Update #16: Does anyone use travel agents anymore?

[AnnieW625]

Title says it all. I have started my spreadsheet for Hawaii and while I do love the planning to the point I am thinking of going to AAA on Friday and see if I can get something better. We haven’t used a travel agent since we planned our honeymoon in 2002. I feel like this is something I should talk to someone about in person.


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[gymnbomb]

I use one for some trips. I have an acquaintance (mom of a kid I coached in gymnastics for several years back when I was in college — kid was less than 10 then and is now in her 20’s) who is a travel agent so I have used her. We have had things happen to a couple of trips and she/her employees were very helpful in rescheduling one trip and getting refunds when a big trip my parents were taking to Alaska got cancelled in 2020 due to Covid.

Originally I was only using her to give her some business but I am more likely to continue doing so after the help we have gotten from her.


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[jgenie]

We have used travel agents for our trips to Egypt and our safari trips. Those were specialized trips and we wanted help figuring out safest travel options. We book all our other travel ourselves. I like to book our flights. DH likes to research restaurants and sights to see.

[StantonHyde]

Title says it all. I have started my spreadsheet for Hawaii and while I do love the planning to the point I am thinking of going to AAA on Friday and see if I can get something better. We haven’t used a travel agent since we planned our honeymoon in 2002. I feel like this is something I should talk to someone about in person.


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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" :-)

[georgiegirl]

My good friend used one on a recent trip to Colorado. They told the travel agent their budget($$$$) and what sort of activities they liked, and the travel agent set everything up. They have lots of money.

For Hawaii, I wouldn’t. It’s easy enough to figure out what activities are the best for families with older kids. Finding the cheapest flights from so cal shouldn’t be that difficult either. Same with lodging. Hawaii is so expensive as it is, and I wouldn’t want to waste extra $$$ on a travel agent unless I had extra money to burn.


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[AnnieW625]

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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[smilequeen]

We use one for a lot of our vacations, especially the international trips. We did use her for Hawaii a few years ago, but have not used her for Hawaii again because we kind of know what we want now (we have business there, so get to go more frequently as a result).

It’s been really helpful for us, not so much for great deals, but for guidance, transportation, hotel reccs, etc.

[marinkitty]

I personally do not, but where I live most people do use them. Many of my friends would not plan a trip without one.

[DualvansMommy]

Last time I used travel agent was my honeymoon, to Hawaii 17 years ago. I went with travel agent cuz wanted to break up the trip with a few days layover in California and island hopping with Maui, Kauai, and big island.

I think you can do it yourself, given you’re on the west coast so direct flights shouldn’t be too difficult. Fodor website forum is excellent, and like it better than TripAdvisor for some places. I’d only use travel guide if I’m doing South Asia region cuz I know I want to visit Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand. But rest of trips; family and solo have done by myself with combination of friends recommendations, guide books and Fodor travel forum pages.


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[baymom]

We love planning our own trips and have never used a travel agent. However, a dear neighbor friend is an agent and we used her this summer to plan our trip to South Africa. It was such a great experience to have someone else take care of the details! She selected the perfect places for us the stay and every detail was perfect. It was during a very hectic time for our family and we’re so happy that we had a knowledgeable, trusted travel agent make all the arrangements! With that said, I don’t know what that we’d use an agent as regular practice.