Long-haul holidays

A long-haul holiday is generally considered to be one with a flight time of six hours or more.

For laidback long-haul beach breaks, head for the Caribbean, Mauritius or the Maldives. If it’s culture you’re after, Goa, in India, is a top choice.

Mexico’s warm all year round. In summer, temperatures hover between the high 20s and the mid 30s. In winter, you can expect it to be around 28°C. Between June and November, it’s a bit rainier and there can be the occasional tropical storm, but that’s pretty rare, and hotels are well prepared if the weather takes a turn.

Just so you know, some beaches along the Caribbean Coast of Mexico sometimes see increased levels of seaweed – called sargassum. It’s influenced by the weather and ocean currents. If your hotel’s affected, the staff will do everything they can to clear it.

Also, in mid-to-late March, young people from the USA and Canada flock to Cancun and Los Cabos for Spring Break. During this time, you can expect livelier entertainment like foam parties, discos and bar-crawls around the hotels and on the beaches.

Jamaica enjoys balmy temperatures all year round. If you like it scorching, the summer months are the hottest, with temperatures topping 30 degrees. Winter’s a bit cooler, but still toasty by UK standards – expect the mercury to hover in the mid-to-high 20s. It is the driest time to visit, though, as most of the island’s rain falls in summer and autumn. Hurricane season is from June to November, with August and September being the peak months. Severe storms are pretty rare, though.

If you want to see Jamaica’s party side, plan your trip for the last weekend of July. Negril comes to life to celebrate Dream Weekend. Hotels host carnival-like parties that spill out on to the beaches, so expect things to be livelier.

Average temperatures here stay in the high 20s to low 30s, and there are about 300 days of sunshine a year. From June to October, it’s slightly hotter, but you’ll usually see the odd tropical rain shower, too. Humidity can be high – if you want to avoid this, it’s best to travel between November and April. Hurricane season falls between June and November, but severe storms are pretty rare, and hotels are well equipped to deal with them.

Just so you know, the beaches on this stretch of coastline sometimes experience increased levels of seaweed – called sargassum. It’s influenced by the weather and ocean currents. If your hotel’s affected, the staff will do everything they can to clear it.

Yes, if your flight has a TOM or BY flight number, online check-in's really easy to use. Go to the TUI app or log in to Manage My Booking with your flight booking reference, the surname of the lead passenger and your departure date, and select 'check-in'. You’ll receive your boarding pass when you check in at the airport.

If you’ve upgraded to Premium, Extra Legroom or Extra Space seats, or chosen the Select Your Seat option, online check-in will open 14 days before your departure. If not, it’ll open 48 hours before your departure, and online check-in closes six hours before your flight’s departure time.

Just so you know, in either case, you’ll need to check in for your outbound and inbound flights separately.

If you're flying with one of our TUI partner airlines or a non-TUI airline please see our Flying with other Airlines FAQs for what to do.

To see which of our TUI experiences are available for your holiday, visit our things to do page and search for your destination.

It’s customary to tip in Mexico and the Caribbean, so it’s worth taking small notes with you so you can tip one or a couple of dollars when you order a drink or if a porter helps you out with your luggage.

While you're away, you can speak to us at any time. We're available 24/7 via the TUI app. We also offer a rep service at some of our hotels.

You can find out whether your hotel offers a rep service in the "about the hotel" tab on the hotel details page.

If your hotel does offer a rep service, go to the TUI app and under ‘contact us’ it will tell you where to find the rep at your hotel. This information usually only appears a few days before your holiday.

You’ll get a meal included if your flight is seven hours or longer. This includes a main meal with your choice of wine or juice, followed by a tea or a coffee. Before you land, you’ll be served breakfast, afternoon tea or another light bite, depending on the time of day. On longer flights, you’ll also get a free ‘grab bag’ which contains snacks to graze on during the flight. If you want to order snacks in between meals, you can look through the Café magazine and order small bites like crisps and chocolate. Just so you know, larger items like hot snacks and sandwiches are not available on long-haul flights.

Drinks are sorted on board, too. On a day flight, the cabin crew will offer two bar services, in addition to the meal service. On a night flight, they’ll offer one to allow more time for sleep. You can order more soft drinks during your flight if you visit the galley. Hot, soft and alcoholic drinks are included, but if you want to treat yourself to some champagne, you’ll have to pay extra. Also, let the crew know and they can chill it for you.

You can request a dietary meal as soon as you have a confirmed booking with us, up until 24 hours before your flight departs.

There are three ways do this, you can go through Manage My Booking, call our Customer Services Centre on 0203 451 2688, or visit us in store.

All our long-haul flights – which are seven hours or longer – set you up with seatback screens featuring on-demand TV programmes, movies and games. Our inflight entertainment page has more information on what to expect.

You can also take your own devices onto the flight, you’ll just need to remember to download your favourite content before flying. There’s a USB-A port in the back of the seats, so you don’t need to worry about your devices running out of charge.

Our standard luggage allowance is 20kg per person, but it may be higher, depending on what type of holiday you book with us. Find out more by visiting our luggage allowance page.

You can choose where you sit on the plane when you upgrade to Select Your Seat*. You’ll be able to choose your seat number during the booking process using the seat map or you can do it after your booking is confirmed by logging into Manage My Booking.

Just so you know, children under 12 will automatically be seated with at least one adult in your party. This means either in the same row, one row in front or behind or across the aisle. If this doesn’t happen when you check in, you can call us on 0203 451 2688.

*For full terms and conditions, visit the “Select Your Seat” section of our A to Z guide.

If you want to travel like a VIP, you can upgrade to Premium. This gives you a whole host of benefits, like a bigger luggage allowance, fast-track security, UK and Melbourne Orlando airport lounge access and a bigger seat pitch. It’s easy to upgrade – just choose a Premium seat when you book online. View our flight and travel options page for more information and watch the video.

We can’t guarantee that all the restaurants in your hotel will be open at the same time. In Mexico and the Caribbean, it’s common for some restaurants to open on a rotational basis depending on how many guests are staying at the hotel.