At its simplest a package is a flight, somewhere to stay and the transport between them, sold as one arrangement. What varies, and varies far more than people expect, is everything around that: meals, bags, transfers, seat selection and the charges a property adds on arrival. Call +1 (323) 800 6001 and we will read you the actual inclusions for the trip you are looking at, line by line.

Nobody is upset by what a package includes. People are upset by what it does not, discovered at an airport desk or a reception counter when it is too late to do anything about it. This page goes through both halves honestly, so you know which questions to ask whoever you end up booking with.

The parts that are almost always included

Start with the things you can reasonably assume are there. Even these are worth confirming, but they rarely surprise anyone.

• The flights, both directions. Usually on set dates, with the routing decided by what is available to the package rather than by you.
• Accommodation for the nights of the stay, in a stated room type, for a stated number of people.
• Whatever meal arrangement is named. That might be nothing, breakfast only, half board or everything. The name matters more than it looks and we go through it below.
• Taxes charged at the point of sale, which normally appear in the total you are quoted rather than later.

When we quote a trip we read this list back as it applies to your specific arrangement, because "flight and hotel" tells you less than it sounds.

The parts that may or may not be included

This is where most of the confusion lives. Every item here is included in some arrangements and excluded in others, and none of them can be assumed.

• Airport transfers. Sometimes included, sometimes an extra, sometimes shared with other travelers and sometimes private. Ask what happens to the transfer if your flight lands late, because that is the part that fails.
• Checked bags. Some packaged flights include a bag and some do not, and the allowance can differ between the outbound and the return.
• Seat selection. Frequently an extra, which matters most when a family wants to sit together.
• Meals on the flight. Long international flights usually feed you; shorter ones often do not.
• Resort charges. Some properties add a daily amount on arrival for facilities, regardless of what you paid in advance. It is collected locally and is almost never part of the package total.
• Tourist or city taxes. Several countries and cities collect these at the property, per person per night.
• Cots, extra beds and early check-in. Requested rather than booked, and usually settled at the property.

What the meal arrangements actually mean

The names are used loosely, so treat this as the general meaning and confirm the specifics.

Room only means exactly that. Bed and breakfast adds a morning meal. Half board is normally breakfast and dinner, leaving lunch to you. Full board is all three. All inclusive means meals and normally drinks, but what is covered varies enormously from one property to the next, and items outside the standard range are often charged.

The practical point: a room-only stay where you eat out is a different trip from one where everything is arranged, and the difference between them is far larger than the difference in what you pay. We ask how you actually like to travel before recommending either.

Two details are worth checking whichever arrangement you choose. The first is the timing: meal service at many properties runs to set hours, which matters if you are arriving late, traveling with young children who eat early, or planning long days out. The second is whether children eat at a reduced rate or are counted as adults, because the answer changes with age and with the property, and it is frequently the largest single difference between two arrangements that otherwise look alike.

Charges that appear after you have paid

These are the ones that cause complaints, so it is worth naming them in advance.

A resort charge is added by the property, per room per night, and is collected when you are there. A tourist tax is levied by the local authority on the same basis. A deposit against incidentals is commonly held against a card at check-in and released afterwards. None of these are hidden exactly, but they sit in the terms rather than the headline, and none of them are within the seller's control.

One more, less often mentioned: the currency these are collected in. A charge quoted in the local currency and settled on a card can differ from what you expected once the conversion is applied, and being offered the choice of paying in dollars at the counter is rarely the better option. It is a small thing across a week, but it is the sort of small thing that sours an arrival.

We tell you about these before you book. Not because we have to, but because a trip that starts with an unexpected charge at reception has started badly, and we would rather you heard it from us on the phone than from a receptionist at midnight.

Included, extra, or paid locally

A rough guide to where each item usually sits. Treat it as a checklist to ask about, not as a promise about any particular trip.

The questions that get you a straight answer

Ask these of any seller, in these words. They are short, they are specific, and they are hard to answer vaguely.

• What is the total I will pay you, and what will I be asked for at the property? Two numbers, not one.
• Is a transfer included, and what happens to it if the flight is delayed?
• How many checked bags, in each direction?
• What exactly does the meal arrangement cover? Ask for examples of what is not covered.
• Does this room genuinely sleep our party? Ask about the actual beds, not the stated capacity.
• What is the deadline for changing or cancelling, and what happens after it?

Write the answers down. If you are comparing two offers, those six answers will tell you more than the headline totals.

How we quote it

When we price a trip we give you one total and then say plainly what sits outside it. If there is a resort charge we tell you the amount per night. If the transfer is shared we say so. If seat selection costs extra for a family of five, we say that too, because you would rather know now.

We are an independent agency, so we are not steering you towards one chain or one seller. That means we can say a particular arrangement looks thin for what it is, which is not a thing a property can say about itself.

Call and tell us where you want to go and who is traveling. If you would rather write it down, send us the outline through our vacation request form and a travel expert will call you back with the detail.

How booking by phone works

1. Call +1 (323) 800 6001 at any hour and speak to a travel expert.
2. Give us the details: the traveler's full name exactly as printed in the passport, date of birth, passport number and expiry, the home city, the US city and the dates that would suit.
3. Hear the realistic options: the routings, the total, the cabin, the connection times and the change and refund rules, explained before anything is booked.
4. We book it and email everything to you and to the traveler, request the assistance and meals, and stay reachable 24/7 while they travel.

Why book with Fond Travels

Fond Travels, LLC is an independent US travel agency in Woodbridge, Virginia, booking travel since 2017. We are not tied to one airline or booking site, so we compare the routings side by side and tell you which one actually suits the person traveling. We are rated 4.8 out of 5 by more than 2,500 Google reviewers and we answer the phone around the clock, which matters when a flight goes wrong at three in the morning in another time zone. Read how booking by phone works with our team.

Related pages

• Vacation packages - the destinations we put together as one arrangement.
• Together or separately - whether a package is right for your trip at all.
• Family travel - rooms, cots and seating for a party with children.
• Cruise vacations - where the inclusions work quite differently.