Travel agency vs. the Internet. How to go travelling?

If you have decided to go on vacations in another state or country, you have two basic options: to use a travel agent or to book your trip online. More and more people are moving away from using travel agents. It is understandable due to the availability of discount airline tickets and hotel rooms that you can book via the Internet. However, it is wise to take into consideration the advantages of using a professional travel agent when you are going on vacations. 

The Internet is a great source of information. In just a short period of time you can find hundreds of options for your trip. Whether you are looking for a small comfortable chalet in a ski resort or want to book a respectable five-star hotel in the heart of a European capital, you can find them online.

There are many sites that allow tourists to book trips from the comfort of their own home - Booking.com, Orbitz.com, Hotels.com, Travelocity.com, Expedia.com and others. Their major benefit is that you don’t need to pay commission to a third party. That’s why booking a trip online is typically cheaper than using a travel agent. Hotel websites can also offer you special packages not available anywhere else. 

By doing all of the work yourself, you can customize your trip and choose places that you really want to see. Maybe you hate art galleries, but all trips to Paris include Louvre! Exploring travel reviews, you can also find interesting remote places or sights that travel agents do not know about. In fact, it is impossible for any travel agent to know everything about all cities on the planet! 

A vacation package supposes that you will spend your time with the same group of people. You can’t choose another place to stay or eat. Everything is decided for you! In some way it means less freedom even if your trip includes just transfers to and from the airport and some excursions. If you travel on your own, you can deal with local people, have dinner in small national cafes and learn about local customs and interesting traditions that you guide doesn’t tell about.

The negative side of booking vacations online is that you need to spend a lot of time instead of money. Planning a trip can be a time consuming process, especially if you have little to no knowledge about your destination. You can spend months reading all travel reviews and deciding what to see and where to go. After that, your long-expected trip might seem a bit less interesting and exciting. 

When you are using a travel agent, you will likely pay a little more for your trip. However, you can take advantage of their services which include knowledge of the location, actual accommodation, popular or widespread attractions and up-to-day deals. Plus, they have to inform you of details in the fine print which you may miss if you are booking your trip online. 

When you contact a travel agent, you just need to give them the travel dates and tell about your needs or requirements for the trip. Your travel agent will ask some questions to find out exactly what you are looking for and expect on your vacations. After that they will offer you several variants that suit your needs and requirements. If your requests are very specific, the travel agents will need a couple of days to do some researches. 

Another advantage of using a travel agent is a peace of mind during your trip. Planning vacations via the Internet can be risky business. For example, you can arrive at your accommodation and find out that there is no place to stay – the hotel is overbooked. You cannot get in touch with the manager and you don’t know where to go! Your vacations are spoiled. With a travel agent, this is less likely to happen. You can call them and find other accommodation for you or get a refund of your money. 

So the decision what to choose – to book your trip online or to use a travel agent - actually depends on several factors. The first one is what you have more: money or time to spend. For some people, the online research of their holiday destination is a necessary part of any trip. For others, the searching process, especially if they are not computer savvy, is very boring.

Another factor is a level of possible risk. If you don’t know anything about the place you want to visit, a travel agent might be a better option. You can just sit back, relax and enjoy your vacation experience. Vice versa, if risk means fun for you, then open your Internet browser and plan your vacations online!