Book with Travel Agent or Yourself
 

While I know that the ease of Expedia, Travelocity and so on make it nice and convenient for some. When I am looking for a bigger fancy trip... Hawaii, Cancun, Europe, I think you need to use a travel agent instead of trying to do it yourself.

A travel agent can better give you what you are looking for in accommodations, activities, and get it all nice and neat price. Of course, you are going to pay a bit more. But all in all, I think it is the way to go.

Keep in mind, I am not talking about trips to Disney, conferences, or things that are simple and straight forward. I am talking about going to new places where you really want to spend the time, and experience the city/country.

What is your experience, good or bad? Do YOU use one? If so, what do you looking for in an agent?

We just buy tix for where we are going and wing it from there. It is not an adventure without a u-turn is our motto.

I doubt a travel agent could throw in enough for us.

I would never go through someone else and have them interpret for me the information I would like to know about any complex travel arrangements. There is a plethora of information online, and I would simply take some time to avail myself of it and do my research in advance so that I could know exactly what I wanted to know, not have some other person distill that information down to me in whatever manner they saw fit.

always design everything yourself
Takes more time yes, but is cheaper, you get there faster usually, you get to know everything about the place or region.

Well my wife does all that, but......lol

Yes. The amount of time and headaches looking at every little thing is exactly what I am talking about. Interesting input.

Thanks guys.
:thumbsup

A friend of mine is a travel agent who books alot of high end resorts. She gets to go check out these resorts as part of her job. I typically don't book biz flights with her because the price she gets is negligibly better but on big vacations i would def use her. One because she knows which places are awesome and which places are just shit. Also the price she can get me is much better than the posted rates and or deals they run.

I simply prefer to do it myself because too many agents have messed up things or hyped up places to be great when they weren't that great at all.

lonely planet and a plane ticket is always the way i roll. 4 weeks or 6 months, i stopped trying to plan long trips a long, long time ago. Russia, Eastern Europe, S.E. Asia (pretty much all of it), Africa, etc, etc. The only place i thought you really needed a semi-guided tour was in Argentina where i go snowboarding in the summers, because you really need to have you act together as it's expensive and you are on a definite timeline.

typical senario (i'm usually traveling with my cousin and my girl). get off boat or plane. find a place to get a drink. crack open lonely planet. go from there. rinse and repeat lol.

yourself mr big stuff :) :1orglaugh

Heavenly..
:pimp

online myself, I dont know how these travel agents stay in business with the online deals, most of them cant compare

Interesting.

You are an interesting guy man. Between some of your posts on the blackjack, and some other topics, I enjoy your input friend. You are quite the character.

I used to use an agent out of laziness

Now I book everything online myself, you save a fortune

Agreed.

I am thinking convenience.

You will enjoy it much more if you do it yourself.

i did do it via travel agent, before internet age though, when i still had my commodore 64 ;)

I dunno man. Past couple of weekends the GF and I have been looking at some different places, and packages for later this year.

A lot of searching, reading, and back and forth hassles with picking hotels and activities.

:1orglaugh :1orglaugh :thumbsup

haha, hmm, i suppose i might be (my girl would agree ;). seriously though, traveling by the seat of your pants is the shit. maybe not for everyone, but after doing package deals and all-inclusive (actually all-inclusive is great if you don't want to leave the resort or explore the area (ie: mexico) and just chill in the pool and ocean, read, and have zero headaches) for years, i am 100% stoked on just winging it. the main thing is you have to have some time in order to go that route. it's an adventure. which is why i enjoy it so much.

I think between goodgirl and myself, we have come up with six different routes to take on our upcoming journey. I have a feeling none of them will end up being the way we go though.

Well I mean it as the sincerest of compliments friend.

:thumbsup

I say that exact same thing at the end of every weekend lately.
:disgust

For family holidays we usually go into the travel agent and book a last minute holiday after researching the resort and hotel on the Net. Get some great deals and it's easier than doing it all yourself. Plus traveling with a young child so winging it is not an option.

Though have done plenty of that in the past. How about packing a bag and standing by the side of the motorway and going where the lifts take you. Did that in the 60s.

I look at great deals for tickets and get a hotel for the first day.
Further i will see where we go. We always travel around.
Planning your trip and look at tripadvisors is foreplay for a great journey.
If i paid the prices they ask for the trips we made i had to pay 4+ times as much.

But when we go one week to an island in Greece a travel agent is cheaper and more easy. But we stay at 1 place than that week.

Never do the activities by a travel agent. Don't want to sit in a bus of dutchman when i am on holiday.

Well, you could do your research yourself. It's just going to take some time. If you want faster decisions, you can use the travel agent.

It's like, you could do your taxes yourself, but maybe it's going to take you all day. If you have no time you could get an accountant.

:glugglug

Don't remember the last time I used a Travel Agent for anything. Anywhere I go now, I book flights myself, hotel myself and then just wing all the tourist attractions from there.

Example: I'm going to Rome next weekend for Easter Weekend, I booked Flights, Hotel and today my girlfriend is booking our tourist attractions. We're going to Thailand in the summer, we're doing Bangkok 3 days, Phuket 4 days then 10 days in Koh Samui. Again we are completely booking everything ourselves. No need to use a Travel Agent these days, and I'm saying that as a friend of someone who owns his own Travel Agent business. His prices can't compare with me booking it all myself.

Use GFY, seriously we have people from just about all ends of the earth here and its always great to find a local that can give tips and ideas of places to stay and things to do... :pimp