Where:Toronto, Canada; When:September 20th-October 1st. Conor Popeexamines the possibilities
With the tour operator American Holidays is offering 11 days in Toronto later this month for a price of just over €2,200 per couple. The deal has us stay at the very fancy-looking Hilton Suites in downtown Toronto. It is, we are told, an all-suite hotel, featuring a 10-storey atrium lobby, across from Markham Theater.
The basic package price is €1,755.67, to which we must add an American Holidays "booking fee" of €15 and tax of €470.74. Our flights with Air Transat leave Dublin at 12.45pm on Saturday, September 20th, and leave Toronto on Wednesday, October 1st, at 10.45pm. The room we are promised is a standard double, although given the name of the hotel we are presuming that means a standard double suite.
Total:€2,241.41.
On our own
The hotel website offers a number of rates, so we opt for the cheapest, which means we have to pay the full cost upfront but by doing so save more than €100. The rate we are quoted for the period is 1,726.26 Canadian dollars, which works out at €1,140.11. We book our flights on www.airtransat.ie for an initial price of €239 per person. We then add the taxes and surcharges that have become a part of 21st-century travel, so the price climbs to €472 per person, a total of €944.
Total:€2,084.11.
DIY saving:€157.30.