Why should I employ a travel agent?

There is no need to use a travel agent for booking trains and buses in Italy. It's easy to do yourself, and if you have any questions about how to do it or which bus or train to take, just post another thread here and ask.

Between Venice and Florence is an easy express train, several a day.

Between Florence and Siena is a Sita bus (you can literally google "sita bus florence to sita" for a schedule).

Some find getting to Sorrento more complicated, but I found taking a train to Naples and then and commuter train from there called the circumvesuviana easy enough.

See www.trenitalia.com/tcom-en for Trenitalia trains or www.trainline.eu (both Trenitalia and Italo trains).

You are paying for their service one way or another. I don't care what they say.
For example: If the hotel does not have to compensate them you will get a better rate on the hotel doing it yourself.

The reason to use them is if you don't have the time and/or don't take pleasure in planning.
A trip to Europe takes planning ; you have to research many things.
For some (such as myself) that is the first part of the trip and one I greatly enjoy.
If you and your imagination enjoy the planning aspect and can spare the time to research on the Internet all aspects of the trip ; ask questions on a forum when you have them or to a friend you know has traveled there before, etc... than for Italy a travel agent would never be needed.

Others would only be caused stress ; for them a travel agent is a good solution.
Others would never have the time between their busy work/life/home commitments to find excess hours to do the needed research and really need a travel agent.

Even the most frugal of us members would not recommend booking a trip to Italy on your own with zero research done and no help.

Never again will I use a travel agent! I have learned so much in the past year, I can do it myself without the anguish and heartache. You can too. All of it: planes, trains and hotels. The people of this forum are extremely helpful. The web and guidebooks are full of suggestions. If you don’t think you can arrange your trip, consider a Rick Steve’s tour. I am planning one for next year—South Italy followed by self tour of Venice.

Disclaimer: This is not an indictment of the travel industry. The travel agent for our 2017 Trail of Lippizaners tour was arrested on 9 counts of felony theft and computer fraud. We have not gone to trial yet. Chances of getting our money back are nil. If interested see my “Scammed” post from August 2017. There is also a follow-up thread.
FYI: travel insurance will not cover you if a travel agent defaults payment/steals your money/goes out of business.

I know people who occasionally use a travel agent to book airfare because they have a complicated itinerary and feel that TA's find better flights than they can on their own. But that's just airfare. I don't know anybody who uses a travel agent anymore to plan their itinerary or book hotels.

Personally I'm one of those who enjoy the planning, usually starting my research a year ahead of the trip. I like researching destinations, hotels (reading lots of reviews before making my choice), etc. I tend to be a bit anal and controlling sometimes when it comes to my trips and I don't think I could relinquish my control to someone else to choose the details for me. I don't think I'd like someone telling me I have to take the 8:10 train from x to y on a particular day, among other things. I plan my overall itinerary pretty tightly, but my day to day is planned pretty loosely.

Everyone travels different and if you don't feel comfortable, or don't have the time and resources, planning it yourself, there's nothing wrong with using a reputable travel agent. I just don't think too many people on here go that route.

i understand that I do not pay for their service; they are compensated
by the hotels, etc.

Hi Edward -
We did use a very highly regarded local agent once, back when both of us were working long hours and especially stressed, and we DID have to pay a fee for her services. In fact, I'm not sure how much I'd trust one who worked for "nothing", and they're not otherwise compensated for everything, such as train and bus "suggestions" and maybe ticketing for the same. She did a good job but since that time we've done everything on our own as we have more time and feel a little more in control. I should add that I also did part of the footwork for her as there were some very specific things I wanted. We also handled all of our sightseeing itineraries and attraction ticketing ourselves.

I know people who occasionally use a travel agent to book airfare
because they have a complicated itinerary and feel that TA's find
better flights than they can on their own

There are cases like the above where I would use an agent again but it would likely be rare.

The 4 cities you're going to cover are not difficult to arrange independently. Booking hotels won't be any harder for Italy than it is for the U.S. (we use booking.com a lot), and trains will not be especially difficult either. Do some reading up (great place to start: https://www.seat61.com/Italy-trains.htm) and you'll also get lots of help right here on the forum.

Can you tell us anything about your trip, such as how many days, what time of year, how many travelers in your group and if any have specific challenges we should know about, such as mobility restrictions?

One things most travel agents are not at all familiar with is European trains. Most buy through Rail Europe at inflated prices, and their commission is part of that inflation.

You were happy with your trip to Paris because everything went smoothly. Travel agents know that is what makes people happy (it makes me happy too), even if there is $500 to $1000 of hidden costs you don't know about that goes into the agent's pocket or to someone else's because the agent doesn't know any better. They just tell you how much it will be and you say OK. You have nothing to compare that price with. Kinda like walking into the a car dealer, looking at the sticker price, and then writing a check.

The nuts and bolts of trip planning are the same, whether you're planning on a trip in Europe or elsewhere. Only the details are different, and also levels of tourist infrastructure and info available. Some trips are by their nature more complicated than others but, once you have one under your belt, you take away your lessons learned and apply them elsewhere. I've never used a travel agent, hardly anyone I know in my age group has either. By the time I was traveling, everything has already migrated to the internet (many travel agents now are internet based, and consolidator sites like Expedia, etc. are defacto a type of modern-day "travel agent").

If you haven't noticed yet, there are a bunch of volunteers on this board providing travel agent services - for free. And they have a heck of a lot more expertise than many agents who have never been to places they are peddling vacation packages for. That's another reasons not to use one - if you want flexibility and not be steered toward lodging/rental car/etc. packages that you don't particularly want, then make your own plans.

The only place I could imagine using a "live" travel agent (assuming I could even independently verify their expertise) is somewhere that is either remote, not touristed, or where local specialized knowledge is really necessary or required and I couldn't obtain a similar level of service through my own research. So that rules all of Europe out because there are lots of trip planning resources already out there for my choosing. As far as consolidator sites that act as travel agents of a sort, I use them all the time.

Edward, I am another of those who really enjoys planning the details of my travels, and do it all myself, except when participating in a tour. There is certainly some learning involved, and if you do not learn this time around, then you will not know next time around either, and will be in the same situation. If you do not have the time or interest, certainly a good travel agent can be very helpful. I would just advise you not to use “any ole travel agent”. Be sure you are working with an agent who knows Italy well, and be sure to discuss your own travel preferences with the agent before they start — type and location of hotels you prefer; are you a morning person, or into nightlife; are you content to explore on your own, or would you prefer to utilize tours or a good local guide? are there special sites or activities that will require advance reservations and ticketing, arranged before you travel? And yes, certainly you will be paying for a travel agent’s services one way or another, including likely passing up any lodging that does not pay a commission to travel agents. Either way, enjoy Italy, a wonderful country and culture to visit!

One problem with asking this question on the RS forum is that most plan independently, go on Rick's tours or do a little of both as they gain experience with European travel. I'm in the "little bit of both" camp. I generally will book a Rick Steves tour (or my alternate, Road Scholar) then plan independent time around them.

I do have a friend that uses Costco to book her European trips. What I see is that in Paris she winds up staying in the big American-style hotels which are not my cup of tea. I prefer my smaller hotels I've picked out from the RS guidebooks or where I've stayed on RS tours, then gone back the next year to stay again. I travel solo so I want a small hotel that will more or less recognize me after the 2nd day! It makes me feel much more secure than a big establishment.

I've also had friends use AAA for their travel plans and wound up with some awkward things just because the agent had not actually been to Europe so didn't really know any better than the customer what would work best.

If you do choose to go with a Travel Agent, do try to get one who has actually traveled to Italy! Otherwise, the people on this forum have vast experience and are willing to share, as you found on your thread regarding Siena/Montepulciano. Key in on what someone said upthread - the travel agent IS going to make money whether it is off of suggesting expensive rail fares (they may not know better either) or chain hotels that offer commission. I'm pretty sure the hotels I stay in don't offer commission - I just book on the hotel website for the best rate.

That's another thing...be very careful about booking with online travel agencies. Book directly with your airline and try to book directly with the hotel. Often on the hotel booking they will throw in a free breakfast or a break on the room rate if you stay a certain number of nights.

Have you gotten Rick's Italy guidebook?

For those who venture to use AAA (or any other travel agency) to plan a European Vacation - have you ever asked the travel rep if they've actually traveled to the destination that they're "helping" you to plan?

Thanks everyone. Since we did Paris on our own, we were leaning that way and you have convinced us. AND we have you guys to consult with !

Is Naples a really bad airport to fly home from? Should we really travel back to Rome? I assume there are more flights available from there. We intend to fly to Venice from Northern VA.

Is Naples a really bad airport to fly home from? Should we really
travel back to Rome?

I don't know what would make it a "bad" airport (obviously don't expect a direct flight home from Naples to Northern VA). You'll have to price out the flights, look at the routing and connections, and compare against the cost of a two hour or so train ticket (and value of your time) to get to Rome...from then you can compare your options.

When I was not going on a tour, I have usually done all the arrangements on my own without the help of a travel agent.

The one time I did use a travel agent was when I went to the Balkans. I used an agency called JayWay Travel, based in New Rochelle, NY. They specialize in eastern Europe, and I liked working with them a lot. The agent I was working with was extremely familiar with the places I was going. He helped me work out a custom itinerary based on where I told him I wanted to go. For each destination, they provided me a choice of accommodations, and I selected where to stay based on my tastes and budget. Choices included B&Bs, boutique hotels, and guesthouses. They arranged a rental car, provided a local cellphone, and I had access to a local representative (based in Dubrovnik) who I could call if I had any questions, got lost, or had any other problems. They also booked my airfare. And the price was not any more than I would have paid to do it all myself.

I am currently thinking about another eastern Europe trip (this time Poland, Czech Republic, and eastern Germany) and I am definitely considering using them again. But I'm also considering doing all the arrangements myself, because I do enjoy doing the planning.

I think it really comes down to how much time and energy and passion you have for doing all the planning, how much you trust yourself to make good decisions that will result in a happy travel experience for you and your travel-mates, and how much you might appreciate having a safety-net in case you need some assistance while you're over there.

Now see??? You've already made a great decision! Venice is much easier to fly IN to than to try and fly back to the US from. There aren't many direct flights to/from Venice so often you have to leave out of there early, early and it's a pain to get the water transportation to the airport in time to get a flight to another European hub for the flight back to the US.

I have flown out of Naples Capodichino airport twice in the last 3 years (instead of the cluster-**** called Roma Fiumicino) and it was fine. Tons smaller than Rome, a little chaotic but not bad. Easy to get to as well.

Travel Agents do not work for free. They get something either from the items they book for you or they charge you a fee. I am happy paying it too when they provide the service I need. I would never use one who works out of their kitchen for free and doesn't have an actual office. I could do that myself.

I have not been happy with the AAA travel people as they just seem to want to sell packaged itineraries and most I have tried to work with get completely discombobulated if you want anything else. Even the travel agency my employer works with seems to be less able to book things than I am when I use standard web pages for airlines and hotels since they have had it beat into their heads that they have to always book the lowest cost travel no matter what. Last time I used them they sent me on a plane trip that took 12 hours longer than the one I wanted -- all because it saved $5.

I worked well with an agent in my home town, now retired unfortunately, who had done a lot of traveling to the places I wanted to go and always managed to get me great prices on everything and was able to change things on the fly if any difficulties were encountered.

Good travel agents tend to be local to you with offices you can visit, 24 hour phone answering, more than one person with each having different expertise that you can work with when you are doing something different.

Naples vs Rome departure: check airline rates. When I started pre-planning, I found that American charged close to $900 more to fly from Naples to Phoenix than from Rome to Phoenix. Remember that you’ll have train fare from Naples to Rome and maybe a hotel night in Rome depending on flight time.
Apps and websites i’ve found helpful for planning:
Maps.me is my go-to maps app.
Bookings.com
TripAdvisor
Rome2rio
Loco2.com was recently recommended & it looks very easy to use to plan train trips.
Hope this helps.

Nothing wrong with the Naples airport.
I flew out of their once and plan on flying out of there again when we go back to the Amalfi Coast next year.

Much better than going all the way back to Rome for sure.
Of course you could find much higher pricing or inconvenient schedules flying home from Naples compared to Rome
So that is for you to decide what is best but hardly the airports fault.

Italy compared to other countries in Europe has far less flights to/from the US ; business travel dictates the need to have those and Italy in comparison is not that popular a business destination.

When thinking about travel agents who are "free," remember this famous saying: "If you're not paying for it, you're not the customer -- you're the product."

It looks like I'm the exception to the consensus on this thread, as I do use a travel agent in some cases.

For domestic travel, I generally book flights, car rental, hotels, etc. on my own. For overseas travel, I tend to use a "combination approach", and always use a travel agent for flights and tours (other than RS), car rental (if needed) and any insurance that I might need (other than medical insurance - that's separate). I arrange hotels (often those listed in the RS guidebooks), flights within Europe and rail travel on my own. I do pay a small fee (can't remember the amount, maybe $50-100?) for the travel agent's services, but in the overall cost of a holiday, that's not a big deal. I do not ever use Trivago, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia or other online services.

My practice of using a travel agent for booking overseas flights proved to be a good decision on a trip a few years ago, when I was injured and required a stay in hospital. A call to the the travel agent and she took care of cancelling my original return flights, booking new flights and took care of other details such as airline medical approvals. She was an ongoing source of support and advice as I worked through the process.

I plan to continue using the services of a travel agent in future, and feel that the small cost is definitely worth it.

While there are some good travel agents, there are a lot more who don't have a clue. Case in point, a co-worker was planning her first trip to Europe-the British Isles and went to a friend of a friend's travel agent for help. Unfortunately, it seems the travel agent had not been to the UK in many years/if ever as information about the airlines, cities and currency was wrong(agent had obviously never used Google) plus suggesting tours that were more expensive that what could be had online. My co-worker did end up staying in the hotels she recommended but bought airfare, hotels and tours online herself.

Unless you're too busy in RL, I always suggest DIY especially with the information online nowadays.

My husband and I flew out of Naples-Paris-U.S. last Oct. and the airport was fine. It is a smaller airport and not far out. We spent out last day/night in Naples as we had a 6:30 a.m. flight. That was the only bummer!!

Ive used Orbitz to plan and book a vacation to London and the English Countryside ie: Glastonbury, Wells, Windsor, Stratford Upon Avon, with no problems at all- rooms were exactly as pictured, flights were fine, vacation was great- and you can sign up and earn “bucks” that you can apply toward your next booking be it car, hotel, plane, ect- they also have great packages- and I always use Google Flights to compare pricing on airfare- I am one who likes to plan and research myself. I also recommend Loco2.com as Ive personally used with no problems.
Happy Travels💫✨

There are pro.s and con.s to everything. I think it is important not to villify travel agents. These are honest folks doing honest work and deserve to be paid for their time. Yes, some make mistakes or lesser choices. Yes, some are unfamiliar with a particular place. But, we all make mistakes at work sooner or later and need forgiveness ourselves.
I want to share a positive experience I had. I booked online a place in Rome on the advice of an uncle. It was seedy upon arrival. Worse - we were "bumped" out of our room by the manager and not allowed to stay even one night. We fully prepaid this room well in advance. I argued with the guy and he sent me, my husband, and my young daughter walking with cash. (I think he got more money from another party.) He had a taxi take us to another place and took us way out - South of the Vatican. There was no one or no facility where we were left. It was peak season in Rome.
I literally just started walking with my family and our luggage with steam coming out of my ears. I learned just enough Italian words to make out a sign that said "travel Agency." We walked inside and asked for help. The lovely young woman who spoke broken English saved us. Not much was available for rooms at this point. I was so grateful for her help. Well worth the fees.
Travel agents started years ago before computers when communication between USA and other countries was expensive, slow, and difficult. Travel agents can still help folks who lack time or are not confident enough to make their own travel arrangements. Some can save money/time/confusion for clients. Some will have your back if there is a problem - like an airline strike. Some are good for booking group travel - like family reunions.
So, let's not trash travel agents. After all, Rick Steve is a travel agent.
Modern electronics have enabled many of us to be self-travel agents.

Rick Steves is a travel agent?

Someone said " I do not ever use Trivago, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia or other online services". Is there a reason for avoiding these services? More expensive than booking with an airline directly?

I infer from what has been said here that travel agents will tack on a fee for booking the flights, right? is there any way to assess what the fee will be? I guess when I get proposed flights, i can check with the airline although prices fluctuate daily so apples to apples may not be achievable. I did note the response here how having the agent helped with last minute changes. That certainly was worth an added commission.

How/where do you search and book airlines? What airlines do you like and which do you avoid? And it seems our airfare will be very high because we are flying in to Venice and leaving from Naples.

Not everyone has the time or interest in acquiring travel skills. Every time I read a thread in which someone has booked an itinerary in which there is not enough connection time somewhere (because thats what the computer generates), is unaware of extra fees, open-jaw tickets, or has a problem with making changes, I think that a good travel agent could have prevented that. I say good because not all are experienced either.

Like Ken, I use a local agent for overseas flight arrangements, even though I dont think they can get better fares than I can myself. I pay an extra fee ($50-75 pp) for this service. She will check-in for us, get seat assignments (even if I couldn't myself) advise on airport issues, and in at least one instance, helped resolve an issue with our return flights. Could I get by without her? Probably. But I like having a lifeline.

That being said, neither she nor any other agent I've come across, know enough to plan trains or a trip based on smaller hotels in Europe. They can look up the major US-style business hotels, but that's about it. I know RS has a travel consulting service (for a fee) and I suppose that would help someone who was not confident.

"Rick Steves is a travel agent?"

No, he and his company are not travel agents. In fact when you book a tour if you would like help with airfare and other arrangements, then the company will refer you to a travel agent they use. (Elizabeth something or other)

To the OP, The reason for booking direct with the airlines is if there is a problem (delay, cancellation) you deal with the airline. If you use a 3rd party online travel agency you have to go thru the agency to sort things out and finding an actual person to talk to is difficult. If you use a local travel agent you may be able to contact them and have them re-book for you.

To book open jaw which means flying IN to one city and OUT from another, you'll use the Multi-city tab on the airline website. You wouldn't book 2 separate one-way tickets. It's not necessarily more expensive flying open jaw but you'll have to check. If you get a cheaper fare in to a larger city, say in to Milan and out of Rome, you also have to figure in transportation costs, time and perhaps another night in a hotel in that larger city. It's best not to travel a long distance by train on the day you depart. You'd want to have the previous night in a nearby city.

Airfares to vary daily or sometimes it seems, hourly. When you see a fare you can live with AFTER you have done research you should grab it!

Where are you flying out of? Perhaps someone here has experience? I can help you if you are flying from North Idaho, hahaha, but I doubt that.
--->editing to add: I see you mentioned Northern VA, so I assume that means Dulles?

Also, if you live in one of the cities that has a Rick Steves meet up, you can go have coffee with them and get free advice that way as well!
--->editing to add: Here is a link to the last DC area meet-up notice. You might message them to see when the next one is planned.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/travel-meetings/march-4th-next-washington-dc-travel-group-meetup

I use Google Flights to research fares, then I go to the airline's website to book. There are other perfectly fine flight websites, but I've become accustomed to GF. It's one of the sites that allows you to set up a fare alert for a particular routing; you then receive email notifications as the fare changes.

Although I prefer to fly into the airport closes to my first stop--and am willing to pay some extra money to avoid dealing with a train on arrival day or a separately-ticketed (risky!) onward hop on a budget airline, it only makes sense to look at fares into nearby big cities. Sometimes the difference is many, many hundreds of dollars, and the rail connection may take less than 2 hours. So I'd take a look at the cost of flying into Milan and out of Rome instead of Venice/Naples--and also Milan/Naples and Venice/Rome. That will either be illuminating or it will confirm that there's not a huge amount of money to be saved.

Ultimately, that sort of trade-off is your decision; it's not something a travel agent can help you with.

Edward L,

"Someone said " I do not ever use Trivago, Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia or other online services". Is there a reason for avoiding these services? More expensive than booking with an airline directly?"

For domestic trips I always book directly with the airlines. For overseas trips, I prefer to avoid the middleman wherever possible as that can complicate things if there's a problem. I've seen a few examples of that with other people, and the typical scenario that occurs is that the airlines and the online services try to pass the buck to the other, with the customer stuck in the middle. My travel agent is not the same as an anonymous online agency. There's no way I would have had the same level of service from an online agency when I was injured.

Travel agents provide a service and like other service industries, there's a cost for those. Some agents are very knowledgeable and have experience with exotic destinations or complicated Itineraries, which can provide travellers with a memorable and problem-free trip, and can also help sort through any problems that might occur (ie: airline disruptions).

I don't remember what the travel agent's fee was, but it could depend on the service being provided. If it's just booking return flights it might be as low as $50 but if booking a cruise and holiday package, family trip or whatever, the cost will probably be higher. The agent will certainly provide the fees if asked.

Pam,

"then the company will refer you to a travel agent they use. (Elizabeth something or other)"

I believe THIS is the travel agent that Rick uses. I assume he's still using the same one?

Yes, that’s the one Ken! Thanks for finding it. I’m pretty sure theRS Europe office still refers to them.

On one of my early RS tours a couple of gals from the Portland area had used them. Departure day coincided with an Air France strike and this agent was excellent. Got them rerouted AND notified the RS office who notified our guide as well. The travelers had communication from the agent and the guide was up on the changes too. Worked well for them.

When I said "RS is a travel agent" - I meant that loosely. His company sells travel tours and his books/recommendations/TV shows help us to travel more easily. Sorry for any confusion. A travel guide in book form.