It’s the New Year and if you’re like us, you’re already considering planning your next vacation. With the amount of resources that the internet provides us with when it comes to travel, you may be questioning why and when to book through a Travel Agent.
Now if you’re a budget-traveller who likes backpacking around Europe and staying in hostels, then a Travel Agent isn’t for you. Who it is for however, is those of us who love long, luxury trips, cruises or tours that are too time-consuming or confusing to book online.
Group Cruises:
Trying to book a group of 15 travellers on a 10-Day Cruise and not sure where to start? Use a Travel Agent! Here, Travel Agents can speak to the supplier directly and work out the best options for your group, including choosing the staterooms. They may also be able to get you a better group rate, or other perks, than you would yourself.
Complicated Flight Itineraries:
Wanting to organise flights to more than one destination? Are you trying to work out the best route to get from A to B? Use a Travel Agent! For multiple stops or connecting fights, Travel Agents are the best tool to take advantage of. They can often find routes or airport stopovers that you can’t and/or can organise your accommodation to go with it – and they can do it all in one go! Which means, you can stop searching Skyscanner or Kayak for every single flight time and price.
Round The World Adventures:
Planning on taking that once in a lifetime trip around the world? Not sure where to start? Use a Travel Agent! Can you imagine how time consuming it is to plan a 6-month holiday, stopping off at 6 destinations or more? Travel Agents can free up your time by sorting out everything in your itinerary and customizing the hell out of it. They will have suggestions, ideas and knowledge that no else has. Another important advantage is that they can help sort out the right travel insurance plan for you – imperative for complex trips like these!
Destination Weddings or Honeymoons:
It’s hard enough booking a venue and vendors in your home country, let alone abroad. Plus, what about getting your guests to the destination? Where are they going to stay? Use a Travel Agent! A Travel Professional is an organizational mastermind and can deal with all your arrangements from start to finish. They can help pick the perfect reception venue, accommodation for you and your guests, as well as flights for everyone. This means no worrying about whether people have booked their hotel rooms on time or not!
Cruise, Land, Flight & Hotel Packages:
Booking a cruise and wanting to add a land tour afterwards? Use a Travel Agent! Choosing the right cruise for you is difficult enough, let along trying to work out what you should do before and after it. Your local travel agent would be have the best options, brochures and deals that will make planning your package holiday a whole lot easier. In fact, they will know things you don’t – like why C costs more than D even if they have the same itinerary; and will also have partnerships with smaller suppliers that might not be as searchable online.
Off-the-Beaten Path Experiences:
Looking at heading to a remote destination and you’re not sure how to pronounce the name? Use a Travel Agent! Call on an Adventure Travel Expert to plan your off-the-beaten-path experience. They will make sure you are well prepared with visas, medical injections, unique accommodations and exciting experiences. Whether it’s a hiking adventure through Bhutan, or a trek with the Gorillas in Uganda, your travel agent will make sure you are well prepared. These specialized trips can be hard to make sense of on your own – Do I need a permit? What clothes are appropriate? How will I organise local transport? You don’t have to fret about any of these details when you let a travel professional help you!
Lucky for you, Lloyds Travel & Cruises has Agents that can help you organise anything and everything!
River & Ocean Cruising: Deborah Charles, Deborah@lloydstravel.com / Barbara Broadbent, Barbara@lloydstravel.com
Adventure Travel: Lesli Heron, Lesli@lloydstravel.com
Leisure Travel & Corporate Travel: Lucas Sripathy, Lucas@lloydstravel.com
Small Ship Cruising: Bob Young, Bob@lloydstravel.com