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The use of brick & mortar travel agents seem to be obsolete. How do you plan your BIGGER vacations, like 1-2 weeks somewhere like to another country in which you want a knowledgeable person who can give you the best for your money & know the in's & out's of various places, secret tips, etc.? (I'm not really talking about a little 2-day getaway.)
I'd like to go to the 2020 Olympics in Japan, but I'm wary about planning such a huge trip like that all by myself & how legit & reputable are the online travel planning companies? Please give me your go-to travel planning company that YOU use please. Thanks a lot!
The use of brick & mortar travel agents seem to be obsolete. How do you plan your BIGGER vacations, like 1-2 weeks somewhere like to another country in which you want a knowledgeable person who can give you the best for your money & know the in's & out's of various places, secret tips, etc.? (I'm not really talking about a little 2-day getaway.)
I'd like to go to the 2020 Olympics in Japan, but I'm wary about planning such a huge trip like that all by myself & how legit & reputable are the online travel planning companies? Please give me your go-to travel planning company that YOU use please. Thanks a lot!
I pretty much just use the internet. Gone are the days when we are dependent on travel books that are most likely out of date, there is so much information available and it is all capable of being accessed from a smartphone.
I belong to a couple of travel focused groups and I may put out a feeler for suggestions of things to do in a certain city. But in all honestly, the internet is essentially that inside person. There are a host of sites like a Yelp in every country that will help guide you where to go. Unless you just really want someone to do all the work for you, you have more than enough time to start researching for the trip you want. You should do things like find Japan related groups on Facebook, look for Japan boards on travel sites, or even this site. I would look at Japan's groupon site to get some insight into possible activities to do while you're out there.
Internet mostly but I do have a couple of travel books I trust . Sometime I take them with me. I used an agent the first time I went to Europe, have done it it myself ever after. Right now we're getting ready for a three-week domestic trip largely by train and I'm making a binder with our reservations, and notes from places like CD. I overplan and probably a lot of what I bring along won't be used.
Internet. LOTS of research including reading reviews for places we plan to stay. I do print out some things and take them in a folder like confirmation pages for hotel reservations or flights just in case.
I enjoy the research. Honestly I think using a travel agent would take the fun out of it.
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I like surprises and for years I let the universe decide where to send me. I have traveled enough to know there is beauty and interesting things to see everywhere! Or maybe it would be more precise to say I let economics decide where I should travel.
I look for whatever is the big bargain. Maybe the Euro dropped and Europe looks good. Maybe there has been a huge downtick for travel to Tahiti and there are bargains to be had. Perhaps the State Department issues a warning and prices drop. Or there are too many cruise ships on a particular route and not enough passengers.
Bargain hunting has led me to places I never would have just picked on a map.
We just did a three week trip to China and Japan all on our own. We hired a guide company for China, but made all hotel and airline reservations ourselves.
The use of brick & mortar travel agents seem to be obsolete. How do you plan your BIGGER vacations, like 1-2 weeks somewhere like to another country in which you want a knowledgeable person who can give you the best for your money & know the in's & out's of various places, secret tips, etc.? (I'm not really talking about a little 2-day getaway.)
I'd like to go to the 2020 Olympics in Japan, but I'm wary about planning such a huge trip like that all by myself & how legit & reputable are the online travel planning companies? Please give me your go-to travel planning company that YOU use please. Thanks a lot!
I'm guessing that you have worked out by now that nobody much uses a "full service travel agent" anymore (and there are few of those left). You used to just tell them where you wanted to go (I actually remember when anyone who wanted an Airline ticket went to a Travel Agent) and they worked out all the details ..... and took their commission. Even Travel Agents who Specialize in particular areas do their business over the Internet. It may seem daunting, but it is really so much better than the way we used to do things. Consider this - the BEST way to get Value and the "Best for your Money" is to be Pro-Active and make the decisions yourself after some investigations. Lot's of places to ask for advise.
A good place to start - 2 day trip or 2 month trip is Trip Advisor, which is not anywhere as good as it was in the beginning. They have also "Commercialized", but the they still give good reviews for places to stay, places to eat, excursion and a link to a local Forum that will answer questions.
I haven't used a Travel Agent for over 20 years - why would anyone do that when they can actually see a picture of the room/home/apartment/condo/cottage you would be staying in?
An Alert for anyone who has used VRBO or HomeAway for Vacation Rentals - they have added a surcharge of anywhere from 4-9% as a "Service Fee" on top of the Rental Agreement. Owners are not happy, Renters are not happy ... both will be looking for alternatives. I hate to see that, because I rent using both all the time.
Not much else to add (Tripadvisor & their forums, Yelp, VRBO/Airbnb, basic internet), except I would also try to seek out local newspapers online editions. Many larger cities here in the US also have alt-weekly newspapers with online access that list happenings that the bigger newspapers leave out (concerts, festivals, events, reviews). I'd also advise signing up for travel rewards programs...like if you know you're going to rent a car from Thrifty, go ahead and sign up for their rewards program...you may find out you get some little unexpected perks (as I did...got to bypass a 45 min line in SFO just because I was a rewards member and extremely infrequent renter).
Finally, if you're going to a very high traffic area like Disney or California Wine Country, you'll find quickly a plethora of online resources devoted specifically to that subculture of travel. Disney, especially, has nearly a paralyzing number of online resources both official and unofficial. If you find a high traffic website that is focused on a particular region, sign up and ask questions. Most people are glad to help.
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