travel agents!
 

mine is really helpful.

i used to think with the internet; that being a travel agent would be a bad idea.

i now understand the value. i have a Machu Picchu hike coming up. housesitter booked, pet day cares paid for.

my knee is fractured. hahahahha..just perfect. typical Vash M.O. - Timing is indeed everything.

my agent just rallied. she moved things around, and we are still gonna go up, but now me and my knee brace will be on a train!! she also booked us a few other day excursions while the remaining group does the multi-day hike. i lost some money, but nothing soul crushing..plus i am still on cloud-9 from dodging the bullet on more serious injuries.
deep down inside, i think my wife is happy we are on the train. i couldnt convince her to keep the hike portion. i'm bringing our Garmin Radios to meet up at top. i am bummed i wont be hiking with my brother.

Whoa there....what happened....I know there's gotta be a thread here ;)

Nevermind....I see the title...haven't read it though. Heal up fast :)!

I have never had a good experience with a travel agent

Only once. I told an agent I needed a first class seat but it had to show an economy class fare. She did it.

All other experience (especially with company travel agents) were mediocre at best and usually horrible.

I've had two experiences with travel agents and they've both been great. Last year I made a mess out of my vacation dates, doing two back to back trips between Taiwan and Japan before heading back to the states, and my agent helped me without any issue. Just told me to message her whenever and give her two day's notice and she would help get me onto my next destination. Got a great deal on a nice week long sightseeing tour as well. I'll do my booking through my agent again just because the dates are flexible, so if I wanted to stay in one country longer than another, she'd get me taken care of without a penalty.

I used a travel agent twice in the UK to take my daughter first to Amsterdam from the UK and a few years later to Paris. Both trips were done at short notice and the travel agent arranged all travel and hotels. Not cheap but was seamless.

If a person was not familiar with a country then it can be a crap shoot with booking hotels which can fall short of expectations. A travel agent can help in this regard.

Travel agents are good when you want a "curated" experience... whatever that means. :)

GF and I went on a cruise. The travel agent gave us first timers a few tips tricks and traps. And the price was the same as if we had bought online.

I have not personally used a TA since the early 90's. I did use one last year for my Mom who decided to fly on same flight as her Sister to Amsterdam out of Vancouver. Mom lives with us in San Diego so the plan involved flying Air Canada a couple days prior to departure. The guy got her sitting next to her sister, arranged airport assistance and transportation. Money well spent...otherwise I don't need that level of planning at this point.

I don’t have much good to say about them. I booked tickets to take my wife to the Mayo Clinic. We got all the way to the gate, about 20 minutes from boarding the flight when we discovered it was to Rochester, NY. (The Mayo is In Rochester, MN)

I did not know they still existed.
Have not used one in 20 years.

Well...

One day I turned up at the airport. Bags, tickets, ready to go. Couldn't see my flight number.

Turned out I had online booked the right time of day, day of the week, just the wrong month.

I still online book simple flights ,but quadruple check ALL the details.

I am the sole travel agent for my family. Flights, hotels, trains and cars. Lots of good sites with tips and tricks. Especially like the site "The man in Seat 61" for Euro train travel planning. Last year was Ireland. Year before was Vienna, Prague and Bratislava. It takes a fair amount of time to arrange it, especially when using points and miles. This year it is California, Utah and Wyoming. Usually find myself using Priceline for domestic travel.

Hah! My wife and I recently met up with a new financial adviser. We arrived 24 hours early. He handled it well.

Used them years ago traveling overseas as a young punk. Since then, my wife books flights and such through the net thinking the TA's fee will be higher then doing it ourselves. Until my friend convinced us to go through her TA for our up coming trip to Calgary. It turned out to be a few bucks cheaper but everything was taking care of. Money well spend just so I don't have to disagree with my Supreme Commander over stupid crap. I say the experience was good so far. Will tell you in 3 weeks

Travel agents usually offer one advantage: they have insurance that will reimburse you if the airline or cruise line goes out of business after you pay, but before you travel.

In the unlikely event your airline closes up after you book, self booked travelers get nothing.

I remember when we should have used a travel agent when instead I booked a hotel in San Fran near the Mission area. Can't remember if it was a Holiday Inn or Best Western but it was cheaper compared to other areas. A travel agent would have likely booked a better hotel as they would be more familiar with what is secure.

No problems except a little sketchy walking through Mission area to the wharf area.

my lady is from Peru. she has the local intel. she told me about an awesome pumpkin donut in cusco.

she has been so valuable so far. but yea, for most trips my wife is the brains behind the operation.

I can't imagine using one but can see why others do. Part of the joy of travel for me is doing all the research on my own and discovering everything I can before I go. I busted my knee in a swimming pool in Australia while on holiday. Great hospital experience and while I went home early I didn't pay any extra and sat in 1A and 1K on the way back (back when the UAL first class experience was really first class). Only bummer was I couldn't use a clutch for awhile.

I have used in country guides though and have found them to be very valuable.