Cheap holiday web site to go to Majorca Spain?

Question

I am looking for a cheap web site to book a holiday to majorca, It is for a family of 5 but are 2 eldest are 13 an 16, Can anyone help?

Answer 1

Hello there.
A family of 5 booking through a normal travel agent or tour operator is not easy.
I also am a family of 5 and it's a real problem every year for us too. Travel agents hate dealing with us because we pose such a problem.

The trouble is that most self catering accomodations are in 1 bedroomed apts or studios for 3 or 4.
For a fam 5 you need 2 bedrooms at least and most are based on say 5 or 6 adults sharing the apartment which means that you will then be paying under occupancy supplements for any "unused beds".
Also, be aware that in self catering accomodations "children" can be aged up to 16 years or even 19 years of age but if they get a reduction, they don't count towards the occupancy of the apartment which means if you've 2 adults and 3 kids and the 3 kids get a reduction you'll be paying the supplements based on 2 adults sharing an apartment for 5 or 6 people- Sooo unfair!

So... this is what I suggest you do.

You can either book a normal package holiday through Thomson, Thomas Cook, Airtours or Direct Holidays etc (do them all online cos it's cheaper) BUT when you do the costing, check if you are cheaper by not taking the relevant child reductions and instead costing the holiday as a party of adults, or even 3 adults and 2 kids. Amazingly last year I was over £1000 cheaper on my holiday costing it as 5 adults instead of 2 adults 3 kids (an 2 were supposed to be £1 each!)

That way will be the easiest but not the cheapest way I suspect.

OR... (and this requires a little effort but will save you lots of money...)

By-pass the agents who do not have an "ATOL" license- This will rule out most ABTA high street agencies- they will be expensive. Also, online companies like Thomson, Thomas Cook, Airtours and First Choice won't be of any help either.

Of course you can do it all yourself on the web but (and this is very important) if anything goes wrong youre stuffed!

If you book a low cost flight yourself with accomodation from another website, and say you're flight is cancelled or overbooked last minute by the airline (and we all know that does happen if we watch tv programmes like "Airport"!) all that will happen is that you will get a refund of your flight then, you'll need to pay for another flight which will be more expensive you can bet and your accomodation will still cost you money after all, it's not the accomodation suppliers fault you can't get to your destination or you arrive later than you booked for and they give your accomodation away to someone else!

OR even worse still, if the airline or company goes bust you lose money- every penny and can't get it back because they're not covered by bonding!

PLEASE don't do it yourself unless you can be sure that your money is safe- which is going to be very unlikely. I know people do it but they are all being caught out whenever there are problems (I'm thinking of security alerts/terror attacks/weather conditions like we had before Christmas) People can and do lose thousands when this happens and I know I certainly couldn't afford to lose money.

This is what you do....

What you need is an independant agent with an ATOL license who will take the time and effort to book you low cost flights (no commision to them so some won't even do it for you) and accomodation seperatley with perhaps a hire car or taxi transfer if you need it.
This way, you will be paying for the accomodation unit and the price doesn't change no matter many adults and kids you have. Those under-occupancy supplements levied by tour operators are a rip off and simply another way of making money from you!

If your agent books your holiday and it's bonded under their own ATOL license, if anything happens you'll get every penny back OR they are responsible for finding you something else if anything goes wrong. It only costs approximatley £20 per booking to have this cover and is well worth it.
Finally, don't confuse ATOL with ABTA. The laws have recently changed and even if an ABTA agent books you a holiday with seperate flights accom etc if it goes wrong you're not covered. ATOL agents are covered for this and thats why it's important.
ABTA only cover package holidays not the diy stuff.

Get your head round that and we can get on to the nice stuff..

There are a number of accomodations in Majorca which will do a family of 5 in a 2 bedroomed apt. I'd reccomend Palma Nova as a decent all round resort and it's not too far for an airport transfer, the beaches are good and theres a lot going on for your family.
The Roc Portonova apts in Palma Nova have 2 bed accomodation and are perfectly fine.
Santa Ponsa is also good and theres some 2 bed apts called Delfin Casa Vida which are ok- Santa Ponsa tends to be a wee bit more expensive but its a lovely resort.
Alcudia is great for a family holiday although further from the airport so the transfers will be dearer. The Visa Sunrise have 2 bed apts and are very reasonably priced. (I'm thinking the difference in price might more than pay for the extra transfer costs.
Or one which might be even cheaper is the Stil Aucanada apts also in Alcudia- they've got 2 bed apts and last time I looked they were extremely cheap!

Of course, if you don't want to self cater you'll need 2 rooms, but in hotels your 2 oldest kids will be adults anyway.
Most hotels have rooms for 3 sharing and many will have free child places. More expensive than SC but it depends what you eat and drink and what you'll spend once you're there.
Depending on when you're going the price will differ but if you're going in school holidays I am fairly certain that the flights/accom/transfers seperatley will def be the cheapest way to go.

I'll list a few sites for you to try and whatever you decide to do I hope it all goes well for you.
Best of luck!

Answer 2

Majorca is not in Spain.... Its an Island off the coast of Spain in a group of islands called the balearics.

Answer 3

Information on Majorca hotels etc. see http://www.spain4uk.co.uk/balearic_canary/mallorca.htm

Answer 4

Have a look at the hotel reviews here, then find the cheapest deal from the operators shown

Answer 5

try airflights direct