Cinemafreak

Hello,

I have quotes from each of these agents and would like to know if anyone has used either of them! One is cheaper than the other, but price does not determine quality. Tell me about your experiences with the agents and what service you got from the agent.


THanks!

bg_collier

I've only had experience with Fantasy Travel - one of their 3 nights per 4 island packages (plus Athens). They took care of hotels and Greece transportation.

Pluses - they were able to deal with a last minute cancellation of my travel partner and convert all reservations from doubles to singles. I'm sure that's no small feat in July. The hotels were very nice for the most part, and in Athens, in the thick of it (Eleckra Palace, if I recall correctly).

Minuses - some of the local transportation was not on time (the drivers, not the ferries), and in one case, a no-show. The latter, I found my own transpo, let them know, and they reimbursed me with no hassles. I figured this was mostly due to their contractors fault and not with the company itself. Of course, one could argue that a good company would only hire reliable contractors. I don't sweat the small stuff.

Overall, I was very pleased and would recommend them. I have traveled to Greece much cheaper on my own in other trips there. It is quite easy to do outside of July and August and any of the Orthodox holidays.

Regards, Bruce
Greece Travel Photos -- http://www.brucegcollier.com/galleri...level2_all.htm

mikewalsh

I also ised Fantasy Travel, two years ago for an Athens/Mykonos/Naxos/Santorini trip, and a colleague just used them for his honeymoon.

I can recommend them, I used Patra there. Good, fair price, good service, no complaints. Very responsive by email during the planning.

Mike

Postal

I used Dolphin Hellas a few years ago when my teenage daughter and I went to Greece. I was very pleased with their prices and service. I would certainly use them again.

MAS16

We used Fantasy Travel to coordinate our our wedding and honeymoon and they were fantastic from start to finish. I highly recommend them. I worked with Litsa and she was excellent.

chelsea1980

could anyone provide contact details for these 2 agents please??

Patricia

We used Dolphin Hellas in 2003 for ferries and hotels throughout Greece and found their service to be excellent, everything was great. Our agent, Uli Perschau was very helpful and answered all our queries and emails promptly. You can email Uli directly at [email protected] or visit the website at www.dolphin-hellas.gr Hope this helps.

MAS16

Litsa's email address is: [email protected]

jstockler

We used Fantasy for a trip to Greece and Crete in 2003. I had done a lot of research and they beat all prices--plus, they met us at the airport in Athens and gave us all the material we would need for our stay in Crete, including the agent's home and cell number if there was any problem. That proved useful because one hotel in Crete actually had overbooked, but they found us a better place and threw in a bottle of wine to boot.

chelsea1980

Many thanks guys!! All your useful information much appreciated! = )

TracyB

Also used Fantasy Travel for our trip to Greece in 2003 and the whole trip was flawless..I do recommend them.

stanbr

My wife and I are tracelling to Greece in May and will use Dolphin Hellas for the third time. Uli is our agent and is very efficient and helpful.
Three years ago we had to get to the airport for a 6 am flight and there was a taxi strike on.This was before the metro went to the airport. We stopped by Uli's office and she arranged for a private car waiting for us at our hotel at 4am.

One thing you should be aware of, Dolphin wants a photocopy of your credit card to book. We have done that three times and never had a problem, but you need to know what to expect.

jagangjee

Deciding between these one of these two or a local travel agent in the states. The women I am dealing with is originally from Greece and is working with another agent in Greece to get my prices (here in the states). The difference in price between her and Fantasy and/or Hellas is $500, she is cheaper. I have read some excellent things about Hellas and Fantasy, and I like the fact that Fantasy greets you at the airport to give you all your information, I also like that they are there in the event that anything goes wrong. However what I like about my agent, is that she is cheaper, and in the states?

The prices that Dophin Hellas and Fantasy are by far the cheapest that I have seen anywhere, until I contacted this local agent?

What would one do?

brotherleelove2004

Jagangjee, just be very sure that you are getting an "apples-to-apples" comparison of goods and services when you compare prices. $500 is a very large difference. If both agencies are offering the same, go with the less expensive one. If you're satisfied after doing some internet research on hotels and included tours, the chances of anything going wrong are not that strong. www.tripadvisor.com is a good resource for checking up on hotels and other services.

Consider this: If something does go wrong you'll have that extra $500 to cover the cost of making it right, and if nothing goes wrong you'll be $500 ahead of the game.

jagangjee

Good point brotherleelove....

The rooms are apples to apples, however we are getting an Acropolis view room at the Grande Bretagne instead of a Standard room, through our agent here. The $500 difference actually incluses the transfers, I figure I won't spend $500 in transfers for 2 weeks. Other than that they are apples-to-apples.

Although I have never worked with Fantasy Travel or Dophin Hellas, from reading all the posts a part of me wants to say that they are better? Then again $500 is $500 and all transactions will be done in the states.

The money does matter, but it is also for my honeymoon and I do not want anything to go wrong. Say the Ferry back home gets delayed, etc... I like the feeling of knowing that Dophin Hellas or Fantasy Travel are right there...

Thanks for the input, it is apprecited...

brotherleelove2004

Consider this--If your ferry back to Athens is delayed, there's nothing that any travel agent in Athens can do for you that can't be done locally. If you take the time before departure to check to see if there's a delay by using your hotel's concierge service or even a local tourist office (they're everywhere), then if you need to make adjustments you will have someone there with you to help, and you won't have to rely on someone being there in an office in Athens when you try to contact them.

Also, having your return home plans dependent on making a ferry is not a good idea. Give yourself at least a one-day cushion in case of just such a situation. Depending on which island you're on if things go wrong you might be able to fly back or take another ferry to a neighboring island for a different ferry or airplane connection back to Athens. Keep in mind that there will be some changes in the ferry schedules between now and summer. If you book now you might have to rebook later anyway to keep your itinerary fluid.

One more thing-If for $500 less you're getting a GB room WITH an Acropolis view, I say....No Contest!

jagangjee

Thanks Again Brotherleelove, well I think I have decided to go with the local travel agent because of convenience and price. However I am just afraid that all of this is "too good to be true". We shall see....

Thanks Again!

Anton

Both Dolphin Hellas and Fantasy are recommended by Matt Barrett's Travel site. http://www.greektravel.com/