DIY holidays vs Travel Packages : Which would you choose?

With the recent collapse of Thomas Cook, does this mark the end of travel packages?



As recent as 5 years ago, travel packages are considered one of the way to go if you are planning a holiday. In fact, booking a travel package had been the norm for us during that period. With young kids and the occasional travel with the extended family, travel packages were considered to be the easiest and most efficient way of planning a holiday.



In recent years, that had changed with the introduction of online platforms such as Booking.com and Klook. The former would be the place to source for your hotels and the latter the activities in the city. With the use of both platforms, we could easier replicate the travel itinerary or a travel package at a cheaper price with more flexibility. As more resources and alternatives are made available to the traveller, having a DIY holiday is a norm for these days. In fact, since we started planning our own holidays, we have not looked back!



We decided to compare the pros and cons of travel packages vs DIY holidays.

Travel Packages

Pros
No need to plan
Everything is planned out for you - There is no need to think about what things to do. You simply pack and go.

One-stop  shop
If you are undecided about a destination, you could easily head to the travel agency and make your decision on the spot due to the numerous packages available.



Cons

One size does not fit all
The problem with travel packages are the fixed itinerary. You do not have the flexibility to customised and would need to take part in activities you are not interested in

Expensive
If you take a travel package, it would usually be more expensive compared to DIY

Cannot choose the place to sleep or eat
As travel agencies tied up with local hotels and restaurants, your choice of lodging and food are tied up to the packages.

Shopping stops

'Shopping Stop'

Most tour groups would have a few scheduled 'shopping' stops. The modus operandi is to stop at a few 'local' produce stores in the context of it being educational. The real intention is to tempt tourist to shop so that they can earn commissions from it. Frankly, how many would actually buy the 100-pound marble dragon when we travel?

Hidden Costs
Travel Packages excludes extras such as Tips for guides, special requests for food, etc. Do take that into consideration when booking a tour.

DIY Travels

Pros
No shared time
You can go to the toilet anytime you want as you do not 'share' time with fellow travellers. No restriction on how long you want to spend in an attraction or when you can have that toilet break.

Choose your own hotel
You are not restricted to the hotel of the travel agencies. You are free to pick the hotel according to your budget. You could stay in a budget hotel or splurge a little and stay in a luxurious alternative. The choice is yours.

Create your own adventure

You get to choose your own activities and have the flexibility to customised a holiday suited to your travel group. Do everything or simply do nothing.

Savour Local delights
No restrictions on diet as you are free to explore the local cuisines. You can even find food for the picky little ones.

Potential cost saving
Planning on your own trip means you have the flexibility to pick and choose activities to fit your budget. We always found that Klook provides a cheaper alternative compared to the usual.

Cons
More planning than using. However, with the Internet, you can get great resources from itineraries plan by fellow travellers. If you need one, head to our travel series page for travel guides around the region.

Klook Travel Festival

To make it easier for you to plan for that year-end holidays, head to Klook Travel Festival.
From 5th to 6th October 2019, 11 am-9pm, Suntec City Convention Centre Hall 401 and 402, Klook will be having its biggest 'roadshow' yet.

This one-stop event includes a special giveaway, one for one deal, insta-worthy stations, informative talks by travel experts, free activities for kids and even an 'Ask Klook' booth to help you plan your holidays.

Source: Klook

You can 'Build your own holiday' to 8 destination zones - namely Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Southeast Asia, Australia, USA and Europe. There will be a 'Build your own holiday' wall with activities information for each destination. This would make a great start to plan your own holidays.

Be the first 100 customers to spend a minimum of $1500 on site and you get to qualify for a grand lucky draw with prizes such a Scoot Air Tickets, GoPro HERO 7, Klook Vouchers, Hotel stays and more. Moreover, all attendees will be part of a lucky draw where you can win Scoot Air Tickets to Taipei, Osaka as well as Universal Studios Japan admission tickets.

In addition, there will be free SIM cards and WIFI devices if you book any activities for the respective destinations throughout the Klook Travel Festival as well as 1 for 1 flash deals. For full details, keep your eyes peeled on the Klook facebook.

There are also talk by travel experts which include Nas Daily, Dee Kosh and The Travel Intern.

Be there early too as early attendees will get an exclusive goodies bag. See you at Klook Travel Festival!

More details can be found here.

Book your tickets to Klook Travel Festival here