Best and worst city break providers

With hundreds of companies to choose from, which ones offer the nicest accommodation, the most helpful customer service and the best value for money? Here, we reveal satisfaction ratings for the city break providers that are used most by Which? members. 

These reviews cover city breaks providers - offering short weekend breaks to cities throughout Europe. For full reviews, click on the links in the table or scroll down. For companies that offer traditional beach, resort or poolside packages combining flights and accommodation, see our table of best and worst package holiday companies. 

Check our table of escorted tour providers if you want a holiday with a planned itinerary and accompanied by a dedicated guide. For more specialist holidays, find out how companies ranked for self-guided tours, ski trips and villa holidays.      

To be named a Which? Recommended Provider (WRP), companies must be highly rated in our survey. This year, we have taken extra steps to assess their treatment of customers throughout the coronavirus pandemic. We have also spoken to customers who were left out of pocket and scrutinised their refund policies for cancelled holidays.

How you rate city break holiday providers
WRP	Holiday company (sample size)	Average price: short/ long haul	Accommodation	Customer service	Description matching reality	Organisation of holiday	Value for money	Customer score
	Trailfinders (44)	£150 / £196						88%
	British Airways Holidays (160)	£92 / £143						84%
	Jet2Holidays (151)	£89 / £89						84%
	Expedia (170)	£87 / £102						77%
	Virgin Holidays (46)	£75 / £150						77%
	Secret Escapes (46)	£87 / -						76%
	Easyjet Holidays (90)	£70 / -						75%
	Tui (80)	£90 / £125						70%
	Lastminute.com (60)	£75 / -						68%

Click here for the full survey results table

Using the table: Star ratings are based on one to five stars. The more stars the better. Sample sizes are in brackets next to each holiday company. A dash indicates we did not receive enough responses to report on a company in that category. WRP stands for Which? Recommended Provider. Average price: Based on the median price per day of all holidays taken by survey respondents with the company named. Short-haul destinations are defined as anywhere less than a five-hour flight from London. Customer score: Based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely people are to recommend the company. Companies with the same customer score are presented in alphabetical order. 

How we researched holiday companies

In March and April 2020, we asked Which? Connect panel members and the public to complete an online survey about their experiences of booking and going on holiday in the last two years. We define a city break as a package to one city which includes flights and accommodation. We only reported on companies and star rating categories when we received at least 30 responses.

You can have your say on what we research and help us achieve change by joining Which? Connect

Other city break providers

Secret Escapes - 76%

From its alluring descriptions and promise of hand-picked hotels, everything about Secret Escapes seems appealing. It may have received a decent customer score as a city break provider, but the company found itself ranked near the bottom of the results table - it couldn’t match up to competitors. 

When it came to dealing with refunds during the coronavirus crisis, the travel company fell short. People had to wait for refunds from partners who were stalling and many were automatically issued a credit note instead of a refund, which you could swap back to cash in 2021.

Which? verdict: If you’re heading off on a city break, consider Jet2Holidays or British Airways Holidays, which provide short-haul escapes for a similar price.