Update #16: Does anyone use travel agents anymore?

[citymama]

Thanks! I have major fomo of not getting the best deal. . We have AAA so no charge and in general a good travel agent shouldn’t be charging for their services as they are paid by the companies they contract with.

I am 95% sure we are going to go to Kauai and the best package I have found is the Koloa Landing at Poipu Point (thanks to the poster who recommended it in the other post) as there is a vacation package with Costco right now that
comes in just under budget; I would prefer the two bedroom villa but it is $1000 more (for the whole period) and I am not sure that is the best value for the six night stay. I am also considering the Hilton Grand Vacation club as their two bedroom villas are not quite $200 less the price of the single Koloa Landing one bedroom villa but the property seems to have way less amenities than Koloa Landing. I guess I have to decide what I want more a second bedroom for the kids (Dh definitely said he wants us to have a bedroom) or more outdoor resort type stuff. Both have kitchens so we can cook. I can’t find really find any recent reviews of the Hilton one, but my parents stayed there way back in 2006 and liked the location. If anyone else has stayed in Kauai and has suggestions on where to stay I would appreciate the recs. .

The last time we booked excursions we booked them through the hotel concierge and tbh other than the helicopter flight which we paid directly to the company I don’t recall if we paid the concierge or the private company. Unless it is an amazing deal through AAA I probably won’t book excursions through them.


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Where on Kauai is the Hilton grand vacation resort? I did a google search but could only find the Hilton Garden Inn in Wailua, in which case I'd pick Poipu. And what month are you going? We have literally never used a travel agent even with the most adventurous vacations, but we definitely shop around, check out our airline and credit card points and offers in addition to AAA, and keep an eye on the various hotel/VRBO/resort websites for deals. With Hawaii (Maui - not Kauai where we always stay on the north coast) I've also found that it's worth looking at different vacation rental companies - some will offer better deals and rates than others or are willing to negotiate.

[AnnieW625]

Check out Fodors Travel Forums. Search queries there. I can bet you there are plenty of posts with pretty standard itineraries for the area you want to go. I honestly couldn't see using a travel agent to plan domestic travel. And don't fret over the "something better". Ask us here--or post on Fodors or trip advisor. You will get a ton of ideas and advice. i usually find it works best if you post a potential itinerary, your kids ages, things your family does and does not like.

Do you have actual guide books? I always start there. I start with Fodors for logistics and then add another one for "color commentary" :-)

I joined the Fodors forum but haven’t posted yet. I don’t have any guide books but will definitely pick some up.

Where on Kauai is the Hilton grand vacation resort? I did a google search but could only find the Hilton Garden Inn in Wailua, in which case I'd pick Poipu. And what month are you going? We have literally never used a travel agent even with the most adventurous vacations, but we definitely shop around, check out our airline and credit card points and offers in addition to AAA, and keep an eye on the various hotel/VRBO/resort websites for deals. With Hawaii (Maui - not Kauai where we always stay on the north coast) I've also found that it's worth looking at different vacation rental companies - some will offer better deals and rates than others or are willing to negotiate.

It is in the Poipu area. It used to be owned by Diamond for a few years and then before that was Embassy Suites. We are hoping to go in February during the week my kids have off for Presidents Week. I was reading that the north coast has more rain in February. TBH I think Maui might still be my first choice but I need to find reasonable hotels/rentals. My friend who went last summer sent me their VRBO listings that were under $300 (at Grand Champions in Wailea) a night and none of those are for rent right now (I bet the owners are there during the low season vs. the summer and only rent in the summer). Outside of Costco United Vacations has a few decent options as well.

I don’t have a ton of points right now with my Amex card as I used them 18 months ago for our east coast trip airfare. I am not good about looking for bonuses and I honestly still pay cash for a ton of stuff so I am not all that points savvy. I can look at my Amazon visa and see if I can transfer those to other things other than Amazon purchases. A Costco trip with the executive membership and using the Costco visa would get us around $300 in rebates (2% reward and 3% rebate which I get in the February statement) and then the additional cash card which is great for groceries and cash on the trip so I can’t avoid that option plus they cover most of the resort fees. I also get points through work through a reward program and when I have enough points I buy $250 to $500 airfare with Southwest for about $100-$200 (the points are taxed at 1/3 of the purchase), but can also purchase a use anywhere Visa card in the same amounts so I could use that to buy airfare as well; this points option would only cover a 1/4 of the airfare but still better than full price.


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[gatorsmom]

Would anyone here be willing to recommend their favorite travel agents? As we have gotten older, I have more and more frequently thought it would be nice for someone more knowledgeable to help me with travel details. I haven't used a travel agent since before I got married.

[citymama]

I joined the Fodors forum but haven’t posted yet. I don’t have any guide books but will definitely pick some up.



It is in the Poipu area. It used to be owned by Diamond for a few years and then before that was Embassy Suites. We are hoping to go in February during the week my kids have off for Presidents Week. I was reading that the north coast has more rain in February. TBH I think Maui might still be my first choice but I need to find reasonable hotels/rentals. My friend who went last summer sent me their VRBO listings that were under $300 (at Grand Champions in Wailea) a night and none of those are for rent right now (I bet the owners are there during the low season vs. the summer and only rent in the summer). Outside of Costco United Vacations has a few decent options as well.

I don’t have a ton of points right now with my Amex card as I used them 18 months ago for our east coast trip airfare. I am not good about looking for bonuses and I honestly still pay cash for a ton of stuff so I am not all that points savvy. I can look at my Amazon visa and see if I can transfer those to other things other than Amazon purchases. A Costco trip with the executive membership and using the Costco visa would get us around $300 in rebates (2% reward and 3% rebate which I get in the February statement) and then the additional cash card which is great for groceries and cash on the trip so I can’t avoid that option plus they cover most of the resort fees. I also get points through work through a reward program and when I have enough points I buy $250 to $500 airfare with Southwest for about $100-$200 (the points are taxed at 1/3 of the purchase), but can also purchase a use anywhere Visa card in the same amounts so I could use that to buy airfare as well; this points option would only cover a 1/4 of the airfare but still better than full price.


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For February, the south/Poipu is definitely better. For Maui, we love Kanaapali - the El Dorado is a great spot and there's a vast range of prices.

[AnnieW625]

For February, the south/Poipu is definitely better. For Maui, we love Kanaapali - the El Dorado is a great spot and there's a vast range of prices.

Thanks for the El Dorado recommendation; I think I have seen a package for that one. I have been scouring reviews of the condo ones and some of them seem to have better reviews than others.

I think we have really settled on Maui and Hanua Kai in Kanaapali that a friend went to this year. Dh was afraid my kids might be bored on Kauai because the island is so small but doesn’t want the potential hustle and bustle of Oahu). I have a day off tomorrow so I am going to go to AAA just to see what they have and will report back then what I find out.


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[AnnieW625]

So I ended up going to AAA on Friday and I booked the trip for the Honua Kai Resort (1 bedroom condo) in Maui through AAA. The prices were about the same as what I was finding through the airline websites (Hawaiian, American, and United) but included regular coach airfare vs. basic economy seats (which I always look at first so what we paid is an upgrade to what I was looking at originally). We are flying Alaska Airlines and there are no layovers as of now (a lot of Maui flights are going through Honolulu now even out of LAX). And when I checked Kayak Alaska wasn’t the cheapest option; initially when the agent checked American was but then a screen refresh provided us with the Alaska option. I don’t have elite airline status with any of the airlines so it didn’t matter to me which airline was booked (my kids wanted Hawaiian though as they like the Hawaiian plane livery .) The travel agent was very helpful and it will be nice to have someone handle anything that might come up prior to either departure (IE: if for some reason we end up with a 3 hr. layover in Seattle….which she said happened recently, but she was able to fix it prior to their departure so it is her job to rebook us on the best flights even if not on Alaska….where I would only have the option to rebook on Alaska if I booked the flights originally). Thanks for all of the feedback and I am really happy I got all of this taken care of; I was starting to have fomo and I just needed to get it settled.


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[scrooks]

We stayed at Honua Kai this past April. We loved it!

[AnnieW625]

We stayed at Honua Kai this past April. We loved it!

Yay! My BFF stayed there earlier this year as well for her second time and really liked it. Her girls are similar in age to my girls so I knew it should be a good choice. When you have a chance could you possibly send me a trip report or summary of what you guys did? Thanks!


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