Travel agent or no travel agent?

Nikki71

My fiance and I are working with a budget of around $3,000 for our September honeymoon. We want an all inclusive in Cancun, Rivera Maya area.

Looking online... we can easily do 5 nights for even below our budget and we are all about saving money if we can so my question is: should we use a travel agent even though I see good prices online? Is there any kind of TA guarantee that you won't end up spending more than you would booking online? Also, about how much does it cost ot book a vacation through a TA?

Thanks!

jelenybeany

I can tell you I contacted four travel agents who were recommended to me and not a single one was able to match the prices on travelocity. I've taken multiple vacations using travelocity, expedia, and priceline and never had a problem. I had one travel agent who was recommended to me by a frequent poster on theknot tell me I was "dreaming" if I thought I could spend 7 nights at an adults only AI in Mexico for less than $3,000.

Through travelocity I booked 7 nights at the Valentin Imperial Maya in their Emerald cateogry room (they have 6 room categories and this is the second nicest) with roundtrip airfare from Portland, Maine for $2600.

That being said I did a lot of research. But the prices I was getting were waaaay higher from the TAs. And although they do a price match, the TAs couldn't price match the $50 coupon I got through Travelcoity, or the fact that if I booked through ebates.com, I got another $65 back.

Not sure what airport you fly out of, but if you leave the Monday after your wedding from IND I found 7 nights at Excellence Playa Mujeres (adults only) for $2766 including airfare for both of you. If you don't care about adults only, the Royal Solaris which is well reviewed is only $1714 for both of you. Live Aqua in Cancun, another adults only is $2682. So don't let a travel agent tell you you can't do it.

aragx6

I love planning trips and doing all the research. I probably should have been a travel agent. Therefore, I never use them because to me the planning is part of the fun. If you're not crazy like that, I think TAs can be super useful.

allychase

I say travel agents are outdated, give you overpriced vacations and you're better off booking online. Why do you think travel agents are free? The money is obviously coming from somewhere (your overpriced vacation). My in laws booked a trip through a local travel agent to Grand Cayman for 2200 a person for 5 days and 4 nights, the hotel was on the opposite end of the island and you couldn't even swim in the ocean because of the reefs. When my fiance and I went to orbitz, however, we booked a 10 day, 9 night trip to Aruba for 3000 total for the both of us, including hotel and airfare, a 100 dollar beverage credit, roundtrip transporation to and from our hotel, a sunset cruise,and more. Yes, we had to do more legwork but what reviews do you get for hotels from a travel agent? On orbitz we can hear from real people the pros and cons of each hotel, and from doing the research ourselves, we saved thousands and had a perfect vacation. We will NEVER use a travel agent again.

[Deleted User]

I use both. I've been working with a great agent for a while now and she's awesome. If she can beat the prices I find online, then I book with her. If not, then I go with the online agency. She always gets me upgrades, transfers and an excursion or two for the same price that I find online for just hotel and flights.  She's traveled extensively, personally and professionally, and is always able to give me good recommendations. When booking my wedding, I initially wanted to book a more expensive hotel (which would have meant a bigger commission for her), but she steered me towards a different property because she knew that I'd like it better. I still read trip advisor and do my own reserach first, but I always check to see if she can get me a better price. It doesn't hurt to ask.

A travel agent is just like any other professional. Some are great, some are good and some are bad. You just have to do your research and pick someone reputable.

Nikki71

This is helpful! Thanks everyone for the posts!