Many people look to travel agents in order to try and plan the perfect vacation. However recently I have been talking to quite a few people who have been booking their own travel arrangements because they found out that they can save a lot more money in the long run. So in this article I will take a look at both the good and the bad things about travel agents, then you can determine for yourself whether or not travel agents are really a waste of money.
One good thing about travel agents is that there usually is no additional cost to you. Their fee comes from the vendors whose product they are trying to get you to buy. The down side of that is that you will probably end up paying more for the travel package then you would if you had booked it yourself. So if you really take the time to examine the numbers you may in fact be paying their fee anyway. You should also consider the fact that it will take you some time to find the travel agent that works best for you. Remember each travel agent is different. For example one travel agent may only deal with cruises while another may deal with very exotic or tropical vacations.
You will first need to decide exactly what you want to do and then find a travel agent who is capable of giving you some additional options. A lot of people don't like spending the additional time and energy that is needed to find the travel agent. Of course this is a personal option and you will have to decide for your self. In order to determine whether or not you are getting a good deal from the travel agent you may have to contact the hotel or whatever your destination is in order to see if you are really getting a reasonable price. Of course not everyone really thinks about trying to find out whether or not they are getting the best deal possible, but you really should take the time to do so, especially if this is your first time going to a travel agent.
Some people also thing that travel agents with special training, are able to offer you better travel packages. While this may make them a little better at what they do it really does not guarantee that you will be able to get a better price. So before you decide to use a travel agent try thinking about a few of the things that I mentioned in this article. If you have a positive or negative experience from dealing with a travel agent why not post it in the comments section below this article.
