Book online vs. travel agent? Good places to travel in May/June?

vmj23

Other than small trips within the US that were booked on sites such as travelocity or expedia, I have not ever planned or booked a "real" vacation.  Is it better to use a travel agent when planning a honeymoon?    Any online sites you suggest?  I was thinking of Greece, possible a cruise, or just a tour between Greece and Turkey.   While I would be perfectly happy to spend a week on a beach somewhere, or at an all inclusive resort, my fiancee is not the type that can sit and do nothing.  He would be more interested in seeing experiencing other cultures and especially trying different foods.  Looking for a place that would be a nice compromise between then two.

Jells2dot0

Travelocity and Expedia are travel agents, but they are automated and their representatives do not specialize in certain areas of the world or travel for that matter. I you haven't done much traveling and you end up going to a place lke Europe, where there are a lot of transfers and activities,I highly recommend booking with a human agent who specializes in where you are going. A good agent will get you the best price AND provide a service that online cannot- an actual human who has been to these places and can provide insight as well as help if you run into any snags. They are there to help you through every step of your trip!

JoanE2012

Agree with Jells.  If your trip is more complicated, I'd go with a live travel agent.  We did that for our honeymoon to French Polynesia.  Our agent booked all of our main flights, inter island flights, hotels, travel insurance, etc. It was nice not having to try and arrange it all.  In addition, our agent had been there a few times and was able to provide recommendations and advice.

For more simple vacations that require just a flight and hotel, we usually just book ourselves through Expedia.  We did let our agent book our European vacation this fall simply for the fact that we wanted to give her the business.  

ETA: What is your budget?  We'll be able to give you better suggestions if we know it.

vmj23

 

JoanE2012 said:

Agree with Jells.  If your trip is more complicated, I'd go with a live travel agent.  We did that for our honeymoon to French Polynesia.  Our agent booked all of our main flights, inter island flights, hotels, travel insurance, etc. It was nice not having to try and arrange it all.  In addition, our agent had been there a few times and was able to provide recommendations and advice.

For more simple vacations that require just a flight and hotel, we usually just book ourselves through Expedia.  We did let our agent book our European vacation this fall simply for the fact that we wanted to give her the business.  

ETA: What is your budget?  We'll be able to give you better suggestions if we know it.

Thank you, both, for the advise.  I think a travel agent is the way to go.  I don't really have any set budget - maybe around $5000-6000?  Since I have never traveled out of the country, I really don't know what is a realistic cost would be.