A good site for finding package air/hotel deals is go-today.com. The goal here is to find a combination deal that is as cheap or cheaper than what airfare alone would cost.
The site recently offered six nights in Paris and airfare (from JFK in New York) for $599 USD/person, double occupancy.
That is a base price, and your cost will be more--perhaps much more. You'll have to pay extra for starting from cities other than New York. The $599 price buys the lowest-level hotel room in Paris, and it does not include taxes and other fees. The dates for your travel will impact the cost, too. To get the $599 price, you'll have to travel in the off-season, which in this case was November and January.
But consider that even if the total cost comes in at $799, you could easily pay that amount for six nights at a very ordinary hotel in Paris, with airfare NOT included. Airfare per person between New York and Paris during shoulder season is often priced at $700 USD or more.
Airlines frequently offer airfare/hotel deals, too. The problem for a budget traveler is that these tie-ins are frequently with very upscale hotel chains. It's often possible to book your own hotel and spend less money without the package.
But that is not always true, and it sometimes pays to take a look at what the airlines offer for your destination.
For example, Delta Vacations recently offered airfare from New York to London and six nights in a three-star hotel from about $1500 USD/person double occupancy, depending on dates of travel. You might be able to do better without the package deal, but it's a good starting point for comparison shopping.
There are applications of this principle beyond airfare/room combinations. On ground transportation, Rail Europe offers rail/drive options to give travelers the benefits of both options on one trip. For example, the eurail selectpass drive provides three days of train travel and two days of unlimited mileage car rental car within a country or while traveling within a network of 22 European nations. Eurail Spain Rail 'n Drive gives you three days of unlimited train travel and two days of unlimited mileage car rental within Spain.
With either of those options, you can travel among the major cities of a country by rail, then focus the car rental days on a smaller region where rail service might be limited.
Although less common than in years past, cruise lines sometimes offer combination airfare/cruise deals, some of which include a hotel near the port prior to sailing. It's important to break down these deals by cost and then look at the best airfare deal you can arrange independently.
But above all, look. Package deals can save money if the time and situation are right.
