Vacation Packages? Best to do it yourself or through a travel agent?

I think it probably depends on how much you know about where you're going and how much you want to research/plan yourselves.

Your TA will do alot of the work, staying on top of discounts or credits that may become available, but then you're kinda stuck going through them when you want to book things or make changes, etc.

If you know where you're going, what you want to to, where you want to stay and how you want to get there you will like have less headaches just doing it yourself.

Through priceline we can go 8 days from New Orleans to Ireland and include round trip + hotel for 3600. However, we were wanting to do 3 days in Paris and because Priceline thing is set up for round trip we can't. when I set multiple destination I have to book hotel separate and it cost a lot more since I lose that discount.

FWIW, we booked everything ourselves for 2 weeks traveling Ireland, Scotland & England. 3 of us. Stayed in B&B's, twice rented cars, took flights from NO to Ireland, Ireland to Inverness, Edinburgh to London, and London back to NO.

Total cost about $5400 ea, and that included tours and/or admission prices paid in advance at nearly every stop, plus Edinburgh Tattoo tickets at $250 each. Did not include food (breakfast included at each B&B), evening entertainment, miscellaneous things.

Travel agencies gave us quotes for 10 days with lots of stops in whiskey distilleries and woolen mills, staying in hotels, and it cost more.

Doing the itinerary and booking was a headache, but well worth it imo.

eta: This was in August this year. We booked everything in Dec/Jan & took out travel insurance.

Note: we had never been overseas in our lives.

Travel agent always but especially with multi destination/stop trips. I disagree with it being more of a hassle if you want to make changes but less of a headache and usually with a better resolution. It shouldn't be more expensive apples to apples to use an agent. Whether you use an online travel agency or a personal travel agent there are commissions/fees being paid to them by hotels and potentially the airlines so why not use the one that will provide dedicated service to you and the one that supports small/local business.

Think my issue right now is 10 days through priceline/cheaptickets I am looking at 4000 total for 2 people..... vs multi destination I am looking at 7000 for 2 people.....

that would be 8 days in 1 place and 2 in other as well but a 3k difference....

Yeah... looks like multi-city I am losing the discounts available and would be paying that extra 1500-2000

Yeah we've been looking and as I said on the money board thread I wanted to spend about 3500 (which I've found) just traveling to multiple locations I lose the extra discounts.
Thinking of just doing the 10 days in Ireland and taking the 5 hour ferry tour to Scotland and enjoy.

Vacation express. Thank me later