Travel agents for holidays - do you contact many?

ringo747

ringo747

ringo747

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In the middle of trying to sort out my honeymoon for next year and have already contacted around 8 different travel agents, both local and the big boys like Kuoni etc.

Am finding that they all say different things, recommend different resorts and have different prices. Really feel like it's information overload and way too many people to chase up.

So does other people just contact one agent and go with what they say or check out many different options?

I think pricing around different agents is good but I actually contacted them for advice, suggestions - leaving it so open-ended isn't good.
 
NEVER contact just the one!

For my Egypt holiday I went to co-op then Tompson and they gave me a better price than co-op (I had the co-op prices with me). I (on purpose) sounded uninterested at the price Tompson had so they added a £40 each discount code.

Travel agents can add discounts if they feel it will make a sale. Push them as much as you can and play them off against one another.
 
I did the same for my honeymoon, just read independent (rather than bull******* travel agent) reviews on the resorts/hotels and booked it all directly.

The one and only time I ever used a travel agent we ended up in one of the worst resorts in the Canarys flying with what was possibly the worst airline in the world (18 hours sitting in the airport while they tried to fix a broken engine fan and we ended up with vouchers that could only be spent at certain concessions, that particular day none them actually had any food)
 
I have been trawling through TripAdvisor for months and am driving myself crazy reading so many reviews. I think I have finally narrowed down my options but I'm still ringing around other local agents just to get more advice. Can be headwrecking at times.

Once I have decided on the exact itinerary I want then it should become easier.

Thanks for the tips about pushing for the extra discounts.
 
Your best bet (i'm a travel agent) is to figure out what you want then get ringing round for prices.

Also ask them if they can show you gazetteers.com its like tripadvisor but not full of people moaning.

If you have any specific hotels in mind email the names and give me your email address and i'll send you the pages if want?
 
contact all of them to get them doing lots of running around and sending you info while they're all thinking about the fat fees they'll make from you. Once they've given you lots of info methodically go through based on your budget and then book it yourself on a credit card, make sure you've got good travel insurance and you'll save a packet and have the honeymoon you actually want.
 
paulh said:
Your best bet (i'm a travel agent) is to figure out what you want then get ringing round for prices.

Also ask them if they can show you gazetteers.com its like tripadvisor but not full of people moaning.
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Looks like it's aimed at the trade rather than consumers?

Therefore I assume by 'not full of people moaning', you mean 'full of people telling you what the agents want you to hear' ;).
 
paulh said:
Your best bet (i'm a travel agent) is to figure out what you want then get ringing round for prices.

Also ask them if they can show you gazetteers.com its like tripadvisor but not full of people moaning.

If you have any specific hotels in mind email the names and give me your email address and i'll send you the pages if want?
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Will maybe fire on some details to you at some point about this. Looking to do Maldives in July. So many options to consider!
 
i'm doing the same at the moment and its a nightmare - have used trailfinders a few years back and got a great holiday out of it which is making topping it with the honeymoon 10x harder :(

I'd really recomend going to Lombok if you've not been, go and stay at the Oberoi, the only real downside is the slightly lacking beach but you can get a day trip to the gillies for that, you can also do a tour of the island and go to the waterfalls etc.

I'm really liking the look of http://www.cocoaisland.como.bz at the moment for the honeymoon at the moment, but its not cheap - will probably only be able to do a week :( so need to work out a second center...
 
Robbie G said:
Looks like it's aimed at the trade rather than consumers?

Therefore I assume by 'not full of people moaning', you mean 'full of people telling you what the agents want you to hear' ;).
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It's an independent site so it is very honest with it's reviews.

I can send you the details, at least it's another point of view!

I use it all the time and it's lost me a lot of sales over the years. But I still use it!
 
In what way

Robbie G said:
For something as important as a honeymoon, travel agents can give you the reassurance / security that won't get screwed.

Fine if you're just going on the annual independent holiday.
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When you're half way around the world on a trip the travel agent is next to useless to you. Good (not cheap and nasty) insurance gives the peacce of mind required.
 
Siliconslave said:
I'm really liking the look of http://www.cocoaisland.como.bz at the moment for the honeymoon at the moment, but its not cheap - will probably only be able to do a week :( so need to work out a second center...
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Cocoa Island does look class - I can't afford it though. Throwing £5k at a honeymoon seems mad enough as it is!

AtticusFinch said:
Pangkor Laut in Malaysia is the dog's furries as a Honeymoon destination -

http://www.pangkorlautresort.com/weddings-honeymoons/index.htm

We spent some time there it is really nice. Budget around £10-15K for a week or two depending on your package/room etc.
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Thats a deposit for a house that amount!
 
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