Travel Agent for Honeymoon, yes or no?

[SarahLovesJS]

I''ve never used a travel agent before, so I was wondering if they are worthwhile. Did you use one for the honeymoon or have you had any good or bad experiences with them?

Thanks!

 

[Ibiddie]

I''ve never personally used one, but everything I''ve read online says DEFINATELY hire one. My BF used one for his trip to Europe, and highly recomends them. My friend who went to China used one too.

Where are you planning to go?

It seems like if you''re looking at one destination, you might do better on your own. But if you''re planning on multiple destinations (like a tour of Europe or something) or somewhere that you need a visa for, it seems like an experienced travel agent could make things go smoother.

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

I have not ever booked a honeymoon, but I did plan my entire trip to Australia and spent WAY less money by planning it myself. I had originally contacted a travel agent and she put together an itinerary for me including hotel, airfare, sightseeing tours and passage between cities. However, when she said she could not reveal what the separate items on the trip cost since "her special rate was so great with the individual vendors that she was not allowed to reveal them to the public," I decided I didn''t like to be lied to and I wasn''t about to write a check for 4000 dollars without knowing where the money was going.

So I researched everything myself and found that if I kept the airfare through the travel agent and took care of all other things myself, I got a MUCH better trip for less money. It turns out that they give you a great deal on the airfare and make their money off all the other stuff I think. (in this particular case)

HOwever, when I went to Acapulco in college, my friends and I just booked through an all inclusive group type place, and I''m sure I wouldn''t have been able to put that together.

So basically, my answer is that it depends on where you are going and if you are looking for a sightseeing week or a "lay on the beach with mai tais and not a care in the world" week.

 

[buttercup80]

YES!

We''ve never used a travel agent before and I''m so glad we used one now - we aren''t even getting married until October, but I''m really happy so far. We were originally supposed to go to St. Lucia and had purchased plane tixx and put down a deposit and everything, but hte airlines changed the available flights and we couldn''t go there anymore. Our plain tixx were changed and the entire deposit was transferred to the new resort and we didn''t have to do a thing -no headaches or stress at all. PLUS, our rate is WAY lower than the advertised rate on the resort''s website. . .

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Hey everyone, thanks for chiming in so far!! I just wanted to clarify since I forgot to mention, we''re planning to go to Hawaii!

 

[Guilty Pleasure]

Date: 8/10/2008 5:29:26 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Hey everyone, thanks for chiming in so far!! I just wanted to clarify since I forgot to mention, we're planning to go to Hawaii!

Because it's not a "foreign" trip, you don't really have some of the worries that were mentioned. If I were you, I would get a recommendation for a travel agent from a friend, contact the agent and ask for a quote, and then see if I could beat it on my own. If I couldn't, then I would go with the agent. Be sure to be specific about what you want out of your trip. excursions, hotel star rating, etc. That way you can be sure yo uare comparing apples to apples.

good luck!!!

 

[bee*]

I never use a travel agent for any of my travels and I''m not using one for our honeymoon either. I just book directly with the airlines and hotels myself. I''ve always saved money doing it that way.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/10/2008 5:29:26 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Hey everyone, thanks for chiming in so far!! I just wanted to clarify since I forgot to mention, we're planning to go to Hawaii!

I wouldn't use one if you are going to Hawaii; I would read reviews on Tripadvisor.com and also look at packages through Pleasant Holidays and Expedia or VRBO (if you want to rent a condo). Do you know which island? When we go to Hawaii I research the best hotel for us and usually do either expedia or the 1st time we went we used Pleasant Holidays which is like a Travel agent but online and cheaper. I rather save a little bit of money for activities like helicopter rides, boating, etc. Just my 2 cents.

I am sure if you asked advice on activites we would be happy to chime in

The only time we used a travel agent for a trip was for our honeymoon to Italy; since we had people picking us up at the train station and chauffeuring us around (no rental car nor bus) and then taking us to the hotel or on a boat, etc and it wasn't just some package, we had to add seperate excursion's.

 

[Deelight]

Take the with a grain of salt as I have yet to find a travel agent with half a brain cell, I think I have just had bad luck with them although though I am hopeful about the current one.

For our upcoming trip if I didn't research flights myself we would be paying almost $2000 more just on flights because apparently the most expensive carrier is the cheapest??? unlikely. I had one travel agent stuff our tour dates and completely screw our holiday and because of that we lost our tour (she also lied about things which I verified with the tour company) we have had to reevaluate and now won't get to do all we want she then tried to book us on a crap tour which didn't do half the stuff we wanted or a $400 each more expensive tour or with another company which we didn't want and refused to fix the problem as she stuffed it, needless to say we refused to book, and her head office will be getting a nasty letter. Last year I canceled travel because of a travel agent that just couldn't process a simple request, and another again lied about carriers of flights if I can book the holiday myself for 2k why would I want to pay you 4k??? In the end we were over it and didn't take the holiday.

Travel agents get commisions to book you on certain carriers and certain places not always the best deal so sure use one but research flight prices and route yourself.

I do have an appointment with the hopeful travel agent today so far she does seem competent mind you this is the one who told us the 2k more flights were the cheapest until I got better a quote but she will beat that and discount our more expensive tour if we book it through her, if she does awesome we will book if not oh well we will do it ourselves.

I am sure there are good agents out there I just have yet to find one .

 

[jcrow]

what i did was research the heck out of it on my own (with hubs help)
then when we had everything nailed down and decided, we contacted a TA that was supposedly the one to go to for the island we went to. i had read lots of reviews, etc. online of her. we did that so that we could easily get trip insurance. so she made all the arrangements with the two resorts we stayed. and we handled the flight arrangements on our own.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Sounds like they''re overall a no-go! I will keep doing my research and do it myself.

I know there''s a lot of good info here on PS, thanks Skippy I will probably ask again as we get closer! I found a thing about helicopter rides, FI and I definitely want to do that on the big island. I also found some awesome-looking condos in Maui and in Oahu..hmm. I think someone suggested to me before on PS to look into condos. We also want to try to go stargazing on the big island. I saw something about that.

Anyway, thank you everyone! I will just take my time and keep working on it.

 

[jcrow]

we''re planning a trip to hawaii right now and we''re not using a TA. i just don''t think it''s necessary for hawaii, personally. but i''m a researcher. i''m pretty sure i read all, well at least all that i could find, treads here on ps regarding hawaii. plus i checked out a few other forums, websites, etc. on hawaii. so, i don''t feel like i''m completely blindly planning.

 

[jcrow]

here's the thread on hawaii that i started when i was trying to figure out which island(s) to visit. there are a few gorgeous pics to tide you over until your trip

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Thanks for the link jcrow!!

Man I

pricescope. Do you mind me asking if you think it''s possible to do the trip for under about $6k total? We found some more inexpensive oceanfront condos, but i am afraid they are maybe too good to be true since they seem so nice. Guess I am paranoid! Anyway, enjoy your trip!!

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 8/10/2008 8:11:56 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Sounds like they're overall a no-go! I will keep doing my research and do it myself.

I know there's a lot of good info here on PS, thanks Skippy I will probably ask again as we get closer! I found a thing about helicopter rides, FI and I definitely want to do that on the big island. I also found some awesome-looking condos in Maui and in Oahu..hmm. I think someone suggested to me before on PS to look into condos. We also want to try to go stargazing on the big island. I saw something about that.

Anyway, thank you everyone! I will just take my time and keep working on it.

We stayed here on the Big Island http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/. Last time we were in Kauai I used a condo, it was amazing, it had 2 bedrooms a kitchen, living room, bathroom bigger than my bedroom with a jetted jacuzzi tub for the price of a regular hotel rooms so if you research it isn't too good to be true. I just use Tripadvisor to cross reference places and also read reviews on the condos.


ETA: I also highly highly recommend the Island Revealed Series for each island; they tell you the safest helicopters, and best activites http://www.wizardpub.com/bigisland/bigisland.html I have bought all the books for each island so we do the best activities we can while there.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 8/10/2008 10:05:28 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 8/10/2008 8:11:56 PM

Author: SarahLovesJS

Sounds like they''re overall a no-go! I will keep doing my research and do it myself.

I know there''s a lot of good info here on PS, thanks Skippy I will probably ask again as we get closer! I found a thing about helicopter rides, FI and I definitely want to do that on the big island. I also found some awesome-looking condos in Maui and in Oahu..hmm. I think someone suggested to me before on PS to look into condos. We also want to try to go stargazing on the big island. I saw something about that.

Anyway, thank you everyone! I will just take my time and keep working on it.

We stayed here on the Big Island http://www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com/. Last time we were in Kauai I used a condo, it was amazing, it had 2 bedrooms a kitchen, living room, bathroom bigger than my bedroom with a jetted jacuzzi tub for the price of a regular hotel rooms so if you research it isn''t too good to be true. I just use Tripadvisor to cross reference places and also read reviews on the condos.

Sounds good!! I am going to the website now yaaay! Ty so much skippy!

 

[NewEnglandLady]

We used a travel agent for our Hawaiin honeymoon and it saved us quite a bit of money.

To be honest, I only went to the travel agent initially because we were torn about where to go and I wanted a.) To see if a travel agent could save us money (I seriously doubted this) b.) To get the travel agent's opinion on where we should go based on our personalities and c.) To see the difference in price for the trips without me spending 8 hours on the internet finding the cheapest flights, especially when many flights between islands (hawaii, tahiti, etc.), and sorting through the dozens of hotels.

D and I travel frequently and I always thought the cheapest rates were online, so I didn't expect the travel agent to be cheaper. She was able to put us on fantastic flights through both legs a trip at a much cheaper rate than I could find anywhere online. Also, she got us into the resorts (with a honeymoon package) for a rate I couldn't find anywhere else at all. In the end, I got a lot of very useful information from her about what destinations we'd like and we were able to go for about $1,500 less than any rate we could find online.

And the honeymoon was perfect!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Hmm..now I feel indecisive..okay maybe I should at least check-in with one to see what prices they offer, but also do my own research to make sure it''s a better deal. I think someone actually suggested that..haha..I will be quiet now and let others chime in, I promise, sorry!

 

[Deelight]

Date: 8/10/2008 10:55:25 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Hmm..now I feel indecisive..okay maybe I should at least check-in with one to see what prices they offer, but also do my own research to make sure it''s a better deal. I think someone actually suggested that..haha..I will be quiet now and let others chime in, I promise, sorry!

I just got back from this agent and because I researched the prices she beat all of them and offered extra discounts so all in all very happy so far with this experience, She still has to confirm a flight but she has done really well so far.

Just google cheap flight prices and see what you come up with and work from there .

 

[Independent Gal]

I agree. Just use hotels.com, tripadvisor.com, and kayak.com for hotels / resorts, reviews, and flights.

But then, I''m a control freak when it comes to travel planning.

 

[jcrow]

sorry if i missed it, but, which island(s) are you going to be visiting?

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 8/10/2008 10:55:25 PM
Author: SarahLovesJS
Hmm..now I feel indecisive..okay maybe I should at least check-in with one to see what prices they offer, but also do my own research to make sure it''s a better deal. I think someone actually suggested that..haha..I will be quiet now and let others chime in, I promise, sorry!

I think this is a good idea. We went to our travel agent as a starting point, then over the next week or so I tried to find the same trip for a lower price and couldn''t, so I went back to her to book it.

 

[Mediterranean]

It''s worth looking into, I think.

For travel to certain places, I would say it''s definitely useful. Friends of mine booked their own honeymoon to a place in the South Pacific called "Le Taha''a" which is apparently a tiny little private island with VERY limited shuttle-flights from where the international airport is located. They actually had to find a hotel room unexpectedly on the island where the airport was, because the timing of the flights was such that they had missed the last shuttle-flight to the Le Taha''a place....for the next TWO DAYS. Which kind of bit, because they STILL had to pay for their room at Le Taha''a, PLUS they had to pay for 2 more nights on the island with the airport (which apparently wasn''t the prettiest place0 and it put a hole in their funds for the honey moon.

If the place you''re planning to visit is remote, and the flights re really limited, or the airline service is dodgy in that part of the world, then, yeah, use a travel agent, no doubt.

I had some issues with connecting flights when I visited Mahe in the Seychelles islands, ad i was very glad i had used a travel agent, because my connection that was missed was in the Emirates, and I was a little nervous about spending too much time in the M.E. (sorry, my Ugly American syndrome is showing. It was actually really nice there).

Other stuff to use an agent for would be a safari, or a chartered windjammer-style cruise. Anything "custom" or out-of-the way requires it, I''d say.

 

[AsscherGirl]

We used a travel agent for our Hawaiin honeymoon and I am so glad we did! We had issues at every turn in the beginning of our trip - plane delays, rental car problems, and worst of all an overbooked hotel (we moved for one night out of a 2 night stay!), and our travel agent was able to resolve everything for us. We had arrived in Hawaii around 8:30pm (which = 2:30am East coast time) and did not call our T.A. that evening to let him know we were having an issue with the hotel. We called him the next morning, and he was so upset we didn''t wake him up (that''s dedication). He spent all day on the phone with the hotel working to get us the best room in the hotel for the rest of our stay, a room credit for the downgrade we took to the other hotel, reimbursement for cab rides we took to the USS arizona b/c switching hotels made us miss every shuttle that was available, etc. He was seriously awesome about it, and we were able to enjoy our day rather than spend the whole time we had on Oahu fighting with the hotel.

We also were overcharged by the rental car company and after the fact he was able to get us a reimbursement.

I researched everything anyway, and we basically told him which islands, which hotels and times we wanted to be doing stuff and he booked it for us (and the travel insurance). The price was the same if we had booked everything ourselves, but he was a huge time/life saver for the issues we had.

Our friends also used him for a trip where they were on a tour group for an adventure honeymoon. They were going to Fiji for one part and about a month before, all of the flights were rescheduled and cancelled. He was able to work it all out, and our friends didn''t have to worry about anything the month before their wedding!

The four of us loved working with him so much, we booked a very simple all inclusive vacation to Cancun this spring through him just so he could get the commissions. We didn''t pay any fees to him - he gets paid through the booking agents.

I think we had a unique situation and a unique travel agent, but just wanted to share that we had an AWESOME experience with ours!

 

[jcrow]

*~*Danielle*~* - was your TA an online one? or someone local?

 

[AsscherGirl]

Date: 8/11/2008 5:03:18 PM
Author: jcrow
*~*Danielle*~* - was your TA an online one? or someone local?

He was local (based in PA).