Holidays
Reviews and ratings of quality, hand-picked, UK websites
Henoo
• www.henoo.com
Headers: Holidays, Flights, Hotels, Car Hire, Handpicked
Online travel agent that lets you search millions of package holidays, car hire, and flights. The Handpicked service is a weekly travel bulletin listing some great last minute travel deals on the internet. Very fast search and uncluttered interface makes this one of our favourite travel search engines.
Driveline Great Getaways
• http://www.greatgetaways.co.uk
Headers: Eurostar Breaks, City Breaks by Air, Motoring Breaks, Disneyland Paris, Sunshine Holidays, Ferry/Eurotunnel Only, Hotel Only
Great Getaways has great self drive and Eurostar breaks in Belgium and France, with free nights on offer on many of their packages. Plus city breaks in Europe, New York and Dubai and holidays in Morrocco, Dubai and Tunisia. They will also organise a holiday for groups of 8 or more people. Great Getaways is operated by Driveline Europe, is a member of ABTA and holds ATOL and IATA licences.
• Special Offers: Guaranteed 5% discount when you book online.
The Adventure Company
• www.adventurecompany.co.uk
Headers: Adventure Holidays
The Adventure Company is a tour operator with over 200 adventure holidays, from Family Adventures for children as young as 1 year to climbing Mount Kilimanjaro. You can find safaris, trekking holidays, activity weeks, cultural journeys and more. The Adventure Company is an award winning travel site, with many interactive features and online booking capabilities.
Butlins
• www.butlinsonline.co.uk
Headers: Holiday Parks, Late Deals, Conference Facilities, Hotel
Butlins has 3 parks, Minehead, Skegness and Bognor Regis. Butlins, of course,
is well know for family holidays with acitivities for children and adults,
including Splash Waterworld, funfair, shows, sport and leisure facilities,
kids clubs (U breaks only) plus live bands and discos. Each park also offers
shops, services such as cash point, laundrette etc, and places to eat. Butlins
also offers Entertainment Breakaways, which are short themed breaks running
from October to May. There are breaks suitable for families (rated U) and for
adults only (rated 18). Note, summer holidays are all U rated. Lastly, Butlins
resort are well set up to provide conferenciing facilites for up to 8000 -
technical specifications for each park is available on the website.
Butlins has recently opened a new beach front hotel at Bornor Regis. 160 rooms
in landscaped gardens with sun terraces, restaurant and lounge bar. Shoreline
Hotel.
Monarch Holidays
• www.monarch.co.uk/holidays
Headers: Holidays, Flights, Hotels & Apartments, Villas, Lapland, Distant Dreams
Monarch is the UK’s largest independent tour operator and part of the Globus group of companies, which encompasses Cosmos Tourama, Avro, Monarch Airlines and Archers Direct. Monarch now takes over half a million people to over 35 destinations around the world each year. Monarch is a family owned business with traditional values as an independent, family-orientated holiday company.
Cosmos Tourama
• www.cosmostourama.co.uk
Headers: Touring Holidays, Cruises, Resort Holidays, Short City Breaks, Special Interest Tours, Classic Rail Journeys, Safari Holidays
Something a little different. Cosmos Tourama has over 40 years experience creating and organising touring holidays. There are touring holidays in Europe, USA, Canada, Africa, South America, Asia, Australia & New Zealand. Also classic rail journeys, safaris & special interest holidays like music tours to Elvis’ Graceland. There are river cruises across Europe, Egypt and China, plus sea cuises in the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Alaska/Canada. Book online or request a brochure.
• Special Features: Build your own personalised ebrochure.
Cresta Holidays
• www.crestaholidays.co.uk
Headers: City Breaks, Holidays, Hotels, Flights, Special Offers, Extras, Eurostar, Disney
Cresta is a UK short break tour operator offering city breaks to most of Europe plus the USA and holidays to countries worldwide, including USA and Tailand. Crestaholidays.co.uk not only features holidays from Cresta but also those of Bridge, Swiss Travel Service, Paris Travel Service, Belgian Travel Service, Amsterdam Travel Service and Tradewinds.
DFDS Seaways
• www.dfdsseaways.co.uk
Headers: Cruises, Ferry Services, Holidays
DFS is offering city cruise breaks to Amsterdam, Hamburg and Copenhagen plus
2 night mini cruises. There is also a variety of holiday options such as cottage
holidays, tailor made ouring holiday, Legoland Denmark trips and wintercruises.
There is also the ferry service which runs from Newcastle and Harwich to Germany,
Holland, Norway and Sweden.
Direct Holidays
• www.directholidays.co.uk
Headers: Holidays, Flights, Special Offers, Late Deals, Airport Extras, Holiday Information
Good, fast searches on holidays and flights, plus excellent travel guides online. Directholidays.co.uk is a direct-sell package holiday tour operator and has holidays available in the UK, the Mediterranean, North Africa, Cuba, Florida, Dominican Republic, West Indies and Turkey. Very good on late deals and as they say, by buying direct, you can cut out travel agents commissions! Holidays are ATOL protected. Direct Holidays is part of the MyTravel Group.
Disneyland Resort Paris
• www.disneylandparis.com
Headers: Tickets, Hotel booking, Park information
Disneyland Resort Paris has two theme parks, the Walt Disney Studios Park and the Disneyland Park itself. You can buy one day or 3 day tickets, which give you access to all the (free) attractions, but note there are restrictions on the one day tickets as to where you can go. The tickets are £27.00 (one day) and £72 ( 3 day). The 3 day tickets do not have to be used on consecutive days. The park also has seven themed hotels, which you can book online, and for golf enthusiasts, there is the Disneyland 27 hole golf course. There is also the Disney Village which is free to enter and contains a range of shops, restaurants and entertainments which are separately priced. If you buy your tickets online here, note that 10 days are required for delivery.
Frozen Planet
• www.frozenplanet.co.uk
Headers: Ski and Snowboard Holidays
You cannot book your holiday directly from this site, but what you get is a searchable database of ski resort properties in France, Switzerland and Canada, and you then contact the owners directly. Listed are chalets, apartments, guesthouses and bed & breakfasts - full descriptions, including photos, of each property is given. Frozen Planet is owned and run by ski enthusiasts Tim Larkin and Andrew Hogg.
Haven Holidays
• www.haven.com
Headers: Holiday homes, Self catering, Half board
Haven has 21 Parks, throughout England, Scotland and Wales offering a range of accomodation from apartments to chalets to caravans. All the parks offer a wide range of entertainments and planned activities for all ages, including Kid's Club, shopping, eating places, sports and leisure, play areas, shows, discos, musicals and live music. You can choose self catering or half board which includes breakfast and evening meal. Book online or order a brochure.
Hayes and Jarvis
• www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk
Headers: Special Offers, Destinations, Tours
Hayes & Jarvis is a specialist long haul holiday tour operator, with holidays to more than 50 destinations in the Indian Ocean, Far East, Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean. Plus specialist holidays such as tours, safaris and multi-centre holidays. The website features resort and hotel information, a special offers search tool to locate the best last-minute deals and secure online booking. ATOL (No 1275), ABTA (No V1464), IATA and Federation of Tour Operator memberships. Hayes & Jarvis is a trading division of First Choice Holidays & Flights Ltd. You can request a brochure online.
• Special Offers: 5% web discount.
Hoseasons Holidays
• www.hoseasons.co.uk
Headers: Holiday Lodges & Parks, Country Cottages, Boating Holidays, European Villas
Hoseasons has over 50 holiday parks in Britain, 5 in Ireland and over 25 in Europe, with accomodation consisting of holiday lodges, chalets, flats, houses and caravans - you can search by accomodation type. The parks vary but most have entertainment and childrens activities on offer, including swimming pools. There is also an excellent choice of country cottages in Britain and Ireland, plus boating holidays in Britain and Europe. Hoseasons villas includes over 600 villas, chateaux, farmhouses and apartments in France, Portugal, Spain (including Mallorca, Menorca and Ibiza), Malta, Gozo, Italy’s Sorrento and Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, Cyprus and Lanzarote.
James Villas Holidays
• www.jamesvillas.co.uk
Headers: Villa Holidays
Choose from over a thousand villas across the Mediterranean, Turkey, Tenerife, The Canaries, France, Portugal and Orlando Florida. There is a wide range of villas, sleeping from 1 to 16 people plus villas next door to each other if you have an even larger party! All villas have private swimming pools. Starting prices, which are quoted per villa, are very reasonable. Make your own way there, or, if you wish, James Villas will organise your holiday completely, including flights, car hire and travel insurance. James Villas Holidays was founded in 1984, is a member of ABTA and holds an Air Travel Organisers Licence.
KeyCamp Holidays
• www.keycamp.co.uk
Headers; Camping Holidays in Europe
Choose a campsite from locations such as France, Holland, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Spain. All the campsites provide tents and mobile homes and the prices include a Dover crossing. Holidays are suitable for families and couples and most campsites have pools and provide sporting activites such as tennis. Other activities availble include diving, sailing, cycling, horseriding, windsurfing and canoeing. Founded in 1976, KeyCamp Holidays has offices in Cheshire, Ireland and Holland and is part of Holidaybreak plc.
Kuoni Travel
• www.kuoni.co.uk
Headers: Holidays, City Breaks, Dive, Escorted Tours, Safaris, Specialist Interest, Weddings
Kuoni has long been a byword for dream holidays - maybe a trip down the Nile or on Safari in Africa! Choose from holidays in Africa & Indian Ocean, Australasia, Caribbean, Europe, Far East, Indian Sub-Continent, N. Africa & Middle East, Sth & Central America and USA & Canada. Kuoni Travel was founded in 1906 in Switzerland and now has 300 offices around the world.
The London Pass
• www.londonpass.com
Headers: Benefits, Attractions, Special offers, Transport.
Discount "Passport" to London that gives you free entry to over 50 favourite attractions as well as travel on public transport on buses, tubes and trains Enables you to beat the queues at selected major attractions. There are also special offers such as discounts at restaurants and theatres.
Mistley Manningtree
• www.mistley-manningtree.co.uk
Headers: Manningtree, Mistley, Lawford.
Manningtree is a tiny market town, indeed it is England's smallest. It has many elegant buildings which have Georgian facades hiding earlier origins. The total population of the town and suburbs (Mistley and Lawford) is over 9000. This website is just getting up to speed and the links are not all available yet. But it looks promising so far and the "letters" page could get interesting.
Mosaic Holidays
•www.mosaicholidays.co.uk
Headers: Luxury Holidays, Diving Holidays
Mosaic Holidays is a specialist tour operator offering a wide range of luxury holidays in a choice of countries including Egypt, Maldives, Oman, Turkey, Dubai, North Cyprus and Sri Lanka. The diving division offers a variety of dive destinations for all budgets and levels of experience, with holidays to the Red Sea, the Maldives, Northern Cyprus and Sri Lanka. You can also arrange Scuba diving lessons via Mosaic. Over 3000 holidays available.
• Special Features: Live online help available.
MyTravel
• www.mytravel.co.uk
Headers: Sun Holidays. Ski Holidays, Late Holidays, Flights, Cruises, Travel Information
Quick and easy search facilities from MyTravel with package holiday offers from Airtours, Aspro, Direct Holidays, Escapades, Panorama and Manos. Discounts if you book online plus a price promise to customers who find one of our travel deals cheaper somewhere else within 24 hours of booking. In addition the site has travel guides for all the main holiday destinations.
Opodo
• www.opodo.co.uk
Headers: Flights, Hotels, City Breaks, Tailor-made Holidays, Package Holidays, Cars, Meaningful Travel, Ski
Offers an unbiased and competitively priced online travel service for world travel, they have access to flights from over 400 airlines, as well as an extensive range of worldwide hotel properties and car rental companies, as well as travel insurance. Headquartered in London, the UK site launched in January 2002 and have already established themselves as a leading provider of online travel.
Portland Holidays Direct
• www.portland-direct.co.uk
Headers: Holiday Destinations, Holiday Selections, Holiday Extras, Flights Only, Cruises, Late deals
Portland Holidays specialises in providing a wide range European, West Indian and African holiday packages suitable for most tastes, including late deals. You can search by loacation or use the holiday finder, which allows as much latitude as you like. The site is very easy to search. You can also book a flight with Britannia Airways. Portland Holidays is part of the World of TUI, an international company based in London that also owns Lunn Poly.
Sherpa Expeditions
• www.sherpa-walking-holidays.co.uk
Headers: walking holidays, cycling holidays, expeditions
Sherpa Expeditions arranges walking and cycling holidays, either self guided or escorted within groups. You can be adventurous and choose, for example, to take a guided trek to the top of Mount Kilmanjaro, or maybe you would prefer to walk or cycle from Inn to Inn in Alsace, with your bags being delivered for you each step of the way. Sherpa has many different walking/cycling holidays on offer in a variety of countries, including the UK and Europe, Iceland, Africa and South America. Sherpa have been specialists in walking and cycling holidays for more than 30 years and have their headquarters in Hounslow.
ShortBreaks Ltd
• www.short-breaks.com
Headers: European City Breaks
Shortbreakd Ltd is a specialist tour operator offering short breaks by Eurostar to Paris, Brussels, Bruges, Antwerp, Leuven, Lille and Mechelen. Travel from Waterloo or Ashford. You can also book Disney Paris direct from the website. Book online or request a brochure. ShortBreaks Ltd is fully bonded and holds ABTA and ATOL licences.
Simply Travel
• www.simply-travel.co.uk
Headers: Hotels, Villas and Apartment Holidays
Established in the late 1970s, Simply Travel specialises in hand picked villa and hotel holidays off the "beaten track" and you can choose from hotels to a fisherman's cottage. There are properties available in Croatia, France, Greece, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. The search facility is easy and fast and there are generally discounts for web bookings.
Sovereign Holidays
• www.sovereign.com
Headers: Holidays
Sovereign is a specialist tour operator founded in the 1970s. All Sovereign holidays are of a high standard and use 4 & 5 star hotels from around the Mediterranean, and the Caribbean and Mexico. The website features hotel and resort information, many with 360 virtual tours, plus a special offers search tool. You can request a brochure online.
Thomas Cook
• www.thomascook.com
Headers: Deals, Holidays, Flights, Hotels, Flight + Hotel, Cruises, UK Breaks, Car Hire, Airport Parking, Insurance, Airport Hotels, London Theatre Tickets, Attraction Tickets, Travel Vouchers, Guides
As you might expect with Thomas Cook, you can book a hotel, flight or compete packages virtually anywhere in the world, with access to thousands of hotels and hundreds of airlines. The search is quick and effieicent plus you can use the site to book a car at your destination and arrange parking at your departure airport.
Thomson Holidays
• www.thomson.co.uk
Headers: Holidays, Flights, Hotels, Extras, Offers, Late Deals
Thompson Holidays offer a wide variety of package holidays in a variety of locations worldwide, plus, if you don't mind when you go, you can get some very good late deals. Thompson have 4 cruise ships sailing the mediterranean area. They also offer city breaks, ski and snowboarding holidays in France and Switzerland, plus walking and activity holdays in several European locations. Thompson also arranges weddings abroad, including the ceremony, licence and register fees, wine, cake, flowers and a Thompson wedding representative.
Tillerman Boats
• www.tillermanboats.co.uk
Headers: Canal Boating Holidays
Five star luxury narrowboats to cruise the canal network from Blackwater in Shropshire, Alvecote in Birmingham or Union Wharf, Leicestershire. All prices quoted are inclusive and there is a price promise - if you can book the same holiday cheaper anywhere else, they will refund the difference. Tillerman Boats is an independent canal boat holiday company.
Travelbag
• www.travelbag.co.uk
Headers: Flights, Hotels, Car Hire, Holidays, Cruises
Travel Bag will arrange holidays, book hotels or arrange air flights. Or if you would like a cruise or a round the world trip, then Travelbag will also arrange these for you. Look out for the weeks best deals for cheap prices. You can book flights from all major UK airports to virtually any destination in the world. When asking for a quote you can also specify your preferred airline if you wish. Note that the hotel booking service applies only to the USA and Canada. Travelbag has offices in several locations throughout the UK.
WarnerBreaks.co.uk
• www.warnerbreaks.co.uk
Headers: UK Short Breaks
Breaks exclusively for adults. Inclusive half board UK breaks at some suberb locations such as Bodelwyddan Castle (picture on the right). All hotels include leisure activities such as billiards, steam rooms, tennis, archery and much more. Check each hotel for activites on offer at that particular location. Plus there is live entrtainment each night. Spa breaks available at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire.
Weststar Holidays
• www.weststarholidays.co.uk
Headers: Mullion - Cornwall, Looe Bay - Cornwall, Sandford - Dorset
Weststar Holidays have 3 holiday parks in Cornwall and Dorset. They are in Mullion, Looe Bay and Sandford. In addition they have caravan and camping holidays at Mullion and Sandford. You can choose and book your holiday online on the site which is very clearly laid out and easy to use.
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