Travel agents that specialize in honeymoons?
February 19, 2017 7:54 PM Subscribe
I've never used a travel agent before. How do I find a good one and do you have any recommendations? I'm in St. Louis, MO but am willing to work with someone remotely, too.
I'm thrilled to be marrying my best friend in a couple of months. We want to take a 7-10 day trip to celebrate and decompress after the wedding. Something that is a combination of relaxing and cultural activities. Hopefully outside the US, with a low-to-moderate budget. (Not luxury.) I usually plan my own trips but I know that we'll be totally burned out on decision-making so this time, I want someone else to make the decisions so we can just enjoy.
I'm willing to spend a little money to have someone get us set up with a trip that will be a wonderful fit for us and takes away the stress. I can imagine working with someone who has all the knowledge and ideas and can come up with something even better than I could imagine myself. I just don't know where to go!
I'm thrilled to be marrying my best friend in a couple of months. We want to take a 7-10 day trip to celebrate and decompress after the wedding. Something that is a combination of relaxing and cultural activities. Hopefully outside the US, with a low-to-moderate budget. (Not luxury.) I usually plan my own trips but I know that we'll be totally burned out on decision-making so this time, I want someone else to make the decisions so we can just enjoy.
I'm willing to spend a little money to have someone get us set up with a trip that will be a wonderful fit for us and takes away the stress. I can imagine working with someone who has all the knowledge and ideas and can come up with something even better than I could imagine myself. I just don't know where to go!
We were very happy with perfect honeymoons. We visited in person but they have a regular remote service as well.
One session, discussed budget, timing and things we liked to do, and they made all the suggestions and itinerary and took care of everything, from booking to travel support while we were abroad. I poked around a bit and had a hard time booking the same on my own for cheaper prices.
It was worthwhile and very helpful to not have to think about it - we normally arrange it all ourselves as well.
posted by Karaage at 9:33 PM on February 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
One session, discussed budget, timing and things we liked to do, and they made all the suggestions and itinerary and took care of everything, from booking to travel support while we were abroad. I poked around a bit and had a hard time booking the same on my own for cheaper prices.
It was worthwhile and very helpful to not have to think about it - we normally arrange it all ourselves as well.
posted by Karaage at 9:33 PM on February 19, 2017 [1 favorite]
I have a friend/acquaintance who plans vacations and does a lot of honeymoons. She specializes in beach holidays, but I know she also does other vacations. Contact her here.
posted by sulaine at 6:08 AM on February 20, 2017
posted by sulaine at 6:08 AM on February 20, 2017
Best answer: If you have an idea of where you want to go, you might want to use an agent who specializes in that region.
E.g. a few years ago I went to Croatia, and we used a specialist agency who only does bookings there, and the owner speaks the language and maintains personal relationships with most of the people we worked with. This was pretty nice, and the few times when things weren't as-advertised (i.e. when we got the impression someone tried to play a bait-and-switch on us), she was able to call and get things squared away. In fairness, Croatia is not uncivilized or anything, but I didn't know anything about the place and it gave us the flexibility to do some things that I might not have done if I'd just been playing Random American Tourist and wandering around picking things out of a Lonely Planet guide. So that made it worthwhile vs. what I'd probably have booked myself.
I've never seen a ton of value in the travel agents who just do bookings and don't have a lot of local knowledge. I guess if your time is particularly valuable, and maybe while planning your wedding it is, they're worth the premium, but I'd see if you can narrow down your decision in terms of where you want to go, and then get someone who has a bigger value-add by virtue of expertise in the place you're going.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:32 PM on February 20, 2017
E.g. a few years ago I went to Croatia, and we used a specialist agency who only does bookings there, and the owner speaks the language and maintains personal relationships with most of the people we worked with. This was pretty nice, and the few times when things weren't as-advertised (i.e. when we got the impression someone tried to play a bait-and-switch on us), she was able to call and get things squared away. In fairness, Croatia is not uncivilized or anything, but I didn't know anything about the place and it gave us the flexibility to do some things that I might not have done if I'd just been playing Random American Tourist and wandering around picking things out of a Lonely Planet guide. So that made it worthwhile vs. what I'd probably have booked myself.
I've never seen a ton of value in the travel agents who just do bookings and don't have a lot of local knowledge. I guess if your time is particularly valuable, and maybe while planning your wedding it is, they're worth the premium, but I'd see if you can narrow down your decision in terms of where you want to go, and then get someone who has a bigger value-add by virtue of expertise in the place you're going.
posted by Kadin2048 at 1:32 PM on February 20, 2017
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posted by antimony at 8:01 PM on February 19, 2017 [2 favorites]