[djmcmath]

I think it depends a lot on where you're going, what kind of trip it is, how long you're staying, and how comfortable you are with travel. I recently used Yampu Tours to put together a 17 day whirlwind trip through SE Asia. I got everything from diving in the Gulf of Thailand to sunrise at Angkor Wat, with no worries about where I was going to stay or whether I'd be able to find someone who spoke enough English to get me from the airport to my hotel. I'm a pretty seasoned traveler, but working out the details of timing and culture from 10,000 miles away to get a break-neck pace through an unfamiliar region spelled "travel agent" all the way for me. I've traveled with Yampu before, and I'd absolutely use them again for anything in South America or Asia, seriously. I never would have figured out Hua Hin without an agent -- the bus/ferry/van transfer would have been exceedingly complicated without someone who knew the region coordinating it.

On the other hand: In August, I'll be flying to Malawi to visit a friend. On the way back, I'm stopping in Zanzibar for some diving. It's a total of two locations over a two week period, both of which are either friendly territory or well-established English-speaking tourist zones. For that trip, I'll book my own flights and hotel, and figure out diving when I get there. No sense in getting help for that one.

Western Europe? They take credit cards, have wireless, speak English, and are friendly towards Americans. I've done enough trips to Europe that it'd be tough for me to justify getting a travel agent for any of those trips.

Just my perspective; my bar on travel agents is pretty high.