Are Package Holidays the Best Type of Holiday?

When most people go on holiday, they usually want to relax and take it easy.

For this reason, many people believe that a package holiday is the best type of holiday to choose. However, do package holidays have some disadvantages, too?

Without a doubt, there are many advantages of package holidays. To begin with, all the flights, accommodation and airport transfers are booked for you by travel agent so that you don’t have to do any planning or organising for yourself. Moreover, a guide can always help you sort out any difficulties you might have. The guide speaks your native language, gives you information about the local area, and may arrange day trips and events for you.

On the other hand, there are some arguments against going on package tour. One disadvantage is that there is no freedom to change your mind about where to go or stay, as everything is already arranged. Furthermore, package holidays are often in popular tourist resorts with noisy nightlife and many other holidaymakers. As the result, they can be very tiring and don’t give you the opportunity to experience the local culture.

To sum up, although there are a few disadvantages to going on package tour, I would argue that they have more advantages after all.

Ex. 7 Are you a knowledgeable traveller? Do the quiz below in groups. Check the answers with your teacher.

1. Which is the largest country in the world?

2. Which country has a bigger population: Russia or China?

3. Which is longer: the Nile river or the Amazon river?

4. Which country has the longest coastline in the world: Australia, Canada or Greece?

5. Which is the most populated city in the world: Mumbai in India, Moscow or Seoul in South Korea?

Ex. 8 Match the descriptions to the country below.

1. It has the most fast food restaurants in the world.

2. They drink the most cups of tea per person in the world.

3. It has the busiest airport in the world.

4. It is the most popular country in the world with tourists.

5. It has the most popular theme park in the world.

Ex. 9 What are you more interested to see on your holiday? Discuss what things are more important.

• Natural wonders such as waterfalls, mountains, etc.

• Ancient archeological sites and great monuments

• Romantic, historical cities

• Exciting modern cities

• Beautiful beaches and coastline

Ex. 10 Read the text below and answer these questions.

1. Which place won in each category in Ex. 9?

2. Which places have you heard of or visited?

Top Places to Visit

The Grand Canyon stretches for 443 kilometres where the Colorado River cuts through north-west Arizona. The Canyon is a baby by geological standards – only six million years old. It is the incredible colours of different rock layers that delight visitors. Over five million people visit the Canyon every year. Averagely, visitors spend only fifteen minutes looking at the Canyon. Even so, they should be careful: every year an average of five people fall over the edge.

What could be more romantic than going down a Venetian canal in a gondola? Venice is the favourite of lovers all over the world. This unique city is located on 118 islands, and has over 200 canals and 400 bridges. You should visit the Piazza San Marco, one of the most beautiful squares in the world, and marvel at the Basilica of St. Mark, and Doge’s Palace, the home of famous paintings and sculptures.

Even for those who are not interested in gambling, Las Vegas is one of the most exciting cities in the world. The Strip is a five-mile stretch of extravagant hotels and casinos, including replicas of the Eiffel Tower, the Egyptian Pyramids and ancient Roman palaces. Famous for its quick weddings (Elvis Presley and Richard Geer were married there for example), you can even arrange a “drive through wedding” and be back in casinos in an hour!

Koh Samui is a tropical paradise located in the warm waters to the southeast of Thailand. Although it is the second largest island after Phuket, it was unknown to tourists until a few years ago. Easy to reach from Bangkok, it is covered with coconut trees and brightly coloured flowers, and is surrounded by white sandy beaches and turquoise seas.

The city of Petra has been a location for many Hollywood films, including “Indiana Jones” and “The Last Crusade”. It was built in rocky cliffs more than two thousand years ago. Temples, palaces, and huge Amphitheatre were cut out of the cliffs, which give the city its rose-red appearance.

Ex. 11 Work in pairs. Find in the text what these numbers refer to.

400; 5; 118; 443; 2 000; 5 mln; second; 15; 5 miles; 6 mln; 200.

Ex. 12 Discuss the following questions across the class.

1. Put the five places in order starting with the one you would most like to visit. Why?

2. Are there any other places in the world you would like to visit?

3. Have you been anywhere that you think everyone should see?

4. Do people in your country often travel to other countries?

5. What are the popular destinations for tourists from your country? Why?

Ex. 13 Discuss the following questions in pairs.

1. What type of holiday do you prefer and why?

2. What season do you prefer and why?

3. Where do you usually go for holiday?

4. What do you usually like doing when you are on holiday?

5. Where did you go last summer? What did you do there?

6. Where would you like to go for holiday and why?

7. What is your ideal holiday?

Ex. 14 Make a presentation of your ideal holiday. Think of a country, how you will get there, what you will do, where you will go, what season of the year you will choose.