loveholidays wins on hotel choice and on the size of the upfront deposit (£29 per person is one of the lowest in the UK market), but the company’s customer-service reputation, the way baggage and transfers sit outside the headline price, and the long refund cycles on cancellations all push people to compare. We tested seven apps that solve those problems in different ways. Most of these loveholidays alternatives sit on a spectrum from “more like a tour operator” to “more like a hotel marketplace”.
The shortlist below has three tour-operator rivals, one curated beach-holiday OTA, two DIY hotel-and-flight combinations, and the easyJet bundle for travellers near a primary easyJet airport.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Deposit | Bag included |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jet2 | Service-led package holidays | Free app | £60/person | Yes, 22kg |
| TUI | Long-haul, cruises, Caribbean | Free app | £79/person | Yes, 15-20kg |
| On the Beach | Curated Mediterranean hotels | Free app | £30/person | Optional |
| lastminute.com | Last-minute and city breaks | Free app | Varies | Optional |
| easyJet Holidays | Gatwick/Luton/Bristol bases | Free app | £60/person | Yes, 23kg |
| Booking.com | DIY hotel + flight | Free app | Full at booking | N/A |
| Expedia | DIY with car and activities | Free app | Full at booking | N/A |
Why people leave loveholidays
Customer service reviews are uneven. The brand sits noticeably lower than Jet2 and TUI on Trustpilot for disruption handling, refund speed, and pre-trip change requests. Threads on r/HolidayUK regularly flag week-plus waits on simple booking changes.
Bag and transfer aren’t in the headline price. Adding a 20kg hold bag, return transfers, and seat selection moves a £279 weekly package closer to £400 per person, often within £20-40 of Jet2 on the same dates with everything already included.
Refunds on cancelled flights have stretched past 56 days. Where the airline cancels and loveholidays has to claw the money back, processing times have been a recurring complaint.
Top Secret-style hotel reveals. Some discounted packages hide the property until after booking, which doesn’t work for family trips where the hotel matters.
App stability during peak release windows. Bank holiday deal-drop searches have crashed the app for stretches, pushing users to the web version.
Which loveholidays alternative should you pick
- Jet2 for service-led Mediterranean packages with the bag, transfer, and ATOL all bundled.
- TUI for long-haul, the Caribbean, Mexico, and cruises.
- On the Beach for filtered Mediterranean beach hotels.
- lastminute.com for inside-four-weeks deals and weekend city breaks.
- easyJet Holidays when leaving from a primary easyJet base.
- Booking.com when DIY beats every package on price.
- Expedia for trips that need a car or pre-booked activities.
Stay on loveholidays when hotel choice is the deciding factor, the deposit needs to be low, and the trip is far enough out that any disruption window is unlikely.
1. Jet2, service-led Mediterranean packages
Jet2 bundles a 22kg checked bag, return airport transfers, and an ATOL-protected hotel into one price with a £60 per person deposit. The brand consistently leads UK package-holiday operators on Trustpilot for disruption handling and customer service, which is the single biggest argument for paying a little more than loveholidays on the same dates.
loveholidays vs Jet2: loveholidays usually wins on hotel choice and on headline price; Jet2 wins on bundled extras and service.
Where it falls short: route network is narrower than loveholidays’ aggregator approach, especially in Eastern Europe and outside the Mediterranean. No long-haul.
Pricing: free app. Packages from ~£300/person/week.
Switching from loveholidays: install Jet2 and price the same Mediterranean week with bag and transfer included on both sides. The all-in gap is often £20-40 in Jet2’s favour.
Bottom line: the right pick for Mediterranean packages where service matters as much as price.
2. TUI, long-haul, Caribbean, and cruises
TUI is the only UK-based mass-market operator running a serious long-haul network: Mexico, Cape Verde, the Dominican Republic, the Maldives, Thailand, plus an in-house cruise line. The app handles flight booking, hotel inventory, managed transfers, in-resort itineraries, and digital boarding passes for TUI Airways flights.
loveholidays vs TUI: loveholidays wins on European short-haul price; TUI wins on long-haul where loveholidays has thinner inventory.
Where it falls short: the bundled bag allowance on TUI Airways flights is lower than Jet2’s. Customer service responses can slow during peak summer.
Pricing: free app. Mediterranean packages from ~£320/person; long-haul from ~£800/person.
Switching from loveholidays: install TUI for long-haul, Caribbean, Mexico, the Maldives, and any cruise booking.
Bottom line: the right pick for long-haul and cruises.
3. On the Beach, curated Mediterranean beach hotels
On the Beach is built around Mediterranean beach holidays specifically. The hotel filter set (pool type, beachfront distance, adults-only, all-inclusive plus) is the best in the segment, and the Beach Cover scheme protects the flight portion against airline financial failure on top of standard ATOL cover.
loveholidays vs On the Beach: loveholidays has broader European coverage; On the Beach has tighter Mediterranean filtering and a cleaner adults-only inventory.
Where it falls short: no long-haul, and flight changes after booking are harder than with loveholidays.
Pricing: free app. Packages from £170/person off-peak.
Switching from loveholidays: install On the Beach for any Mediterranean booking where specific hotel criteria (adults-only, on-beach) are the deciding factor.
Bottom line: the right pick for filtered Mediterranean beach hotels.
4. lastminute.com, deals inside the four-week window
lastminute.com focuses on packages booked under four weeks out, weekend city breaks, and same-day deals. Coverage spans Europe, the Caribbean, and some long-haul. Price-drop alerts work well for travellers with flexible time off.
loveholidays vs lastminute.com: loveholidays wins on far-ahead beach weeks; lastminute.com often wins inside the four-week window and on weekend city breaks.
Where it falls short: Top Secret Hotels reveal only after booking. Refund handling on disrupted bookings can stretch.
Pricing: free app. Last-minute packages from £120/person; city breaks from £180/person.
Switching from loveholidays: install lastminute.com when the trip is inside four weeks or is a weekend city break.
Bottom line: the right pick for last-minute breaks and weekend city trips.
5. easyJet Holidays, Gatwick and Luton base trips
easyJet Holidays runs through the standard easyJet app and bundles the airline’s primary-airport network with a 23kg bag and transfers. The £60 per person deposit matches Jet2’s, and the Best Price Guarantee refunds the difference on like-for-like packages found cheaper within 28 days.
loveholidays vs easyJet Holidays: loveholidays has more hotel choice; easyJet Holidays bundles bag and transfer and locks in the easyJet primary-airport network.
Where it falls short: narrower route network outside the Mediterranean. Disruption recovery has had mixed reviews during summer IT outages.
Pricing: free app. Packages from £279/person off-peak.
Switching from loveholidays: install easyJet for any package leaving from Gatwick, Luton, Bristol, or Manchester, and compare the all-in price.
Bottom line: the right pick from a primary easyJet base when bundled extras matter.
6. Booking.com, DIY when a package isn't cheaper
Booking.com is hotel-first with a growing flights tab. Genius loyalty knocks 10-20% off select properties, the Free Cancellation filter is reliable, and combining a Booking.com hotel with a separately booked flight is often cheaper than any package on the same dates.
loveholidays vs Booking.com: loveholidays bundles ATOL protection and a single point of contact; Booking.com wins on raw hotel price and flexible cancellation.
Where it falls short: no ATOL protection on hotel-only or component bookings (only Booking.com Trips qualify). Customer service for refund disputes can be slow.
Pricing: free app. Genius status from one stay; cancellation rules vary by property.
Switching from loveholidays: install Booking.com and compare a DIY flight + hotel total against the equivalent loveholidays package. The gap is largest off-peak and for solo or twin trips.
Bottom line: the right pick when DIY beats every package on the dates.
7. Expedia, DIY with car and activities
Expedia offers flight + hotel + car bundles with strong car-rental inventory and a Things to Do catalogue for booking activities in-destination. One Key loyalty earns points across hotels, flights, and activities, redeemable as future credit.
loveholidays vs Expedia: loveholidays bundles ATOL by default; Expedia bundles only when a flight + hotel package is booked together, but adds car and activities cleanly.
Where it falls short: ATOL only on qualifying flight+hotel bundles. Customer service for refunds is rated mixed.
Pricing: free app. Bundle discounts shown at checkout; One Key membership free.
Switching from loveholidays: install Expedia for fly-drive trips and itineraries with pre-booked tours or attractions.
Bottom line: the right pick for fly-drive trips and activity-heavy itineraries.
How to choose
Pick Jet2 for Mediterranean weeks where service and bundled extras justify a small price premium over loveholidays.
Pick TUI for long-haul, the Caribbean, Mexico, and cruises. loveholidays’ long-haul inventory is thin by comparison.
Pick On the Beach when hotel filters (adults-only, beachfront, all-inclusive plus) decide the booking.
Pick lastminute.com for trips inside four weeks or weekend city breaks.
Stay on loveholidays for Mediterranean packages where the hotel choice is everything and the trip is far enough out that disruption-handling concerns are unlikely to apply.
FAQ
Is Jet2 better than loveholidays? Jet2 has the stronger service and disruption-handling record. loveholidays usually has more hotel choice and a lower deposit. The right answer depends on how much weight to put on each.
Is loveholidays a real travel agent or an OTA? loveholidays is an online travel agent (OTA) holding an ATOL licence on package bookings. It doesn’t operate flights or hotels itself; it sells packages combining airline flights and third-party hotels.
What is the cheapest loveholidays alternative? For ATOL-protected packages, On the Beach often leads on Mediterranean shoulder-season price. For DIY trips, Booking.com plus a separately booked budget flight typically undercuts every package.
Does loveholidays have a long-haul alternative? TUI is the main UK long-haul package operator. For DIY long-haul, Expedia or Kayak handle the flight + hotel + car combination.
Can I avoid loveholidays’ add-on fees? Only by choosing a package operator that bundles the same items (Jet2, easyJet Holidays, TUI) or going fully DIY. The add-ons themselves can’t be skipped on a loveholidays booking if a bag and transfer are needed.
Is there a loveholidays alternative with better customer service? Jet2 and TUI both rank higher on independent UK Trustpilot scores for disruption handling and refund speed in 2025.
