"Ron Audet" <> wrote in message
news:xH0jb.108576$...
> "Mason Barge" <> wrote in message
> news:...
> > On 13 Oct 2003 19:53:13 -0700, (Bernie Mac)
> > wrote:
> >
> > >hi, all
> > >
> > >i'm planning to vacation in rome, florence and venice. can anyone
> > >recommend the following:
> > >
> > >1) vacation package (or is it better to just buy a round trip airfare
> > >and then book your own hotels, train rides, etc.)
> >
> > I would personally never take a package, especially if I knew where I
> > wanted to visit. Of course, if you are by yourself and can get a
> > compatible group, you might enjoy the companionship.
> Am I missing something here? I thought the OP meant by "package" simply a
> one-price deal on airfare and accommodations. Most who have answered seem
to
> assume that he is talking about a guided, or at least fully planned, group
> tour.
> We have often found that an air/hotel package gave us the best deal. At
the
> moment, for example, we already have tickets that include airfare from the
> US to Venice plus four nights in a very nice Venice hotel (one which we
have
> used before and particularly liked). The price is at least $50.00 less
than
> the airfare alone, and if booked separately the hotel would cost $265.00 a
> night. So the two of us have saved $630 by purchasing the package.
My mind must have wandered here. Actually, we have saved the cost of four
nights at the hotel (265 x 4 = 1060) plus the reduced airfare (50 x 2 =
100), for a total savings of $1160 for the two of us. Not bad.
And we have researched the hotel carefully to make sure that we couldn't get
a lower price anywhere.
> We plan our trips exhaustively, reading, studying maps, etc. for months
> before we leave home. We also pick out the hotels we like, based on
quality,
> amenities, and location. The hotel provided in the Venice package was one
of
> our two top choices even before we found that it was available this way.
> And we are, as always, free to extend out stay as long as we like at our
own
> expense. We are adding 19 days this time, divided among Venice, Florence,
> and Perugia.
> We are traveling on our own, with no group, no pre-determined schedule to
> confine us, and no one deciding where we will go or how long we will stay
in
> each place.
> How is this a drawback?
> Ron