Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

We're getting ready to start booking our honeymoon in Italy and we are not sure if we should plan it on our own or go through a travel agent. Neither one of us has been to Italy before, but we've both traveled overseas and had no problems planning / booking our own trips to other countries before.

We have never used a travel agent before either!

Can you give me some of the pros and cons of using a travel agent? Is booking through a travel agent usually more expensive than booking it on your own?

Any recommendations for travel agents would be appreciated as well. (We are in Lynbrook and would prefer someone in Nassau County or in Midtown Manhattan where we work)

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

We did all of the research online, picked out the hotels we wanted, and priced out the trip on the various travel sites........then asked a couple of travel agents what they could do for us. One got us a really good deal, so we booked through her.

Plus, we got travel insurance thru her and had someone to call when we weren't able to land and got re-routed and missed almost the whole first day of our trip. They shifted everything back a day for us. (It was our idea to shift the trip and there was still a lot of hassle to do it, but at least we could do it all over the phone and didn't have to go look for an internet cafe!)

ETA: I don't recommend the particular agent we had.

Message edited 12/27/2006 9:42:52 AM.

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

My personal opinion is to do it through a travel agent...yes, it can be done on your own but save yourself the trouble....Also, it can be useful to use a travel agent for other reasons. Although you can look online at hotels, you can't know for sure what the hotels are really like, pictures and information can be deceiving online. They also will book the tours for you and know which ones are best. They also give you a booklet most of the time, with many discounts. They also can recommend nearby restaurants, shopping, activities and so on. Plus it is good to have that one person you can call just in case anything goes wrong and they will take care of it. Especially for a honeymoon you want it to be stress free.

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

I would do everything through the travel agent. AAA is a good one. And you don't pay them. I always use them. They will book everything for you and give you all the tour books. And definetly get insurance!!!

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

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Posted by ker21318

I would do everything through the travel agent. AAA is a good one. And you don't pay them. I always use them. They will book everything for you and give you all the tour books. And definetly get insurance!!!

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Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

either way is fine. I could have booked it myself b/c I did so much research on foders.com and tripadvisor but we still opted for a travel agent.

Message edited 12/27/2006 10:44:39 AM.

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

Thanks... I guess we'll at least look into some travel agents!

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

Hey Kara... We're going to Italy as well on our HM and we used a Travel Agent just because it was one less thing to do as far as researching and time. We went through Liberty Travel and there isn't an expense to use their services. We just walked right in and sat with a travel agent who was more than happy to help us with information.
We wound up booking a 7 night Mediterranean cruise and then staying in Italy for another 6 nights, going from Venice to Rome. If you need help, let me know.
HTH!

Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

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Posted by jenafee

Hey Kara... We're going to Italy as well on our HM and we used a Travel Agent just because it was one less thing to do as far as researching and time. We went through Liberty Travel and there isn't an expense to use their services. We just walked right in and sat with a travel agent who was more than happy to help us with information.
We wound up booking a 7 night Mediterranean cruise and then staying in Italy for another 6 nights, going from Venice to Rome. If you need help, let me know.
HTH!

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Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

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Posted by Kara and Todd

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Posted by jenafee

Hey Kara... We're going to Italy as well on our HM and we used a Travel Agent just because it was one less thing to do as far as researching and time. We went through Liberty Travel and there isn't an expense to use their services. We just walked right in and sat with a travel agent who was more than happy to help us with information.
We wound up booking a 7 night Mediterranean cruise and then staying in Italy for another 6 nights, going from Venice to Rome. If you need help, let me know.
HTH!

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Thanks so much! I might be in touch. We are hoping to stay for 2 weeks and see a good part of the country. We have a couple of "must see" places in Southern Italy, Rome, Venice, and Tuscany. We're all over the map!

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Re: Italy Honeymoon - Should we use a travel agent? (pros and cons?)

i hardly ever use a travel agent because nowadays they do what we do - check the internet for info... i would go and see what the travel agent has to offer and then go and see if you get better rates... i was booking a trip to greece - a tour and flight and got a better deal on my own...
check tripadvisor for comments on hotels in italy... that site is really good...
if you are willing to travel around... Start off in the north and go to Venice and Florence then head south to Sorrento from there you can take ferries to Capri, Positano & Amalfi.. There is so much to see!! you'll love it!