How do you compare vacation packages before you pay?

Make sure it's the same trip at its total price, then check who you're paying. Two packages for the same resort and week can differ in room, meal plan and extras, and where you book can decide whether a provincial fund can help if the travel company closes.

1. Make sure it's the same trip

Match the resort, departure date, number of nights and departure airport. Then match the room type and the meal plan: a garden-view room and an ocean-view suite are different trips, even on the same dates.

2. Compare the total, not the headline

Packages include different things: airport transfers, checked bags, seat selection, taxes and fees. Compare what you'll pay in the end, for the same things.

The Competition Bureau calls it drip pricing when a low price is advertised and mandatory fees are added later, so the advertised price can't actually be paid. It says this raises concerns under the Competition Act. Only fees set by government, such as sales tax, are an exception. You can report drip pricing to the Bureau.

In Ontario, the province's consumer page also says travel ads must show the total price, including taxes, fees and other charges.

3. Try nearby dates, and track sale prices

Moving your departure by a few days can change the price. And a "sale" badge doesn't prove the price is lower than last week. Writing down a trip's total for a while before a sale day tells you whether it really dropped.

4. Check who you're paying

If a travel company closes before your trip, whether you get your money back can depend on where you live and who you booked with.

• Ontario: booking with a travel agent or website registered with TICO gives you rights under the Travel Industry Act. The compensation fund can pay up to $5,000 per person for travel you paid for and didn't receive because a registered agent or tour operator, an airline or a cruise line went bankrupt or insolvent. Claims must be made within 6 months, and the fund has limits and exclusions. Ontario says that booking directly with an airline, hotel or tour yourself isn't protected under that Act. Registered sellers must show their TICO registration number.
• Quebec: a fund protects you when you buy through a travel agency licensed by the Office de la protection du consommateur, not when you deal directly with a supplier. The OPC has a tool to check a licence.
• British Columbia: travel agents must be licensed by Consumer Protection BC. Booking with a licensed business may let you claim from its Travel Assurance Fund, a last resort that doesn't cover things like bad weather or missed flights.
• Other provinces and territories: rules differ, so check yours.

A comparison website isn't the seller. The travel site you pay is the one to check.

5. Read the insurance

See travel health insurance and what your province covers.