travel agents?

Deb, I always use a Travel Agent for booking international flights (after researching which flights best fit my schedule and preferences). I've found that they can often get me a slightly better price than I've found on the net, and it's also nice to have someone to call if there are any problems. I don't mind paying the small fee, and usually pick up my travel insurance at the same time. Not all Travel Agents will have information on good low cost Hotels, so may try to place you in "posh" accommodations, especially those which pay them a commission. Unfortunately, the RS Guidebooks don't have much information on Vieste or Ischia (I'm assuming that's what you were referring to?). BTW, if you need a good Hotel in Vieste, I would highly recommend Hotel Seggio. Be sure to watch the video on their website and BOOK EARLY. I'm not sure of public transportation to Vieste, so you may need a car (be sure to check on the "issues" for driving in Italy). My suggestion would be to use a combination of a Travel Agent for flights, but plan local transportation and sightseeing on your own, using the Guidebooks and the Internet. Good luck with your planning!

It depends what kind of travel agent you find. I fear most will rely on the most common easiest solutions, which may work well for airfare, but hotels would likely be name chains, trains based on what is available via Raileurope or put you in a rental car, all adding up to more expense than a "do-it-yourself" approach. Some agents that specialize in european trips might do better. Personally, my inclination would be to plan it yourself.

Truly the believe the vast majority of us who offer advice on this forum plan our own trips. Many of us have taken RS tours as well. There is a lot of information on this forum about travel in Italy, your sister has experienced it more than once and hopefully learned do's and don'ts along the way. Whatever your choice, suggest you consider flying into Rome and out from another city. Open jaw flying can save you some dollars and cents. Consider apartment rental as well. You NEED to start booking places now. Have fun.

The main advantage of booking directly with the places to stay or the airline is that if there is ever a problem, you will be dealing with the person/place you booked with. I use to use a Travel Agent years ago but after going to Europe every summer I acquired enough experience, and with the help of this web site, to do all the booking myself. I booked Italy months ago so good luck at this date. Happy travels

We used RoninRome. We used his coaching service and he was worth every cent. He helped us get lodging in the best areas and answered every question I had. Made for a fantastic stress free trip. Good luck!

Oh my! Thank you all for the feedback! I think we will do it all on our own. I will keep you al posted on how we make out! Thanks so much for the recommendation!!!

The main reason to work with a travel agent would be if you had some special requirements for the flight. But everything else you can do on your own. That's part of the fun!

I agree w/ Ken. I've consistantly find that my AAA travel agent gets me better prices than all those cheap flight websites for the Int'l flight over, and AAA's service is worth it's weight in gold!!! Still, I've used RS hotel and resturaunt recommendations. However, I've found that flying within Europe sometimes is cheaper AND always faster than trains. www.skyscanner.com is where I've been looking for flights within Europe. Happy Traveling!

Flying within Europe is not always faster than the train, once you factor in getting to/from the airports, getting through security, etc. But it can make sense sometimes for the longer distances.

Make a spreadsheet! I have columns headed Trip Day, Date, Time, Details/Possible things to see & Do, Notes and More. I add EVERY detail for logistics, for example all confirmation numbers, e-ticket numbers, names of tour guides, phone numbers, etc. I rough out the trip, adding all the info I know, then put things I need to arrange in red until I get them done (like the last thing I have to do for this year's trip is arrange tickets to the Galleria Borghese). I also did a page for the town we are spending several days in, including the hours and costs of all the major attractions, days they are closed, and RS recommendations on how much time they will take. A few days before we leave, I will verify all lhe information, then laminate the three pages (we're going for 23 days) so they will hold up our whole trip. This will go in the front of a soft theme binder with all the actual confirmations for flights, rental car, tours and attractions. As we do the activities, I will tear out the pages, and return home with just the laminated spreadsheet, leaving room for brochures, etc. we collect along the way. It is a bit of work, but I have great peace of mind kowing that all the details have been tended to, and it takes a lot of stress out of the actual trip. Bon Voyage! Jan B

I have to agree with Paul; but whatever you do, verify any lodging choice by reading the reviews in Trip Advisor. In fact, if there is no good travel guide lodging, we always mine TA for their pics. NEVER let a TA book lodging without you first reading the reviews in TA. We like "open-jaw" tickets (fly into Milan, Rome, and come home from Naples, etc.). Most of the time this is much cheaper than flying into and out of one EU airport. If we can't find "open jaws" that are to our likeing, we get 'across the pond", for a decent price, to any convenient EU airport, and then fly on one of the the lo-cost inter EU airlines to or from our final destinations. (We use Whichbudget.com to find them.) Many times, the trains can be a great inter-EU transportation option. We always make out a spreadsheet, with all of our info, and place a copy in each suitcase, in case the suitcase gets lost. Now I carry a copy of it on my iPhone, and in my netbook. We also give copies to anyone that may need to contact us. I also download copies of my passport, etc onto my electronic devices.

A year ago when we were planning our last trip to Europe someone on this site suggested using an excel version of a Calendar and noting the basics of your travel itinerary (hotel, flight/train departure/arrival time, waking hours that you are traveling (hotel to hotel) vs. number of hours that you have to sightsee, relax, wander and do all those other things on your vacation. It was a great way to make sure that we spent much less time traveling (driving in our case) than experiencing and enjoying Europe. Several days were scheduled ahead and couldn't be changed (cooking glass, Uffizi) and the rest just had ideas "penciled" in so we could decide what to do the day before or that morning. We always reserve lodging in advance so we don't have to spend time looking for lodging.

Awesome ideas!! I love the idea of a spreadsheet with all the details! Funny..today I grapped a notebook to start to do this, but love the idea of a printed spreadsheet much better! We went ahead and booked our own flights..and booked a hotel in Rome. Now we are trying to decided to take the train to Foggia (than bus to Viesti) or go to Naples area first than to Foggia-Viesti. Any suggestions? We were thinking if we went to the Foggia area first it would be like a big circle, with less backtracking. Any suggestions on Matera?