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Originally Posted by Saulbadguy
Typically booking direct and booking through a travel agency is a wash, but could depend on the desired activity - if they have a relationship with the places they are booking with, they will save a small amount of money vs booking direct.
Without being too snarky/elitist, my opinion would be:
Domestic travel - Do not bother.
Domestic-ish travel (Cruises, Mexico/Canada/etc) - Do not bother unless you are wanting to string together multiple "experiences" such as guided tours/timed events.
International Travel - Could be worth it, especially if visiting a country where English isn't widely spoken.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GloryDayz
Quality post, and I think the latter is exactly what the OP is attempting.
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Yep. Time is the biggest issue, but leaving the country is a serious thing we are thinking about, too. I would hate to end up rotting away in a Japanese prison because I wore a yellow shirt on a Tuesday or something. Of course, that's a joke, but the point is, different country, different customs and laws. Going through somebody that actually does this stuff for a living would be a big piece of mind issue.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bwana
Exactly. I have only used a TA once in the last 25 years, (two years ago) but it was worth it. I normally search and book myself, but I had spent several hours trying to figure out how to get a fight back from Belize that would get me back in a day, without having to overnight someplace.
They charged $75 to handle all the details, but in that case it was worth it. I ended up having to use 3 different airlines and fly to some out of the way places, but I got back in a day. It beat having to waste an extra vacation day, to hang out in a hotel.
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Biggest issue right here. I am burning most all the vacation time I will have left at the point we take this vacation. I did save back 3 days for "oh crap, something bad just happened" situations. But basically, want to consider myself wiped out of time off. If I end up in some screwed up situation where I have to use more time off work, I will be mucho unhappy
