A classic package holiday may not sound like the greatest adventure at first, but it is still the first choice for most holidaymakers when it comes to their next trip. There are several reasons for this: those who book travel, accommodation and meals together on site not only rarely save money, but can also better plan how much all the fun will cost. In addition, if the worst comes to the worst – for example in the event of sudden unrest at the travel destination or a volcanic eruption, as is currently being observed in Iceland – you are protected by the tour operator and can rely on them to take care of any necessary rebooking.
The boom can probably also be explained by the fact that thanks to online travel agencies, booking travel is now easier than ever before. Around half of all package holidays in Germany are now booked digitally – and the trend is rising. This is often, but not always, a good idea if you are looking for a good price-performance ratio in addition to easy booking. Stiftung Warentest comes to this conclusion in a current analysis. Using model trips, the experts compared the offers from a total of 15 platforms that offer package tours from various tour operators – and found major differences in pricing and service.
They were looking for a hiking trip to Fuerteventura, a couple’s vacation in Dubai, a family vacation in Mallorca, a friends trip to Turkey and a singing trip to New York. For all types of travel, there was at least a price range of several hundred euros between the cheapest and the most expensive offers online, and there was often a price difference of more than 1,000 euros. Therefore, regardless of your travel wishes, it is always worth comparing prices and not taking the first offer straight away.
According to the test, the best advice is from Check24, HolidayCheck and lastminute.de. The online travel agencies impress with a good overview, inexpensive offers and a large selection. However, most providers (10) only end up in the middle field; there are deductions mainly for accessibility and excessive prices as well as for offers that cannot be found. If you want to travel particularly cheaply, you are in good hands with Travelscout24 or Urlaub.de.
You can read the entire paid test here.
