Its a shame you can't train all in one place it really does help:
The biggest hurdle by far is the IR followed by the CPL skilltest Nav section.
If you have trained from day one at Much Wailing aerodrome and you will know the local flying area inside out by the time you come to take your CPL and IR from that same airfield. This gives you an ENORMOUS advantage.
I think that a good chunk of the higher pass rates experienced by fully integrated large FTO's is the fact that by the time the student reaches the two big stumbling block tests they know the local test airspace like the back of their hands.
I did it the harder way of a PPL here, an IMC there, a CPL somewhere else and then an IR in Bournemouth. Each time you were working so much harder just to keep track of where you are and what the next ATC gotcha is going to be...
Be wary of the holiday/training ethos - you will be very busy, knackered and stressed whilst you train intensively. Not condusive to a happy holiday experience for the Missus...
Still its your unique personal circumstances that count - hence no universal right answer.
For those asking about prices for PPL courses my old employer still offers a 45hr PPL with 10 nights accom (you'll need more accom but its only £15 a night special rate and its a very pleasant barn conversion by a river), all maps/pens/charts/headsets/Trevor Thom books and skillstest for £2,995. A further IMC can be tacked on the end for under £1,500 as well.
There are other schools out there (Humberside, Exeter, Scotland) that offer PPL courses for less than £3,500. Remember that you can often wangle a discount particulaly if you want IMC/Night/Multi courses in the near future or discounted future hours building.
As I mentioned earlier using the fact that you are going professional can often allow you to negotiate having the CFI as instructor and that is a well worth having usually...
Remember the PPL is just the beginning and you really should be trying to work out how best to pass that CPL and IR test - if that means learning in the same test area, or with the same instructor, or in the actual same or similar aircraft then *perhaps* a little extra cost now will pay dividends later...
Also remember that the PPL is the bedrock of your flying ability. Learn bad or just incorrect habits and procedures now and it takes an awful lot of effort to shift them later.
Good luck,
WWW
[ 31 July 2001: Message edited by: Wee Weasley Welshman ]