Travel agent

Wife, sister and myself planning trip to France,Italy. Only myself has been to France. Lots of small details we may need help with.

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and tailor a trip to you exact needs without needing a travel agent (which has been a dying breed for a long time).

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Wrong, yet this opinion is stated over and over again on this board.

There are so many details of good trip planning and destinations and unknowns especially out of the country for which a good travel agent will have detailed and extensive knowledge and fantastic recommendations. You would never have a clue if booking on your own without some real prior knowledge.

Plus it allows for frequent major room and package upgrades when booking through a travel agent at certain hotels and resorts worldwide.

Most services are free. We pays ours a small fee to plan and book our trips and it’s been beyond very worth it for us. She does all the research for what we want and provides multiple options to choose from, day to day itineraries, and makes fantastic recs we would have never known about or even thought about.

Ya me too. I figured out India I can figure out anywhere.

Sometimes I feel like I want to try one. It seems some of the bigger agents have some pretty cool connections for experiences you wouldn't be able to set up yourself.

Agreed, travel agents are unnecessary in modern times. If you’re lazy and won’t do your own research, but most TAs aren’t very well traveled. Most aren’t multilingual, so I’m not getting foreign travel tips from someone who doesn’t even speak the local language(s).

Europeanvacations.com you can plan every flight, your, train, etc

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Habz007

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Agreed, travel agents are unnecessary in modern times. If you’re lazy and won’t do your own research, but most TAs aren’t very well traveled. Most aren’t multilingual, so I’m not getting foreign travel tips from someone who doesn’t even speak the local language(s).

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Full disclosure, I use Inspirato. I usually book all of my flights, but the itinerary and properties are handled through them. If I'm at their property then they have locals who know the area, have special relationships with any local establishments, and will make sure I'm not wasting my time. So, yes, you can book a flight and/or hotel, but I will not have personal contacts around the globe to 1) make sure I'm safe and 2) make sure any excursions or experiences are top notch. I get that it's not worth it to some people. That's fine. You do you.

I’m posting from Hamad International Airport during a long layover. Headed to the Maldives. I booked this myself because it was easy: one flight and one resort. I’m a frequent international traveler and I book most of our. trips myself. It’s part of the fun. Mrs Bok is happy to leave it to me.

I used a travel agent for a trip to Japan for rugby World Cup in 2019. Inside Japan out of Bristol, UK. Trip was complicated and I didn’t have a good feel for the country. They gave me a bespoke itinerary with multiple stops and seamless transfers via private drivers and Shinkansen. They were incredible and I would definitely use them again. I also think a travel agent is ideal for any complex trip especially to somewhere where the culture and language are different. Japan is not Europe. Even so, I’ve seen some posters put amazing travel reports on here from Japan and Vietnam so it can definitely be done on your own.

I have a good friend who loves the group tours around Europe on a bus where you spend two days in a country following some dude with a flag through a cathedral before hopping on the bus for the next country. He is really risk averse so likes the group tours. I would hate that. I think that’s what most of the travelers on this board envision, hence the negativity towards travel agents.

To circle back around to the question, I wonder how much a local travel agent really knows. Because of the internet, you don’t need a travel agent anymore merely to book a hotel, flight or tour nor to rent a car. The added value comes from knowledge (and service). Most travel agents have an area they are good at: cruises, Disney, the Caribbean, ski trips, etc.

If your local agent has other experts to call on, then it can be really helpful. I might not use a local agent for Japan, but you could for more mainstream countries such as Italy.

Rambling a bit here, but I would say if you’re new to travel or new to a particular locale, a travel agent can add value. Same if you want piece of mind, a hassle free trip, and aren’t into the planning.

Not from Louisiana, so can’t recommend a local agent.

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I don't disagree with you but you didn't offer a travel agent recommendation either

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Well yeah…. That’s true. Lisa is great and extremely well traveled, and she runs her own business, but I’m not giving any further info. I don’t get paid to advertise for her

She’s not in Baton Rouge like OP directly requested, but I don’t think it really matters. Ours are all done online and by phone discussions. I’m in NOLA region. She works out of Atlanta/Birmingham area.


Edit:
To be clear, yes I also always like to plan my trips where I can, but I’ve come to realize the benefit of a good knowledgeable travel agent in recent years. There’s a lot to gain and plenty of free perks to achieve. Nothing to lose.

I NEVER travel in groups or buses. I’ve just seen this “argument” play out time and time again and seems like it’s usually on the OT asking about travel agents which I refrain from joining in an argument. But seeing it repeated here on the travel board where we should seemingly be out to help each other, yeah that makes me respond.

Also … no I’m not really triggered, jkylejohnson