Travel Agent or Go It Alone?: Things to keep in mind when booking a trip

From restaurant reservations to concert tickets, there’s nothing you can’t book on-line these days. When it comes to booking trips, we might be making our vacations more stressful than they should be if we book them ourselves—especially when it comes to more complicated travel plans. So how do you know when it’s time to enlist the expertise of a travel agent? Here are a few instances.

1. Exotic adventures: You’ve always wanted to go on an African safari or to Antarctica. Exotic international trips like these are complicated, and there are many tour companies out there that offer them. Your travel agent knows which companies are reliable and which aren’t. Also, some tour companies don’t offer flights or pre- and post-accommodation. Your travel agent can book your flights so that you have enough time to catch connecting flights, get the appropriate visas, arrange airport transfers and book your accommodation.
2. Booking flights, hotel and car rental: When you’re going to a place where you have no family or friends to accommodate you, finding good flights is the least of your worries. Spending hours on-line for good deals on a hotel and car rental is frustrating, and you’re never really sure if the hotels you find on-line will match the website’s photos. Part of a travel agent’s expertise is knowing which hotels are up to code and which aren’t. Same goes for car-rental companies. Sometimes travel agencies can get you better deals when you book flight, hotel and car rental packages.
3. Business travel: If you travel a lot for business, you may want to use a travel agent. The agent will have all your travel preferences on file (aisle seat, business class, vegetarian meals, type of car rental, king-bed hotel room, etc.), so all you’ll need to do is give the agent your dates of travel, preference for times and let him or her do all the booking. This will save you time, especially if you don’t always go to the same destination.
4. Travel advisories: A good travel agent is required to know what people need legally in order to travel. An agent will be current on which countries need visas for travelling Canadians and for how long these visas will be current; sometimes foreign governments will suddenly change their requirements for foreign travellers entering the country. Another thing a travel agent will keep current on will be travel advisories the Canadian government issues. If the place you’re travelling to has a natural disaster or a military conflict occurs, a travel agent will alert you and offer suggestions. If you’re travelling internationally, a good travel agent will ask for your passport and take a copy. This is good for a few reasons: the agent will be able to send a copy to a foreign consulate/embassy for visas, get correct spelling of names, check expiry dates and if you happen to lose your passport, at least you know your agent has a copy on file.
5. Travel options: If the trip is a self-guided tour, a good travel agent will offer you two to three different options at different price points and itineraries based on your preferences. They should also give you “buffer zones” in case of unforeseen situations or you want some relaxing days. Sometimes a travel agent has good deals with tour companies—especially if it’s a niche travel agency—that he or she can pass onto you.

If you’re unsure of what to do, go to a travel agent for answers. They may have options you never even thought of. Look on-line to get a ballpark price then make an appointment with a travel agent to get your trip planned properly.

For more travel articles click here to read about Destination Weddings or click here to read about Travelling Canada.