My experience is that packages do nothing more than allow the vendors to hide the real cost. Recently, I found the cheapest airfare by looking up packages on priceline, checking to see what flights they were using, then going to the airline site and searching for that same flight. It was amazing. Cheaper than any of the flights I was locating through the big search engines. But be careful, airline prices can change in hours. The first flight I found, I lost because I didn't want to book it until I was sure my leave slip from work would be approved. It only took 24 hours to get it approved, but by that time, the flight had gone up almost $100. I'm searching Hotwire for hotels, though I'm going with kids so I kind of care which hotel I end up in, and HOTWIRE seems to have limited selection in Las Vegas at the moment. I haven't actually made a reservation yet. I'm still looking and reading reviews. The best rental car rate was when I called the airline (Delta) to make sure that our seats were together and they asked if they could interest me in discount hotel or car rental. I said sure, I was interested in a rental car. They connected me to Avis. Getting transferred in from Delta, I got 3 days of a standard car (similar to Malibu) from Avis for about $85 (including tax and fees). The best I was seeing on Orbitz--where I have always booked in the past--from the better brands was $116. The only down side of researching and making your own reservations is the time it takes to assure that you're getting the best deal. I get all obsessed and I waste a lot of time, but I never overpay.
