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general question

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maggiesaes:
It would not be the same for me if I were there all the time.
Twice a year is a treat and something special to look forward to.

shawty1984:
What makes me laugh is we are looking for the best rate possible for the Euro, its 1.089 here oh but its 1.092 there yet are willing to throw £100 on a taxi to save 1 to 1 half hours. Each to their own, just makes me laugh.

I do believe TUI and other tour operators get a lot of flack when it's not needed. They get blamed for high prices, they get blamed for 'chavs' coming to the resort because of cheap deals and numerous other things. It just sometimes feels like if you are using TUI, or aren't booking independently then you are doing it wrong.

geordieborn:

--- Quote from: shawty1984 on August 27, 2019, 12:11:46 AM ---What makes me laugh is we are looking for the best rate possible for the Euro, its 1.089 here oh but its 1.092 there yet are willing to throw £100 on a taxi to save 1 to 1 half hours. Each to their own, just makes me laugh.

I do believe TUI and other tour operators get a lot of flack when it's not needed. They get blamed for high prices, they get blamed for 'chavs' coming to the resort because of cheap deals and numerous other things. It just sometimes feels like if you are using TUI, or aren't booking independently then you are doing it wrong.

--- End quote ---
Ha! I totally agree on the rate front, your figures are a saving of €6 on £2000.
TUI I'm not so sure about and think it would be good to hear the "pros & cons". To me the big thing of not using them is the freedom to go as and when we want and where we want. Not a fixed time or place dictated by TUI. I'm also not convinced they are not much more expensive. Finally, from what I've been told by locals they are not too fair with them either. Always happy to be shot down!
PS minor point, but the taxi is Euros..

Jimbo:
I'm with you there, Shawty! Years ago some locals said to me that they hated August because of the kind of people who were there then. We'd never travelled with Thomson until we first went to Agios Stefanos in 2010, and feared for the worst. Over the years we've had very good service from Thomson/TUI and the apartments have been fine.

It's not necessarily cheaper to take a DIY trip than a package. It depends to some extent where you live. Unless you live near a cheap-as-chips airline hub you have to factor in the added cost and hassle of getting to the airport and back for departure. Our nearest airports are Doncaster - which is a Wizz Air hub and has dirt cheap flights to Poland and the Czech Republic - we are left with Leeds - which has Jet2 and Rynair - and Manchester. Round trip to Manchester is a 200 mile drive. So that's time, hassles and petrol across a frequently problematic M62. The Trans-Pennine Express from Hull doesn't go to the airport, so it either means a nightmare change at Manchester or an easier one at Huddersfield. Not very relaxing. LBA is nasty to get to from Hull. Then you have the necessity of taxis in Corfu, so add another £125 to your bill.

Contrast that with a 50 minute all-motorway drive to Doncaster, where there's lot's of parking right next to the terminal and a TUI package. I used to fly a lot when I was younger - for about a year I more or less commuted from London to Munich or Vienna. In my advanced years I now find it much more relaxing to check in and hand all responsibility to TUI. (There are only 6 gates at Donny, and most of them are essentially part of the departure lounge, so there's no chance of missing a plane!) If I take a taxi from Agios Stefanos to the airport and the taxi breaks down and I miss the plane - well that's just tough luck. If I'm on a TUI coach with plenty of other people that breaks down it's TUI's problem. So although I can see some justification for getting a taxi from the airport to Agios Stefanos to save maybe an hour before you get a drink, I regard not using the bus back to the airport as marginally insane.

I know Maggie will be along shortly to say it's a matter of choice, but there is some logic involved!

shawty1984:

--- Quote from: geordieborn on August 27, 2019, 12:51:39 AM ---Ha! I totally agree on the rate front, your figures are a saving of €6 on £2000.
TUI I'm not so sure about and think it would be good to hear the "pros & cons". To me the big thing of not using them is the freedom to go as and when we want and where we want. Not a fixed time or place dictated by TUI. I'm also not convinced they are not much more expensive. Finally, from what I've been told by locals they are not too fair with them either. Always happy to be shot down!
PS minor point, but the taxi is Euros..

--- End quote ---

If people want to go independent that's fine, I have no problem with that, it just seems as if you aren't doing it right if you are not booking independent. I don't work for TUI but have used them for years and the very few problems we've had were sorted no problem. We've had some very cheap prices and some average prices over the years and they only get silly prices once people start booking up which is just supply and demand. From what I could gather, people loved it when the hotels started leaving TUI, yet the operators they have gone to are charging even more for the holidays. TUI can just be as cheap as anyone else. Last week, 4 weeks at the Romanza (bed and breakfast) including flight from Doncaster was £786 each from TUI. That's as cheap as anything. Yes they might not pay the hotels a lot of money but the hotels could equally go fully independent.

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