Do any of you ever use a travel agent?

I have used travel agents in Europe to make train/bus/hotel reservations. It is often easier than going to the train or bus station to do it.

kWe have a local travel agent get our airline tickets going and coming back. That's all. We do everything else ourselves. Thre reason we use an agent is so we will have someone to contact if flights are suspended or otherwise disturbed by acts of nature.

Sharon, The "short" answer to your question is "Yes". I continue to use a Travel Agent for making at least part of the arrangements for each trip. I usually research the air fares, routes and connections using a variety of websites, and then have the Travel Agent make the booking. She often finds me a slightly better route or slightly better price. There's usually a fee of $50 or so, but in the "big scheme" I don't find that to be a problem. There are two reasons I use that approach: 1.) As Monte mentioned, if there are any disruptions with the flights for whatever reason (strikes, volcanoes, etc.), it's nice to have a T.A. available to arrange new flights. 2.) Here in B.C., all licensed T.A.'s are covered by a mandatory Travel Insurance fund. If the airline goes bankrupt (which has happened in recent memory), it's relatively easy to recover costs without dealing with the credit card firm. I also tend to use the T.A. to book car rentals, if I know in advance that I'll be renting. You should be able to plan most of the trip yourself using Guidebooks or the Net, but I believe it's a good idea to use a T.A. for some things. As you'll be travelling with your two Granddaughters, will you need a notarized document from their parents stating that they have permission to travel? Don't forget to check the expiry date on everyone's Passports. Happy travels!

I'm with Monte. Use my travel agent only for airline bookings for the reasons outlined.

We also use a travel agent for booking int'l flights and have called on his services at least twice to solve flight problems en route. I value the peace of mind for that. Sometimes he is able to add a hotel or airport transfer at a better rate than I could book it, or get us a few perks for free. And yes, be sure you have notarized letters for your grandchildren, signed by both parents, allowing you to take them out of the country. Usually no one asks, but I have had to show the letter once when travelling without my husband.

Sharon, We used to use a TA in the 90's and early aughts, but with the growing ease of travel information, accessed through electronic devices, we do not any longer. I could see using a TA for large groups and complex itineraries, but sadly they are going the way of land lines, fax machines, cable tv and newspapers in print. We can get the same deals, minus the commissions, and can change our vacation plans on a whim.

Thank you all SO much for your responses! Just happened to also think that now it's not just about finding a place to stay for my husband and myself - there will be 4 of us! This trip will be more complex so this help could be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I don't use a travel agent, but I have traveled almost exactly the same route (albeit from Washington DC) that you are. What I usually do is buy a multi-city ticket U.S. to LHR and returning ARN to U.S. I generally buy a separate one-way ticket from LON to ARN (usually on SAS or BA; be careful as Ryanair flyes to Skavsta which is way out of the way). Flights out of London are generally pretty competitive. I usually find the total price is lower than trying to put all three legs on a single ticket, but of course you should check both options. I do most of my searches using kayak.com. I generally buy the tickets directly from the airline. I've used a travel agent at work, but not recently for personal travel. I think your experience with the airlines is similar to what I've encountered with travel agents; some are good, some not so good. I get very frustrated with our work travel agents when they offer me something and I know there is a better option; I have been in situations where I have told the Travel Agent about a better option; If you are going to use a Travel Agent, make sure that you get one that comes recommended by someone you trust. I spend a lot of time looking for the best flight options for me and I'm not sure that a travel agent would do better.

Travel Agent is used for our airline tickets, rental cars and arrival/departure hotels. We've used the same Agent for several years and are quite pleased with her service. She arranges our 'tropical' trips too.

I've made 9 trips to Europe since 2004. Never used a travel agent for anything, and I could never travel as inexpensively as I do (less than $100/day) if I had a T/A do it. Airfare: I always book online. Never had a problem. Once, after I booked online, I called a travel agent to see what she could find. The "best" she could get was what I had already booked, but she wanted an extra fee to book it. Accommodations: Love staying in small, family run places, especially Privatzimmer in German. Those are not accessible to travel agents. I don't think they could find me anything for the €32/night I average. Local transportation: What I don't buy at the station, I book online on the Bahn website. Those are the lowest possible prices for standard fares, but I usually book Savings Fare tickets for longer trips using express trains (ICE/IC/EC) for €29/trip.

I have never used a travel agent and don't plan to do so in the future. I like hunting down the best deals myself, anyway.

It's been near eons since we used a travel agent given decent or better Internet travel search engines which fosters competitive prices and preferred itineraries. If you find a good travel agent that understands your concerns, the modest commission is neglible.

I have not used a travel agent in this millennium. It was strongly suggested that I try Rick's travel agent for airfare when I took a Steves tour in 2000. I saved hundreds over her price quote by booking online on my own. What travel agent is available 24/7? I travel with a cell phone and contact the airline myself if problems develop. Plug the numbers in beforehand and do not join the hoard in line for re-booking. Why add a middleman between you and the airline? "So interesting when I've worked with the airlines directly - sometimes I get someone who is very helpful and will look at various alternatives..." I would never phone an airline for tickets, they will not tell about cheaper/better flights offered by their competitors. Book online for better itineraries and lower prices. I can see that a good travel agent could save a harried person's time or be invaluable to a rookie traveler; however, there is no guarantee you will get a good agent. All that said, if you have to ask if you should use a travel agent, you should probably use a travel agent.

We have traveled extensively with out two sons and by ourselves and never found one trip to be more complex than another. Not sure how four people add to the complexity of the trip other than the additional expensive. Have not used a travel agent in 20 years and am not sure what they would do for me.

I've used them a handful of times, and it's been mainly on the disappointing side. I can handle most things on my own and enjoy doing the research. Unless they have first hand specialized knowledge, I do pretty well on my own. :)
For example, just now I had a ticket on PLUNA for September and the airline went belly up. I took care of researching the flights and in the end, I will pay less for the replacement flight and get in a couple hours behind alternatives that run $150 more. I'll be flying on BQB, which has all of two planes and flies out of the airport I'll be at only a couple of times a week. I don't think that a travel agent would have been able to do much better..

I have decided I am going to do this on my own and hope I can pull the timing off correctly. I've done it for 20 years so not sure why all of a sudden I've become nervous about it. (I decided to do this after talking to a Travel Agent and hearing what their fee was!) Thanks to all for your input.

I don't use a TA. For me, the planning is a big part of the enjoyment of a trip. I can plan and anticipate for 6 months before going.

I checked my files and see that I did use a travel agent for transatlantic air travel this millennium after all, $1008.10 for 8/1999 and $1114.30 for 9/2000. Is it just coincidence that the airfare I bought online dropped to $579.16 for 3/2001, $529.00 for 2/2002 $383.30 for 3/2002? I gave up on travel agents after the 9/2000 one charged me $40 for the four of us and then refused to mail the tickets. I drove the six miles to pick them up and then cooled my heels while she giggled on the phone with her boyfriend. Long out of business now, the agency had been incredibly successful, their owner a pillar of the community.

Some time ago, probably about 10 years, I went to a local travel agent and asked about traveling in Germany. She handed me a glossy magazine style brochure with packaged tours. That's what she knew about traveling in Germany. A few years later, I saw an advertisement for a course offered by the travel agent department at the local community college entitled "Plan your own trip to Germany". The course was "taught" by a travel agent who had just returned from her first and only trip to Germany, a packaged tour, and she had brochures about the tour, which you could buy from her. Bottom line, most travel agents I have met aren't very knowledgeable about European travel. A lot of posters on this website are much more knowledgeable. T/As do know how to sell packaged tours. If you are lucky, they might know how to buy railpasses from RailEurope or book expensive accommodations on a booking website. None of them are going to know how to get you a Bayern-Ticket or book you into a Zimmer in a small town. But, if you don't want to plan a trip yourself, and money is no object, sign up for one of Rick's tours and have a travel agent find you airfare.

Sharon... the one thing I can comment on since you are doing it yourself (good choice) is whenever I have to call an airline for a complex flight or linking two tickets together or trying to use miles is that if I don't get a helpful agent I will just hang up and try again. Sometimes they become so involved in helping you on your trip they will spend a lot of time. I do not have to pay extra for booking on the phone as I am a ff with Delta, however even when I had to pay it I did so to be sure I had it all right when traveling with my grandchild. Probably a good idea for the letter, but I have taken a number of the kids to Europe and never been asked, especially if they are old enough to answer the questions themselves. I have had a few problems with flights and not sure how I would have gotten ahold of a TA anyway... just go to the ticket counter and the airlines will straighten things out for you.

I leave next week for a trip to Europe and for the 1st time used a TA. My son is on a study program in Germany. I fly to meet him, we will travel around Europe and fly home from Amsterdam. I used this TA since she was booking the flights for my son's group and I needed to change his flight home to be Amsterdam in August instead of Munich when his program ends in July. This agency is associated with Lufthansa and had "euro" in the name, so I felt comfortable that I had an expert in European travel. I always do my own domestic flights, hotels, etc. but thought that leaving these flts to a specialized european TA would be a benefit. The cost was slight ($30 for my ticket). I am not so sure I got what I needed. The flt she booked for us is 9am Amsterdam time, which is just a waste of a day to me. I was not offered any natives, she booked the ticket and asked if it was acceptable (I gave her a range of 3 dys). I was under some time pressure, as she needed an answer to ticket my son with his group. Earlier I asked if it was better to return from Paris or Amsterdam, which was not answered so I picked Amsterdam. Turns out there are few flights to EWR from AMS and I would have had more choices from Paris. Also, I just rechecked my etickets today to find the seats booked on our return flight had my son and I 5 rows separated. I was able to correct that with a click on the United website. But wouldn't you think the TA would have booked us seats together? Maybe it was because I was working as an aside to the group travel, or I wasn't forceful enough but I would think a TA would have better assessed my needs. Perhaps she didn't see the prospect of return business with me, but I was hoping I had found someone that I could entrust with booking my future European travel. I don't think a TA was my answer.

And Cindy's experience is why I won't use a TA. We've had flights get cancelled as we were lined up to board (ugh). All we needed to do was call the airline directly, and let them go over all of the various combos of possible routes back home - then we chose the one WE wanted, and not what some TA thought looked good. Yes, that can mean a 45-minute phone call. But that rarely happens, so... Sharon, I've booked European tickets and planned trips for my husband and myself, and I've booked European tickets and planned trips for the two of us AND his parents - THAT was waaay more stressful! The two of us can roll with things if something goes wrong, but with his parents also in the mix, I was more concerned with uncovering ALL of the possibilities for everything. I was responsible for them! And, trying to seat the 4 of us together (a requirement), trying to choose a time of day - whether late or early - that wasn't too extreme for them, etc. AND if I made reservations on the wrong day for FOUR of us, that's a lot more expensive to correct. And on and on. Just do your thing like you've always done it! You'll be fine... Are your granddaughters too young to stay in a room by themselves? If necessary, can each adult stay with a granddaughter, or will they freak out for one reason or another? It sure would be easier if you could book 2 doubles, rather than needing a quad...

Thanks, Eileen. My granddaughters will be 14 and 16 by the time we take the trip. Our daughter tells us she will be comfortable with them staying in a room by themselves. I have done a bit of looking, and it seems not so easy to get a room to accommodate 4 people, so I imagine I will have to go with 2 rooms.

I've only used a travel agent once, four years ago when I was going to Belgium for a medieval archaeology program. One of the other students in the program didn't want to travel to Belgium by herself so I said we could fly together. We had a travel agent set up our flights because I wasn't comfortable owing someone I just met, a lot of money; or having that person owe me. Our flights cost $1,400 each on BA (purchased in April 2008 for a June departure date), which is the most I've ever paid for airfare. For the home portion of the flight, the agent booked a connection in London from Brussels that was less than the required 2 hours, so the Brussels airport staff had to rebook me on a later flight. I wouldn't use a travel agent again, for planning trips to Europe.

I have not used a travel agent for probably 15 years now,, I book everything myself. I like knowing all the choices,, not being presented with 2 and asked to pick one..I like saving money, and I like not staying in chain hotels..

I haven't used a travel agent since 1999 so I can't recommend any for you. You are correct, it can be luck of the draw on whether their help would be worth it. I'd be more inclined to ask a friend who is good at trip planning to help but that is just my opinion. Good luck & happy travels!

This decade only once, for work for my husband. Her routing gave him 30 min to make his overseas flight. She ignored that he was closer to Chicago where he would have had his choice of flights rather than this smaller airport with only one flight a day. I took over after that.

There is still at least one good reason to consider a travel agent for a trip to Europe- going to Russia outside of a package tour or cruise excursion. I'll be blunt... although I love Russia, the government there isn't famous for their transparency or consistency. Best to let a knowledgeable professional who understands the language and the red-tape to help arrange things for you.

I have Asian-American friends who get great deals on travel to Asia with TAs in their communities. The deals, however, don't seem to be there for Europe. We used to have a local agent who was able to get great prices on tickets to Germany (better than calling the airlines directly) in the 80's and 90's, and they did a great business with the local German community. Like a previous poster, I called them after I booked my tickets a few years back, and her quote was about $150 more than mine for 4 tickets. I think I would only use them if I was going someplace I had no familiarity with or someplace like Russia- and I would still double-check every detail (like what planes they were booking me on!)

The only time I use a travel agent anymore is making connections with children, but I don't mean connections in which we all are traveling together. Last year one daughter went to Canada with her grandparents and the rest of us met her in New Mexico to visit other grandparents. Then we all flew home together. Getting us all seats together on the last flight turned out to be practically impossible without the help of an agent. It added about $20 per person to use an agent. I wouldn't use one for your trip. If the agent at the airlines isn't helpful, say goodbye and call back. Often the next person you get will be helpful.