A package holiday bundles your flights, accommodation and transfers into one price with one company — and for most British and Irish holidaymakers it's still the simplest, best-protected way to reach the Canary Islands. You book with a tour operator, pay a deposit, and everything is tied together under one contract that carries legal financial protection if anything goes wrong. It isn't always the cheapest option, and it isn't the right fit for every trip, but it removes an enormous amount of hassle. Here's exactly how UK and Irish packages work, who the big operators are, and when a package beats booking it all yourself.
What counts as a package holiday
A traditional package is flights plus accommodation (and usually resort transfers) sold together by one operator for a single price. Under UK law, that combination is a "package" and comes with proper consumer protection — the operator is responsible for the whole holiday, not just one part of it. That matters: if your flight is cancelled or your hotel is closed, the operator has to sort it out, rather than leaving you to argue with an airline and a hotel separately.
Most packages let you choose your board basis, your resort, your flight times and how long you stay, so "package" no longer means a rigid two-week block. You can book a long weekend, a ten-night winter-sun escape or a fortnight, from a huge range of hotels and apartments. Our guide to where to stay breaks down the resorts island by island so you know what you're choosing before you book.
Photo: -wuppertaler · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · scaled
ATOL and ABTA protection explained
This is the single biggest reason packages remain popular. Two schemes protect UK holidaymakers:
- ATOL — the Air Travel Organiser's Licence, run by the Civil Aviation Authority. Any package that includes flights should be ATOL-protected. If the operator collapses while you're away, you're brought home; if it fails before you travel, you get your money back. You'll be issued an ATOL certificate the moment you book — keep it.
- ABTA — a trade association whose members sign up to a code of conduct and offer protection for non-flight arrangements and a route to resolve complaints.
Irish travellers get a similar safety net through the Commission for Aviation Regulation's bonding scheme, which licenses tour operators and travel agents and protects money paid for package holidays. The practical upshot is the same on both sides of the Irish Sea: book a proper package and your money — and your trip home — is protected in a way that booking the parts separately usually isn't.
Always check for the ATOL logo and ask for your ATOL certificate at the point of booking. If a "package" deal doesn't come with one and includes a flight, ask why before you pay.
The big UK operators
A handful of operators dominate Canary Islands packages from the UK:
- TUI — the largest, with its own airline, its own hotel brands (including adults-only ranges) and flights from a long list of regional airports. Strong on families and all-inclusive.
- Jet2holidays — consistently well-reviewed, ATOL-protected, low deposits and a big Canaries programme from northern and regional airports in particular.
- easyJet holidays — pairs easyJet's flight network with hotels, often keenly priced, with flexible deposits.
- Loveholidays — an online travel agent that lets you mix flights and hotels into a protected package, usually with a low deposit and a very wide choice.
Others worth a look include British Airways Holidays and various dynamic-packaging agents. They all sell essentially the same islands, so compare the total price, the board basis and the transfer arrangements rather than the brand alone.
Booking from Ireland
Irish holidaymakers are well served for the Canaries, which are one of Ireland's favourite winter-sun destinations. The main names are:
- Sunway — a long-established Irish tour operator with a big Canaries programme and Irish-bonded protection.
- TUI Ireland — the Irish arm of TUI, with packages from Dublin and other Irish airports.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus also fly the routes, so an Irish "DIY" package is easy to assemble too. Departures from Dublin, Cork, Shannon and Belfast keep flying times to the Canaries at roughly four to four and a half hours.
Board basics: SC, BB, HB and AI
Packages are priced by board basis, and understanding the shorthand saves confusion:
| Code | Meaning | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| SC | Self-catering — a kitchen, no meals included | Explorers who want to eat out and cook the odd breakfast |
| BB | Bed and breakfast | Those who like to be out and about for lunch and dinner |
| HB | Half board — breakfast and dinner | A convenient middle path; evenings partly covered |
| AI | All-inclusive — meals, snacks and drinks | Families and poolside relaxers wanting a fixed budget |
All-inclusive is enormously popular in the big southern resorts, but it isn't automatically the cheapest or best way to holiday — our full guide to all-inclusive holidays weighs up when it's genuinely worth it.
Package versus DIY (flight plus hotel)
The alternative to a package is building your own trip — booking a flight with one company and a hotel or apartment with another. DIY can work out cheaper, especially outside school holidays, and gives you total flexibility over flight times and where you stay. The catch is protection: if you book a flight and a hotel entirely separately, the two aren't legally tied together, so a cancelled flight can leave you paying for a hotel you can't reach, with no single company responsible.
As a rough rule:
- A package usually wins for families, first-timers, all-inclusive stays, peak-season winter-sun trips and anyone who values the ATOL safety net and a single point of contact.
- DIY usually wins for flexible independent travellers, quieter shoulder-season dates, villa or apartment stays, and island-hopping itineraries where you want to move around.
Many online agents now sell "dynamic packages" that combine a flight and hotel into a single protected booking — a genuine middle ground that keeps the ATOL protection while widening your choice. For the full cost picture either way, see our guide to Canary Islands prices, and for how the flights themselves work, our guide to getting to the Canary Islands.
Regional departure airports
One of the great advantages of packages is the sheer spread of UK and Irish departure airports. The Canaries are flown year-round from London (Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, Heathrow), Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Newcastle, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, East Midlands, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast and more, plus Dublin, Cork and Shannon in Ireland. Choosing a package that flies from your nearest airport can save hours of pre-holiday travel — always factor the drive, parking and any overnight into the true cost when you compare deals.
Getting the best price
Prices swing hugely with the calendar. Winter sun over Christmas and February half-term is the peak and books up early; shoulder months are far cheaper. Booking timing matters as much as the deal itself, so it's worth reading our guide to the best time to book a Canary Islands holiday before you commit. Low deposits, price-match promises and free child places all come and go, so compare the all-in total — flights, board, transfers and luggage — rather than a headline "from" price.
The bottom line
For most British and Irish holidaymakers, a package holiday is the easy, well-protected way to do the Canary Islands: flights, hotel and transfers under one ATOL-backed contract, from your local airport, with TUI, Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays, Loveholidays, Sunway or TUI Ireland doing the heavy lifting. Book it yourself only if you want the flexibility and are comfortable arranging your own protection. Decide how you want to travel first, pick your board basis, then compare the true all-in total — and you'll get the winter sun without the stress.