Sometimes buying a ticket from an agent is better than online
 

No, Im not an agent or a troll! I looked on line with Expedia and Orbitz for a ticket from Boston to Mexico City. It ran about $750. I called a local agency that specializes in Latin America. They quoted a ticket for $450. THe only drawback was with this ticket you couldnt accumulate frequent flyer miles. With miles it was $590. I read in Budget Magazine that it was a good idea to shop at these local ethnic travel agencies. I guess so! My last few trips have been purchased on line but from now on I'll definitely shop around before I buy my next ticket. Hope that this helps someone

Carlos: With a level of uncertainty & restrictions as well, I've found I do better most of the time booking through a travel agent rather than online. Online is fine for travel research for your chosen destination but that's about it.

I couldn't disagree more. Travel planning is a lot like cooking, if you enjoy it, it's great fun, but if you hate it, it's nothing but a chore. <BR><BR>I enjoy planning my trips, so in pre-Internet days I would send away for brochures, read guidebooks, etc. By the time I got to my travel agent, and I tried several, each one would try to steer me toward standard packages, with complete disregard for my tastes and interests.<BR><BR>Once I got online about ten years ago, I've done all my travel planning online, gotten some great deals, and have never looked back.

Carlos you're dealing with a specialty market in the case of your Mexico trip. Agencies can make deals with the tour industry personnel in Mexico which might not be available to the average online client.<BR>Same is true in South America, Russia, China, etc.<BR><BR>The generalizations about travel agentsnot giving better rates than online shoppers is just that....a generalization. For a trip from Chicago to Denver you won't find much an agency will do to beat online deals.<BR>The farther from the mainstream, the more likely some agency somewhere will have an angle.

What I am saying is that is doesn't hurt to do some comparative shopping. I could be mistaken, however, I believe that agents contract from the airlines a certain amount of tickets for some destinations such as cities in Latin America at a cheaper rate. This is why the agents' tickets MIGHT be less expensive than even what you might find online. I just checked today Orbitz, Expedia, and Cheapesfares and they are still $250. more expensive than what I was quoted from the travel agent. These savings can go pretty far in Mexico!!!!!