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Experiences with Travel Agents?

gmiller598

gmiller598

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What are people's thoughts on travel agents? I've never personally used one but I'm considering looking into it. I've completely booked my own trips myself in the past including 17 days in the UK in 2013. I am considering going back to Scotland this summer for about 8-9 days. If I have all of the details of what I want to do laid out, would the travel agent be able to book it for cheaper than I would on my own? This won't be a golf vacation but attending the Open would be on the agenda if we do go again this summer.
 
Travel agent might be able to save you a bit, and will take some hassle off your shoulders.
 
I am using a travel agent for the first time for a river cruise in Europe this year. I'm not sure if I'm saving any money or not, but it definitely has made things easy.
 
I haven't used one in like 15 or 20 years. I honestly didn't even know they still existed - thought the internet killed that industry.
 
I always use a travel agent for flights/trips etc. I find it doesn't cost any extra and they take care of a lot of little things for you. As a relatively novice traveller I enjoy having someone to answer all my stupid questions.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I haven't used one in like 15 or 20 years. I honestly didn't even know they still existed - thought the internet killed that industry.
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Lots of internet travel agents actually, and still lots of people don’t want the hassle of sorting everything out so they go to a travel agent.
 
tequila4kapp said:
I haven't used one in like 15 or 20 years. I honestly didn't even know they still existed - thought the internet killed that industry.
Click to expand...
They seem to have made a nice little comeback. Seem to be especially popular in the cruise industry, and luxury vacation niche especially.
 
I rarely use one,unless it is a destination where I have no clue about the land. Sometimes they are able to find a better deal then I can see online


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I have no problem doing everything myself. I'm frankly pretty proud of booking my last trip to the UK which involved driving over 2,000 miles in the 17 days we were there and getting to see places that a tour type trip would take you. I guess I'm mainly wondering if an agent could save me the money on airfare and hotels. If anything I'll probably know exactly what cities or towns I want to be in each day. I just need to get from point a to point b and have a place to lay my head each night. I'll probably be the easiest client for a travel agent if I use one because I'll do most of the work.
 
One of my old bosses always used one, don't think his cost was much different than the trips I booked myself (when we travelled to the same locations). If you are doing lots of stops from different airports I would recommend at least looking into it.
 
Travel agents will have better recommendations on hotels and such and what tour companies are better than others.

As far getting tickets to The Open, the Mrs and I literally walked right up to the ticket booth and purchased them right then and there, with no possible upcharge.

Wake, what kind of European river cruise are you taking? A Viking one?
 
MWard said:
Travel agents will have better recommendations on hotels and such and what tour companies are better than others.

As far getting tickets to The Open, the Mrs and I literally walked right up to the ticket booth and purchased them right then and there, with no possible upcharge.

Wake, what kind of European river cruise are you taking? A Viking one?
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Yeah, I attended a day of the 2013 Open at Muirfield and we had bought our single day ticket in advance before we left but I do remember there being walk up sales that day. The course was not nearly as packed as I see here in the US. Heck, the attendance was probably higher at our local Memorial Tournament played at the course Jack named after Muirfield than the actual Open played there.
 
We’re using Pioneer Golf out of Austin, TX for our Scotland trip. I have no idea whether they saved me any money or not they sure the hassle of everything off my shoulders. Plus, my time has to be worth something.


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gmiller598 said:
Yeah, I attended a day of the 2013 Open at Muirfield and we had bought our single day ticket in advance before we left but I do remember there being walk up sales that day. The course was not nearly as packed as I see here in the US. Heck, the attendance was probably higher at our local Memorial Tournament played at the course Jack named after Muirfield than the actual Open played there.
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Weather related I’m sure. 50’s, wind, and rain make for a sucky golf experience hehe
 
Wake said:
They seem to have made a nice little comeback. Seem to be especially popular in the cruise industry, and luxury vacation niche especially.
Click to expand...

We've used a travel agent for a few years in booking certain hotels where the agents can get perks that aren't available to the general public. It has mainly been in the luxury hotel niche as Wake mentioned. For example, at a hotel in Mexico a few years back we got free breakfast every morning for 2 people as well as a guaranteed room upgrade. Put those 2 things together and we got about $1000 of value for free by going through the agent.

For a trip that the OP is talking about, they may be able to use an agent based out of Scotland to give them recommendations or itineraries to follow based on where the OP wants to go.
 
MWard said:
Travel agents will have better recommendations on hotels and such and what tour companies are better than others.

As far getting tickets to The Open, the Mrs and I literally walked right up to the ticket booth and purchased them right then and there, with no possible upcharge.

Wake, what kind of European river cruise are you taking? A Viking one?
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A Uniworld cruise on the Danube in June.
 
Our Disney trips/cruises were through a travel agent. She was invaluable when my father-in-law had a stroke on the cruise and needed to be hospitalized as soon as we got back to Florida.
 
While I havent used one before, we are going to use one in 2019 for DIsney, thankfully a very close friend of ours does it for a living and will help us out.
 
I use one for all trips and he has been a blessing getting me in and out of some pretty exotic places. His ability to book everything and have it all on one bill is also nice, I do pay a fee for his service but feel it is worth it to have his help any time day or night.

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We used a TA for our honeymoon and things couldn't have gone smoother. I will say this, if you could find someone you know or kind of know.....your trip will get some extras (or could get some extras)

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MWard said:
Weather related I’m sure. 50’s, wind, and rain make for a sucky golf experience hehe
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True.

Oddly enough when we were there it was mid 70’s and sun for the entire 2 weeks.


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For planning a "trip" overseas I could see using one. I wouldn't know the first thing about going over there so I would definitely use one in that instance. Going somewhere in the US though I wouldn't bother.
 
For sure use one. If you think you will save a lot of money by doing it yourself, you likely won't. TA's are excellent and can pull together the most cost effect and comprehensive trip for you in a fraction of the time you can.
 
gmiller598 said:
What are people's thoughts on travel agents? I've never personally used one but I'm considering looking into it. I've completely booked my own trips myself in the past including 17 days in the UK in 2013. I am considering going back to Scotland this summer for about 8-9 days. If I have all of the details of what I want to do laid out, would the travel agent be able to book it for cheaper than I would on my own? This won't be a golf vacation but attending the Open would be on the agenda if we do go again this summer.
Click to expand...
You know, sometimes my reading comprehension is challenged. I saw the title of the thread and thought of the old school brick and mortar stores we used to go to for a Vegas trip, etc. You are talking about companies that plan trips to Europe for golf. I get that those are travel agencies but in my head I think of them as something different.

Anyway, yes, I used one for our trip to Ireland last summer. It was definitely worth it. They have knowledge about golf course, hotels and restaurants. They can help tailor the trip to get you what you are really looking for. Some people want 36 holes every day. Some want cultural experiences too. That kind of thing. If you can swing it the single best thing our group popped for though our travel agency was a driver. He ended up being almost like a mini tour guide. And he knew things like restaurants to go to in every town we stopped at or passed through. It was worth every penny. FWIW we used Garmany Golf & Travel (https://www.garmanygolf.com). I recommend them.
 
My wife's cousin is one so she takes cares of all of our trips. She does good business and has people going out on trips all the time.
 
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