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1. alicedacamel February 13, 2010 11:08 pm

   i used to be a travel agent and on average our commission was about 10% on airfares and about 15-25% on tours and 40% on travel insurance. I would definitely book online or direct through tour companies to save hundreds (sometimes thousands) of dollars. The disadvantage to booking online is that you are the accountable one if flights are cancelled/booked incorrectly etc. The benifit of an agent is that they are accountable. Hope this helps you weigh up your options. Regardless of what you decide, you should definitely purchase travel insurance online.
   References :

2. The Shadow February 13, 2010 11:57 pm

   I used to work for a major travel website, so you will probably expect me to tell you to book online. Not necessarily!

   If you are an experienced traveler, and you’re willing to put the work into checking everything out, then go ahead and book online. It may be cheaper, although that’s not always the case. Many people book their trips online without difficulty. However, keep in mind that you become your own travel agent. If you screw it up, it’s your problem.

   If you’re new to this, or you don’t want to put the effort into it, then use a travel agent. When I worked for the website, I saw some people make amateur mistakes that a good agent would never make. Some were relatively minor, such as booking a really cheap hotel and then being shocked that it was a dump. Some were catastrophic. These included people who showed up at the airport for international trips and had no passports. They couldn’t understand why the airline refused to let them fly. The information was on the website, but they didn’t read it.

   A good agent can save you a lot of time and trouble. They can also save you money. They’ll shop for the lowest airfare, recommend and book hotels, answer your questions, and help you get passports if you don’t already have them. Yes, you may have to pay a modest service fee. So what? Is it worth risking a ruined honeymoon to get out of paying a few bucks?
   References :
   Experience working in the travel industry

3. Steve S February 14, 2010 12:26 am

   Travel packages are better and provide you more flexibility. Agents generally try and sell what makes them the most money and charge really high fees for nothing, really. I work in the travel industry, and I always refer my clients and my friends to the website BookMe. You can compare prices on all the major travel websites and save lots of money. Good luck, and check out the link below.
   References :
   http://BookMe.com

4. sherohass February 14, 2010 1:03 am

   I know for a fact that arranging your trip online is much better, convenient and cheaper from using a single travel agent.
   Online travel packages, accommodation and and travel tickets is the way to go.
   A lot of these online websites have detailed destination guides and a lot more of information than what a travel agent can offer you.
   When we went for our honeymoon in 2003 to France, Italy and Switzerland it was all bought online and we discovered at that time that we paid 60% of what our regular travel agent was offering. That was in 2003 I would expect that in 2009 the difference will be even more.
   Try logging onto http://www.tripsetc.com and see for yourself really valuable information that your travel agent does not even know.
   References :
   http://www.tripsetc.com