How Much Can Independent Travel Save You?

A Case Study on Moldova

Item	Travel Agency Package	Independent (DIY)	Independent (with Pre-booked Tours)
Flights (return)	Included	£330	£330
Hotel (per person share)	Included	£220 (our hotel) or £285 (same hotel)	£220–£285
Transfers (airport)	Included	£1 bus + £5 taxi	£1 bus + £5 taxi
Excursion 1: Transnistria	Included	£16	£95
Excursion 2: Orheiul Vechi	Included	£28	£93
Excursion 3: Cricova	Included	£34	£131
Total per person	£1,195	£643–£698	~£950
Saving	–	£497–£552	~£245

At Time-Pressed Travel we know independent holidays aren’t for everyone. Sometimes, it feels easier to let a tour company do all the work: book the flights, sort the transfers, plan the excursions, and hand you an itinerary. For many travellers, that “no hassle” factor is worth paying extra for.

But what if you could enjoy the best of both worlds? With our bespoke itineraries, we remove the stress of hours of research while still showing you how to unlock the significant savings of independent travel. To prove it, let’s take a closer look at Moldova — a destination we visited recently.

What the Travel Agency Offers

A well-known UK travel agency advertises Moldova holidays “from” £1,195 per person, based on two people sharing. That price includes flights, accommodation, transfers, and three guided excursions. But — and it’s a big but — those prices are based on the cheapest flights available at the time of booking, plus the lowest room category at their chosen hotel. As many of us have discovered, “from” often means “if you’re lucky.”

What Independent Travel Really Costs

Here’s what we actually spent. Return flights booked directly with Air Moldova cost £330 each, even though we booked just six weeks before departure. Our hotel, a small family-run property a ten minute walk from the city centre, came to £440 in total — or £220 per person. It offered personal service the big city hotels can’t match: the reception staff happily booked taxis, suggested restaurants, and gave us local tips.

For comparison, the same city-centre hotel used by the travel agency would have been £570 in total, or £285 each — still well below the package price.

Transfers? The bus from the airport stops right outside the terminal, takes contactless payment, and costs under £1. In truth, it’s almost as easy as a taxi, and it’s a great introduction to local life.

So, with flights, hotel, and transfers, we were at just over £560 per person (or £615 if you choose the same hotel as the travel agency).

The Excursions

The package includes three excursions. Here’s what we did independently:

• Transnistria: Taxi from our hotel, £22, plus a local bus back under £5 each. Total about £16 per person.
• Orheiul Vechi: Taxi to the site £22, taxi back £34. Total £28 per person.
• Cricova winery: Taxi £6 each way plus winery tour and tasting £28. Total £34 per person.

Add a taxi back to the airport (£10 total, £5 per person), and all our excursions and transfers cost around £83 per person.

That means our whole trip came to £643 each — or £698 if using the same hotel as the agent. Compare that with £1,195, and the saving is £497–£552 per person.

What If You Want No-Hassle Excursions?

Not everyone wants to organise taxis or buses on the day. Pre-booked small-group tours with hotel pick-up are widely available through platforms like Get Your Guide. The three tours cost:

• Transnistria: £95
• Orheiul Vechi: £93
• Cricova: £131

That’s £319 per person.

Even with these, the independent total comes to about £950 per person — still saving around £245 compared with the package. And if you take our advice to book Cricova directly and use taxis, you’d save close to £100 more.

Why This Matters

This Moldova example shows the effort required for independent travel. It took us hours of online research: checking safety advice, comparing flights, scanning hotel prices, and reading up on transport options.

That’s where Time-Pressed Travel comes in. We do the legwork: the research, the cost comparisons, the practical tips on transport and timings. We deliver a bespoke itinerary that gives you the independence of travelling on your own — but without the hours of stress that usually come with it.

The result? A trip tailored to you, at a significantly lower cost, and without the hassle of endless searching.

The Bottom Line

Independent travel isn’t about penny-pinching — it’s about value. In Moldova, we matched the agency package almost detail for detail, yet saved between £245 and £552 per person depending on how much convenience you want. Multiply that by two travellers, and you’re talking hundreds of pounds — money that could pay for another trip altogether.

So before you accept the first glossy brochure price you see, think again. With a little help, you can travel independently, experience more, and save a lot. And isn’t that what great travel is about?