We use a US based Travel Agent who has helped us plan several trips all over the world. He's associated with Virtuoso Travel (a world wide association of over 7200 agents in 20 countries) and calls upon "experts" in the different countries we visited to help plan itineraries. He's helped put together some very special and detailed trips for us.

A god travel agent gets to know you, your likes and dislikes and can tailor a trip to meet your specific needs.

Now, we make basic travel plans such as trips to see relatives and shot vacations to places we are familiar with , on our own but when we want something special, including trips to new countries or complex trips that include numerous travel legs, private tours, speciality hotels/resorts, etc then we definitely use our Travel Agent.

So, check around and find yourself a professional TA who does more than just book hotels.

Sounds to me like a TA shill. Only post, period.

Because Fodor's is a website specifically designed for and frequented mostly by self-planners, you don't usually get much feedback about the "using a travel agent" type questions.