Which travel agency? (best, vacation, airline, Rome)

[alka]

Hello everyone!
I am looking in to booking an all-inclusive vacation to Mexico(Riviera Maya).
I can not decide which on line company to use: Bookit.com,Funjet.com,Apple.com ?
Which one would you use ? Any other recommendations?
Thanks so much!

[cb at sea]

I wouldn't use an online agency at all! We have some actual travel agencies with real people in our town--that way, I KNOW where to find the people I give my money to!

[allforcats]

I agree completely with cb at sea -- online places that will take your money and then do who knows what with it, are not your best choice.

Use a substantial, real travel agency in your city,
-- one with a long history (at least 10 years) of doing business,
-- one with a good reputation with the Better Business Bureau (you can phone them; check your local phone book),
-- one WITH AN OFFICE OR PARTNER AGENCY (OR ASSOCIATED AGENCY) IN MEXICO in an area you will be in.
Reason: when you are down there, you will want to know that someone will be available, in person, to help you if you have bad weather, cancelled transportation, a sprained ankle, altitude sickness, revolutionary uprising, kidnapping, violent intestinal sickness, stolen documents and/or money, etc. etc.

You'd be amazed at the strange twists of fate that can occur when you're in a foreign country, especially one where English is NOT the native language, and when parts of that country are part of the "developing world". NOT having a live, professional "guardian angel" in that country, whom you have paid to take care of you, is one of the most risky ways to take a "vacation".

I've done this sort of thing, and paid a professional agency well to watch over me and transport me from place to place. I felt protected all the time, knowing they were only a phone call away from helping me if I needed it. Can't beat that for relaxation and comfort!

I wish you a relaxing trip!

[Bob The Builder]

I use online agencies all the time and have no problems.

The big ones have access to deals that the other agencies just can't get. You pay with a credit card and you are protected. Agencies like Expedia have 24 help.

I used a travel agent last year to get a flight from Rome to Vietnam. It ended up costing me about a thousand bucks more for my family of five AND the worst part was I had to wait over a month to get confirmed. I let one of my buddies take care of it over here. I could have booked it faster with Expedia, but it my buddy insisted on using the local agency as, like many people, they were not used to buying things online and were used to going to the travel agents they have used for years.

I sent my 80 year old dad to a travel agency in SF to book him from SF to Hanoi. They quoted a great fare and took a deposit. After a month they still did not have it confirmed. Three weeks before the trip, the agent said try again next week and while I had her on the phone I looked up a fare on Expedia that got him into the Hanoi the same time we got in. She said the best she could do was 200 bucks more, would require an 8 hour layover and arrival the following dayAND she could not confirm until....

My 10 minutes on Expedia vs what she had to offer and wasted time and grief. I let her keep the 200 deposit and reported her to the BBB (waste of time).

It will be much cheaper and you will save loads of time if you research the trips offered and read the reviews online. This is the internet age. You will be booked on a group and the tour company/managers will take care of you.

I have a BIL who was not much of a traveler having just retired. He bragged that he and my sister blew 15k going to Bali for 11 days and was telling me the stories of how he would go out and eat at any restaurant and the bill was taken care of. The next year he brought it up again and again the 15k and restaurant bill but then he said something about it being too expensive. The next year he came clean and said the way he went about it was he went to a travel agent who was the wife of a friend and said he wanted this, this and that and he thought how much could it cost? When the 15k bill came up, he was too embarrassed to decline. I tried to console him and say that he might have been able to do it for 10k, he said more like 5k.

[chitowngal]

with a small amount of research on line I have been able to book trips myself all over the world.

Who really needs a travel agent? Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire and Priceline have gotten me everything I need. I use a travel forum on another website to ask locals or American travels questions that I might have about a particular area. It works out fine and has svaed me thousands of dollars.

[Bob The Builder]

Originally Posted by chitowngal

with a small amount of research on line I have been able to book trips myself all over the world.

Who really needs a travel agent? Expedia, Travelocity, Hotwire and Priceline have gotten me everything I need. I use a travel forum on another website to ask locals or American travels questions that I might have about a particular area. It works out fine and has svaed me thousands of dollars.

Chitowngal (Is that ChinaTown?)

I don't know if the OP is a tour package person or a live on the edge adventurer. The fact he wants to go online makes me think he wants some participation, but he does want to go to a resort and hang out.

The other posters are advocating travel agent services because they can provide some service to those who just don't care about the price and don't want to really participate in trip planning. These are not the guys you see at Everest basecamp. The OP I think is in between.

[lilypad]

I was naive and unfortunately went with online travel agency. And got hosed. Spent an hour with the agent assuring me I would get a good seat on an airline (upfront aisle seats). Turns out I got middle seats half way back in the cattle car (coach). So called them, emailed them and called them every name I could think of....does no good of course but made me feel better. From now on will ONLY go with a local travel agent where I can deal with them in person.