Tag Archives: group trips

When is it still worthwhile to use a travel agent?

Use a travel agent, save your time and sanity ... photo by CC user 48086813@N03 on flickr

In this era of self-serve travel planning, it’s easy to assume that the travel agent is a dinosaur well on its way to extinction.

While this has been the case for the past decade, the pendulum has begun to swing back in the other direction lately, as many people have found the burden of coordinating their own travels to be a drain on their energy and their personal time.

When is it worthwhile to use a travel agent? The following three scenarios are excellent examples of when it makes sense to hire a travel expert.

When you are traveling internationally to an unfamiliar destination

You may know the ins and outs of travel within your own nation, and you might be aware of what it takes to travel to the beaches of Spain, but what about if you are traveling to Asia, or Latin America? These parts of the world often have a tricky series of visa requirements and hidden fees that would make the Byzantines crack a smile, as many independent travelers have found out about at the last minute.

Don’t be caught unaware: hire a travel agent that knows about the rules for any nation to which you might be considering a trip, and that actively stays on top of any changes that occur (that’s what they get paid for, after all!) in visa requirements and fees on a day to day basis.

When you have your hands full planning a wedding

Weddings are full of complicated plans that inspire nothing but stress leading up to the Big Day. Do you really think you’ll have the capability to plan a honeymoon while you trying to track down a reliable caterer or a DJ that will spin appropriate tunes at your reception?

Outsource this important job to travel agents at companies like Eshores (http://www.eshores.co.uk/), as they have a lifetime of experience at organizing romantic getaways for countless couples in bad need of a change of scenery to rekindle the love in their lives. Just give them an idea of what you are looking for, and let them handle the rest.

When you are tasked with planning a trip for a group of friends

While you bow to nobody but yourself when you travel solo, traveling with friends is a completely different matter altogether. Unlike the freedom of your backpacking days, you now have to consider the wants, desires and needs of multiple people, and for many, the logistical nightmare has the potential to suck the joy out of the trip for you, the anointed travel expert in your group of pals.

By letting a travel agent handle the detail work after filling them in on the needs and wants of your group, you’ll have all the fun you ought to have on a journey with your buds.