Doing it yourself.
Deciding where to go
Start at tourspain.es for official
national tourist information. Then the local official tourism sites (e.g.
for S.W. Mallorca, there is calvia.com). After that portals and information
sites (also useful for local info, such as bus times etc.) for the
area or resort you are interested in (e.g. for Marbella, Costa Del Sol,
there is marbella.com). Also useful, online guides (e.g Lonely Planet),
directories (e.g. World Travel Guide), maps (try multimap), webcams and
weather forecasts.
Accommodation
First,.try to get a provisional
reservation of accommodation, especially in the high season. You can book
hotels direct with the hotel or via their central reservations (do not
commit until you know your travel is possible), but other suppliers may
sell the rooms cheaper. For example Expedia have good hotel rates. Also
local travel agencies (i.e. ones based in Spain - choose one who is licensed)
sometimes have good rates and allocations of rooms. If you're travelling
at the last minute, try Lastminute.com. If you decide to book accommodation
direct with the owner, be careful as you may have no come back if anything
goes wrong.
Getting there
Once you have decided where to stay, look for
a means of getting there. Schedule flights from 'low cost' airlines
are a good choice for cheaper fares. Book early, travel midweek or look
for special offers. Generally, the cheaper the fare, the less flexible
it is, which means penalties for changes, if you can change at all. For
low cost airlines, you usually have to book direct with the airline.
If you want more flexibility, take a look at scheduled
flights. Again the more flexibility you need, the more you will pay.
Include a Saturday night stay for cheaper fares. If you purchase scheduled
flight tickets through agents, such as 
Travelselect, you will find the
same routes cheaper, but the cheaper fares are not usually refundable.
If you want to go for a week or two, tour operators
offer seat only deals on charter flights. Make sure the tour operator
has an ATOL license.
For cross channel ferries, try tour operators
that specialise in self drive holidays. For Eurostar, try Travelselect.
To go by coach, try gobycoach.com. From
there you can access the coaches that run between Britain and Spain.
If you are going to the islands, there
is the question of getting from the mainland to the Balearics. You need
Trasmediterrania (book via Southern Ferries, London office)or alternatively
Umafisa is on-line.
Essentials and extras
For car hire, you need a car rental broker
(e.g. Holiday Autos, Carjet), a travel agent or you can book direct with
the car hire Company. Booking direct with the larger, well known rental
firms doesn't usually save you money and you need to shop around.
Be very careful with the small print. Most charge excesses which can't
always be waived. A broker such as all inclusive car hire is just that,
all inclusive, meaning no excess if you have an accident or damage the
car.
Travel Insurance is essential. Don't leave
with just an E111. This won't repatriate you to the UK! There's a great
choice of on-line insurers. Choose one to suit you, or try Gosure.com
Getting to the airport in the UK needn't
be expensive. The main firm offering airport services is Holiday Extras
or check out UK rail times and buy tickets at Qjump.
Shopping on-line saves you a trip to the
High Street. For example the Boots range is on line at Wellbeing.com
Passport information from the UK Passport
Agency
Exchange rates from xe.com and if you need
a quick translation from Spanish to English, try freetranslations.com
Getting a travel agent to do it all for you.
A good independent (i.e. one that is not owned
by the major tour operators) UK based travel agent can usually arrange
everything for you, although the choice will be limited to what the agency
is able to sell.. Make sure the agent is a member of the Association of
British Travel Agents (ABTA) or belongs to an organisation such as
the Travel Trust Association.(TTA).If you are asking the agent to reserve
and ticket scheduled flights, ensure the agent is also appointed by the
International Air Transport Association (IATA)
Your
guide to diy holidays and living in Spain
