Top booking sites and package holidays compared

About Top booking sites and package holidays compared

Booking sites and package holidays sit close together in this category, and the 132 brands in this ranking separate mainly on what they bundle and what they add on top of the fare. Some sell a seat and stop there. Others attach hotels, transfers, tours, car hire or a resort to the same checkout, which is why packages and hotels carry the heaviest product weights here. Cost is judged through published fees, deposits and cancellation terms rather than a headline fare, and entry prices in this category start at €0.07 while the median entry price is €5. Setup matters too: a mobile app and a help centre both push a brand up, while phone support carries more weight than chat. WayAway leads by covering the widest product list, and its fee line reads Free, no sign-up or ongoing fees. The entries behind it trade narrower scope for deeper support or a specialist niche.

How we picked

Each brand here is scored on three published weights: cost at 40%, offer at 40% and trust at 20%. Cost covers the booking fee, surcharge and deposit a traveller actually pays, so a supplier that adds nothing at checkout scores well and one that layers a percentage or a card surcharge scores lower. Offer weighs how much of a trip a brand can book in one place, measured against the product weights for this category, which put packages and hotels above parking, rail passes and hostels. Trust reads the named legal entity, the headquarters country, the stated cancellation terms and the support channels on offer, with a help centre and phone contact counting for more than chat alone. A mobile app counts as part of setup rather than trust. Sources are the operators' own terms, support, about and app listing pages, and the set covers 132 brands with 0 partner listings. Partners that serve your country are listed first in this ranking, then the rest by score.

Our top picks

1. 2. Booking.com: best for Booking.com

   Booking.com is an online travel agency for booking hotels, apartments, homes and other places to stay, with flights, car rentals and attractions also bookable on the same account.

   • Products: Flights, Car-rental, Transfers, and 4 more
   • Booking fees: No booking fees
   • Cancellation terms: Free cancellation at most properties

   Pros

   • One account covers flights, car rental and transfers, so a group can hold transport and beds together instead of searching supplier by supplier.
   • No booking fees keeps the booking charge out of the price you compare.
   • A mobile app is available, so bookings and changes travel with you between searches.
   • Support runs on help centre, phone and email, which puts a person as well as self-service behind every reservation.
   • Free cancellation at most properties gives a group room to move dates at most properties.

   Cons

   • FlixBus is the shorter decision when the trip is bus only, where flights, car rental and transfers asks you to weigh many choices.
   • Hertz Bahamas WiFi covers car rental and transfers, so a car and a transfer trip does not need the wider list.
   • Latam Travellers states its fee promise as 0 hidden fees, no contracts, which writes the position out in full words.

2. 3. Hotels.com: best for Hotels.com

   Hotels.com is an online booking site for hotels and other places to stay worldwide.

   • Products: OTA, Hotels, Flights, and 1 more
   • Mobile app: Yes
   • Legal entity: Hotels.com, L.P.

   Pros

   • Provider-specific terms are presented before booking
   • The main condition types are identified

   Cons

   • Payment, cancellation and refund rules depend on the selected travel provider

3. 5. Agoda

   Agoda is in this ranking as a hotel-led marketplace: hotels, flights, transfers, tours and an online travel agency arm, which lines up with the category weights, since hotels sit at 76.5% and packages at 84.8%. It is run by Agoda Company Pte., founded in 2005 and based in SG. Set against Air Canada Vacations, the member below, Agoda lists stays independently of any single airline, while Air Canada Vacations builds its packages around its own flights. For a traveller comparing rooms first, that difference decides the order.

   • Products: Hotels, Flights, Transfers, and 2 more
   • Legal entity: Agoda Company Pte.
   • Headquarters: Singapore

   Pros

   • Hotels sit next to flights, transfers and tours in hotels, flights and transfers, so a trip can be arranged without moving between sites.
   • A Agoda Company Pte. business founded in 2005 sits on a long trading record rather than a recent launch.
   • Tours appear alongside stays in hotels, flights and transfers, so activities at the destination can be settled in the same flow.

   Cons

   • Rail, bus and car rental are absent from hotels, flights and transfers, so ground travel is limited to transfers.
   • Everything is booked through Agoda Company Pte. in SG, with no separate named company behind the site.

What to look for

Packages and hotels in one checkout

The heaviest product weight in this category is 84.8%, with hotels close behind at 76.5%. A brand that books flights, stays and ground transfers in one checkout solves more of the trip than one that sells a ticket.

What the fee adds at checkout

Cost carries 40% of the score, so read the booking fee, the card surcharge and the deposit before the headline price. A percentage of the booking total and a flat card surcharge are not the same charge, and one is per passenger.

Support that actually answers

Phone support is weighted at 82% in this category, above email at 83.6% and well above chat at 39.3%. A named phone line and a self-service help centre carry more trust than live chat alone.

Whether booking works on a phone

A mobile app is worth 80% of the score in this category, useful when a plan changes at an airport or a station. Booking in a browser works with every brand here, so it is worth knowing which setup you are getting.

Ground legs after landing

Transfers are weighted at 40.2%, above parking at 7.6%. A brand that can add the ride from the airport to the hotel removes a second booking and a second support queue.

Add-ons sold by the same operator

Car rental scores at 40.2%, ahead of tours at 59.1% and far above rail passes at 3%. Check that the add-on is sold by the same operator so disputes stay in one place.

Frequently asked questions

Top booking sites and package holidays compared by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Canada
• China
• France
• Germany
• India
• Italy
• Japan
• Mexico
• South Korea
• Spain
• Turkey
• United Kingdom
• United States

The data behind this ranking

All data and the CSV