Travel Agent or no Travel Agent?

Just some unrelated travel photos - Duran fruit in Singapore.

Travel agent or no travel agent - that is the question! In this age of technology, just about every airline, or at least those you would want to fly on, have a web site where you can book your flights. Hotel bookings are also not much of a challenge these days. There are any number of web sites where you find and book hotel rooms at very competitive prices. So the question is, do you still need to make use of a travel agent or not. This all depends very much on the level of service you get from your travel agent. I must say, I have had some pretty horrendous service from travel agents in the past and  I never used the same travel agent twice. Then I met my long standing travel agent,  Jessica Cameron (jessica.cameron@travelcounsellors.co.za). She used to work for Flight Centre, but now works for Travel Counsellors. She is a star! She has been my travel agent for many years now.

Young coconut water - a delight in the East.

Even though it is easy to do your own bookings, there are many pros to have a good travel agent in your corner. This is particularly true if (and when) the paw paw hits the fan. When my bag and passport were stolen in Ecuador (I will still tell you all about that in a later post), she really came to the party and helped out with making all of the alternative travel arrangements and sorting out the travel insurance. I would not have been able to survive without her.Of course the love and support from my wife also helped!

Another very good reason why I make use of Jessica to book my flights is that normally, my trips are quite complex. I often have between 12 to 17 flights on a trip and to do this via "on-line" booking would be all but impossible. A good travel agent, like Jessica, normally goes to great lenghts to sort out the flights at the most reasonable cost. If you decide not to make use of a travel agent, a very important aspect when booking flights is to make sure that connecting flights are linked in the booking. For example, if I need to fly from Bloemfontein to Johannesburg to connect with my Emirates flight to Dubai (my normal modus operandi) it is very important that the flights are linked. If they are linked and SA Express is late or cancelled (which seems to be their norm now), getting me sorted out on my Emirates flight is their problem. If the flights are not linked, and SA Express messes up and gets me to Joburg 3 hours late and I have missed my Emirates flight - it is your problem! You have missed you flight and you are in the poof! This is when you cannot do without a good travel agent.

Getting your visas sorted out is also another very important task that a good travel agent will help you with. There are a growing number of countries who have e-visas (you can apply on line and you get your visa via e-mail). A good travel agent will help you with the links to get your e-visa process underway and she (or he) will help you if you have to do the visa the old fashioned way.

When travelling to some parts of the world, vaccination is essential. A good travel agent should have the latest information on what vaccinations will be needed when you travel to specific destinations.

Singapore waterfront

Finally, travel agents often have good deals on hotel packages (when you are not travelling for work and want to take a well earned holiday. These holiday packages are often difficult to find. A while ago, Jessica got me a package, including flights and 7 nights in a hotel for less that the flight would have been alone. A very good reason to find and keep a good travel agent.