I could have actually booked it myself with better flights, less lay over time & more direct routes. I flew from Phoenix, AZ. direct to London (8hr. layover), then on to Athens, Greece arriving at 2:30am (no bus or trains running – so shuttle into Athens with specific point drops or cab). The next flight was to Thessaloniki in the north, a 3hr 20min. flight via Iraklion, Crete, for what is a 50-55min direct flight with the same airline, leaving Thessaloniki for Jerusalem, I flew through Bucharest, Romania taking 6hrs to get to Tel Aviv when flying with the same airline as in Greece would have been 4hr 20min. Returning to Phoenix I again had an 8hr layover in London.

If I had booked the flight myself round trip with United I would have gotten into Athens approx 4 ½ hours earlier, & flying within Greece & to Israel the flights would have been more direct, saving me time & money. Overall I could have saved about $1000 & many hours sitting in airports or on planes. I will continue to book my own flights in the future when traveling to Europe or elsewhere.

For example in Germany the hotels are rated in numbers of stars based on the amenities provided. Fewer amenities, which may include items like a pool or hot tub or hotel dining room, means few stars. There are 2-star hotels that are in better shape and with nicer rooms than 4-star hotels that cost a lot more.

You can end up on a terrible trip if you don’t do research yourself. Just because a travel agent seems experienced, doesn’t mean they are.

We spent two weeks traveling around the Yucatan Peninsula and booked our rental car and several of our accommodations in advance online. I used the Cadogan guidebook to help me plan our road trip itinerary and for suggested lodgings, then found them online. The only problem we encountered was with our cabana in Tulum at the end of our trip, which the proprietor had double-booked. That was sort of a bummer because that was our “splurge” place to stay. Overall, I think it was worth booking it online ourselves considering the money we saved.

I always say – 2 sets of eyes are better than one. I will work with my clients who like to plan their own trips and can look for things like Visa requirements, better flight routings, wholesale rates on hotels, itinerary suggestions (other ideas and often to cut some out…many people are over ambitious when planning long itineraries), provide destination reports and information and more.

The most important thing is to get an agent you like and work well with and develop that long term relationship with them so they get to know and understand you.

Some of my clients who enjoy booking on their own, then book on my online booking engine and they then know that if their are flight changes or cancellations, natural disasters, supplier bankruptcies and all the other unexpected mishaps that can affect even the simpliest of trips, that I am there for their assistance.

Happy travels everyone!!
Carl

I recently did a trip (3 weeks) to Croatia that included multiple transfers and flights and it went off without a hitch. Portland – Frankfurt – Zagreb – Split – Zagreb – Dubrovnik – Zagreb – Frankfurt Portland. All said the flights cost me $1100 and I got Star Alliance miles for all of them! There were also numerous bus and boat trips that were also in that itinerary but you get the idea.

I spent probably 8-10 hours researching the flights before I booked them. Yeah, I could have saved some time by going through a travel agent, but sometimes the research is half the fun of travel.