For experienced global travelers, the idea of buying a canned, pre-planned online vacation package might send shivers down their spine. However, if simplicity in planning and budget are key considerations, online packages are tough to beat.
As of this writing, I have taken three trips through Groupon Getaways deals, all of which were incredible. My wife Sunshine and I bought a package to England and Ireland for summer 2016.
Second, we bought a Groupon for the Galapagos Islands and Peru in 2017.
Two years later, I went with Sunshine and my parents on a Groupon vacation 9-day package to various cities in Japan.
*2019 update: our fourth Groupon trip was for a week in Costa Rica in late 2019.
The most obvious reason to pursue online vacation packages is the pricing.
In both trips mentioned above, I tried to “beat” the package price by planning the trip myself and comparing it. In both situations, the packages were roughly the same price as a round-trip flight to those locations.
Considering that the packages were inclusive of air, hotel, transportation to/from airports and multiple group bus tours, the savings were incredible.
In the case of the Japan trip, the Groupon for the 9-day itinerary was $2000/person in August. August is a very popular air travel time, so I was seeing flights for around $1400/person. Trust me, it is very difficult to try to get nine nights in a hotel, airport transportation and 4-5 day tours for less than the $600 difference!
Another reason to pursue vacation packages is for the peace of mind. It’s comparable to a cruise, but you don’t have to be on a boat the whole time. When you select a package that is fairly inclusive, the majority of logistics planning is taken off your plate by the travel agency. You just have to be at the right airport at the right time.
Online Vacation Package Pros
- Nearly impossible-to-beat pricing for the components of the trip
- Hands-off planning – push a button and purchase an entire vacation
- Usually flexible dates & airports
Cons
- Less creativity with the activities you do on the trip; there is often free time or free days but most of the big chunks of time will be planned out for you
- The group dynamic. Most package deals are for group tours, so there is always a chance you end up on a coach bus with an obnoxiously loud group for an extended period of time (this may or may not have happened in Japan…)
The BONUS hidden reason to buy online vacation packages (don’t say I never give you anything) is that although they can be inflexible on the itinerary, that doesn’t mean you can’t negotiate with the agency selling the package.
For example, our Ecuador and Peru trip was originally just for Ecuador. However, after calling the travel agency that was offering the tour on Groupon, they were willing to append an additional trip to Peru and still honor the Groupon price for the Ecuador portion.
So, we essentially removed Groupon from the equation and still got the great pricing; the agency was willing to work with us because they got more of our business by doing so. Just something to keep in mind if a package is close to what you want but not quite.
