paperwork; they are very good at keeping you informed about your holiday and your payments (payments you have made and when payments are required). They also ensure that your tickets arrive in the post a couple of weeks before your holiday.

>>>>In the Resort<<<<

When on holiday I have found the Direct Holiday reps to be very welcoming and helpful. When you arrive at the airport they are there to greet you and let you know what coach number to go on. Once you are on your coach a rep will be there to take you to your hotel, they also issue you with a welcome pack on the coach to let you know who the rep at your hotel is and when the welcome meeting is.
When you arrive at your hotel they then show you into reception and make sure you get checked in ok.
I have always found the hotel reps to be very helpful too; and we always find the welcome meetings to be worthwhile. I also like the fact that the reps don't ever push you to book any of their excursions at the welcome meetings.

>>>>Disadvantages<<<<

There really aren't any major disadvantages, however one I should mention is that they don't offer as many destinations as some other travel companies, for example the only American destination they offer is Florida. Also for long haul holidays to places like Jamaica and the Maldives they only offer flights out of Manchester or Gatwick, whereas some other travel companies offer flights from more major UK airports. Manchester and Gatwick might be ok for some people but not for people like me who are up in Scotland!

>>>>Overall<<<<

Well as I've said before I have used Direct Holidays about 5 times and will I continue using them? Definitely! They are excellent value for money and their customer service staff and holiday reps are very efficient, helpful and friendly. If I was booking a holiday to a faraway country I would perhaps go elsewhere, however for holidays to Europe Direct Holidays truly are excellent for value and service.

Thank you for reading! 

...less