DrG

I have always made my arrangements myself. But this trip is more complex.
Airfare to Dublin, B&B or hotel there, train to Belfast, B&B or hotel there, ferry to Scotland, train to Edinburgh, B&B or hotel there, train to London, B&B or hotel there, plane home.
I am looking for a good travel service to help with these bookings...travel agency?

abram

Think of each segment as a separate trip and it shouldn't be hard to arrange it yourself.

thursdaysd

Absolutely no reason to think a TA can do a better job with this than you can. Most US TAs specialize in cruises and Disney. Or corporate travel.

For the long distance flights, book multi-city - start at skyscanner.com or itasoftware.com, best to book with the airline directly once you find a good routing.

For train info, see seat61.com. You can get the best fares booking ahead on the relevant train websites, seat61 will link you to the right ones. It should also have info on the ferry, but you can also use this for ferries:

http://www.directferries.co.uk/

and this for trains:

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/

For B&Bs I would consult some guidebooks, but tripadvisor and booking.com are also useful resources. Also, take a look at the TRs on this site, and ask this question on the Europe board.

janisj

There is nothing at all complicated about this itinerary -- and I wouldn't use a TA for it.

When is your trip?

I do wonder why you want to ferry to Scotland since it seems you won't have a car (no mention of driving anywhere)

The ferries land in far SW Scotland and Edinburgh is on the far east coast. Getting to Edinburgh from the ferry would require a train to Glasgow, walking about 4 blocks from one train station to another and another train to Edinburgh. You should definitely consider flying from Belfast to Edinburgh. OR -- are you only going to Belfast because that is where you catch a ferry to Scotland?? If so, you can fly from DUB to EDI.

For more help, re-post on the Europe forum.

patrina

Of course, it's better you go for a TA, but make sure he is quite reasonable with his pricings and all. And also, make sure he is a licensed one.

thursdaysd

@patrina - Why? I see you are a new poster. Are you a TA?

michelhuebeli

Kinda counterintuitive to recommend a TA on a forum of do-it-yourselfers who volunteer to give advice to one another, no?

suze

You're already got it all figured out. Just book it. I'm not sure how a Travel Agent would help.