So far, I have done my whole trip by myself-which I do have to say has been alot of work-but rewarding. I have read this forum and others till my eyes can't see anymore. Someone at work asked me the other day if I had a travel agent (I still don't have my airline tickets-leaving in 4 weeks) They told me travel agents could probably get me a better fare-I seem to disagree with them. Is there any truth to this? Thanks for any come back!

Personally I don't use a TA anymore. Used to be they'd usually get a very good airfare but now when I check with them, they say they'll check with their consolidators. Then it's the same fare that I could get by checking the website myself. And I don't trust them in booking hotels. Mostly they aren't familiar with the hotels and are limited to what they're selling. I want to check the hotels myself and pick and choose the properties I want. Also I know exactly how much it costs.

<<Is there any truth to this?>>

Sure, there could be. I would use any and all resources you can think of to get ticketed as soon as possible.

Either way, I think that the best fare you can find today will not go lower. And it will go up $100 a week, except for the last week, when it might go up $400.

Sorry for the bad prediction.

Best wishes,

Rex

paula5, it is an easy enough matter to check the fares that an agent comes up with against what you can come up with on your own. With only four weeks to go, you are reaching the point where you could risk really getting yourself into an expensive situation if you don't lock in your tickets soon. You're also likely to end up in a middle seat in a middle row. I always book my own tickets and I'm fairly confident of my ability to pick out good deals, but I'm not sure that I understand what your strategy is on this.

I haven't used a travel agent in 25 years. My experience was that most of them didn't know boo about what I wanted, where I wanted it, and what price I wanted it at. That said, if you are 4 weeks out from a trip, you better haul a## to get airline tickets!! I don't know whether travel agents can get you better fares at this point or not, but you'd better explore all your options at this point. Fares to Europe this summer aren't pretty. You might want to try my consolidator, who always gets me the best fare I can get no matter what - Lewis Katz at Fare Deals. Dial 1-800-347-7006. He's at extension 109 and no, I have no interest in Fare Deals except that Lewis has gotten me some great fares to Europe.

I never use a travel agent, and haven't heard stories to convince me they can do better. Having said that... at 4 weeks out you need a plane ticket! That's always the first thing I book, then work the trip around that.

So far, I've not had a travel agent do any better than the fares I'd found myself. That's not a bash, and I think travel agents are in an evolving business. It seems the successful ones are acting less as brokers and more as travel consultants.

For someone who enjoys planning and research as I do, I haven't needed general consulting lately. If I were purchasing a cruise as a gift for someone, then I'd probably enlist the services of a specialist.

I would get those tickets very soon. Check all of the sites - Orbitz, Travelocity, Expedia, OneTravel, Airfare.com, and the airline's own websites and try to find the best deal before the 21 day advanced purchase period has passed.

Thanks for the advice. I felt the same way. My co-workers had me doubting myself. I had my trip on hold for the past month and here I am scrambling now. I will try the Lewis also and see what he can come up with. Right now my tickets are 900-1200. OUCH! Still going though.

I would put little credence in Rex's "prediction" which was presented more as "fact" that fares will increase $100 each week. But i would check with a travel agent if you can AND also do my own research on the web with consolidators, the serach engines..anywhere that seems realistic and then make a choice...as soon as possible.

You DO have a travel agent...YOU, and be proud of your hard work..it will be even easier the next time around.
Have a great trip.

I would put little credence in Rex's "prediction" which was presented more as "fact" that fares will increase $100 each week. But I would check with a travel agent if you can AND also do my own research on the web with consolidators, the search engines..anywhere that seems realistic and then make a choice...as soon as possible.

You DO have a travel agent...YOU, and be proud of your hard work..it will be even easier the next time around.
Have a great trip.

Thanks....I needed that! I am going to try calling one. The chase is on....

No intention whatsoever that my <i>prediction</i> - - and it was labeled as such - - is &quot;fact&quot;, in any sense of the word. Indeed, there are quite a number of posts here from paula5 and it is hard to piece together exactly what are the to/from Europe air travel requirements that she has - - from Providence? (or Boston? or NY?) to Paris? returning from? when, exactly? weekday? weekend?

The &quot;weekly increase&quot; was intended as figurative, not literal. Let's say that the best (published) fare to be found right this minute is $800-1000; three weeks from now, it could well be no lower than $1100-1300, and waiting until LESS than 7 days before departure, it could easily be $1500-1700.

But all this is speculation without clarification of what is needed.

Every site on the internet can surely offer more than an estate agent?

Expedia, travelocity, airmiles, etc. etc. etc.

Tripadvisor, Fodors, etc. etc. etc.

These are all you need to book a holiday at the lowest cost possible, travel agents are so last millennium.

Ya know, I've always planned trips myself but for my current trip I couldn't find any tickets for less than $725... and I checked all over the internet. I called a travel agent and she got me the same tickets for $593! So TA's are worth a shot. It doesn't take that long to call them and ask for rates anyway.

The generalizations that you can always do better wiyhout a T/a are nonsense. I have traveled extensively, I reasearch the web for pricing then call my T/A to see if she can do better. I NEVER pay her more than if i booked myself. I still get the expertise of a well traveled professional along with occasional upgrade vouchers for flights along with limo transport to airport. Some T/A are not worth it but others are.

Rex-I am traveling from Boston to CDG on June 12th.....which is exactly 4 weeks from today.....Coming home from FCO on the 29th. I am flexible around those dates. I am trying every option I have....just thought I look to you all for advice. Thanks!

Paula5,
If you have any concept of where you want to go and what you want to do, avoid Travel agents!
My son is a travel broker and thinks waiting until the last minute is the way to go.
I am not convinced as I try to get upgrades on international flights.
I need all (hotel, auto, etc)reservations before departure to make my trip comfortable.

Having a long-term relationship with a savvy travel agent can be a very good thing. Such agents usually have connections in the airline industry and can get you seats on a flight when there's an emergency or VIP treatment at a hotel for something like an anniversary. Those who speak foreign languages that their clients don't can handle communicating with hotels via the telephone. A good agent is to be cherished.

That said, these days if you're willing to do the necessary travel research yourself and search the web for good deals, go for it. Just keep in mind that it takes a lot of experience to anticipate problems and know how to get around them.

And no, I'm not--and never was--a travel agent.

It's kind of ironic, but I have seen some of the same posters that were laughing at the dying TA industry, were also the first ones to blame the airline, the hotel, the world when something went wrong with their reservations. Not everybody is savvy enough to read some small print, understand many of airline regulations, consider the fact that the nice pictures of a cozy hotel in France were from 20 years ago before it was taken over by a slum lord, etc...etc...

What I'm trying to say is this. For many people a direct human contact is needed and/or wanted. An agent will confirm dates before booking the flight/you may push a buttion with the wrong dates ooops!, extra charge. How many times have we seen that posted here? An agent may know that if you spend $50 more on a specific fare, you end up sitting up front to Europe, instead of squeezed in the back.

That said, not all agents are made alike. If you are going to use one, make sure you also do a little research before. Word of mouth, maybe an agency that specializes in the region where you want to spend the special anniversary for 2 weeks, where the agent actually travelled there and checked-out the properties.

I'm very good at finding the fares I want and need, but I have to be because I fly frequently. Just came back from TPA-SFO-TPA on AA for $134 R/T and sat up front for the entire itinerary . But I'm not ashamed to admit I used agents on 2 occasions, both for cruises. I looked and looked and I was sure that I absolutely had the best price possible. In the first case an agent out of Orlando, saved me about $300 and got me a cabin twice the size that I originally was looking at. The second time an agent out of Michigan (I live in Florida) saved me almost $400 on the same cabin. Both agents came from recommendations.

I disagree with the majority here that agents are useless and I also disagree that you must have one at all times. The truth falls somewhere in between IMHO!

When I travel I do it all myself. However, for my parent's first trip to Italy a couple years ago they went to a TA that specialized in that country.

They had their train tickets all reserved, drivers waiting for them for pick-ups, small-group and private tour guides, plus good hotels. It cost them more than I'd be willing to pay, and I'm sure I could have found better hotel deals. However, I couldn't have put them in touch with the great tour guides and drivers.