Travel agents can be the best way to get great deals on trips and to get insider tips on vacation destinations. The key is to find the travel agent who will meet your needs and your plans despite your budget. It is a lot like finding the right contractor or doctor. Instead of just picking a name at random from the yellow pages, take some time to look around, ask around and meet with available agents in your area.

1. Talk to family and friends (and even strangers in the grocery store). See who they know or have used in the past. As the travel industry continues to grow, so does the number of individuals that service it. It seems that everyone has a relative or family friend in the industry these days. Get recommendations – but ask for the good, the bad and the ugly on anyone that is suggested.

2. Meet with potential representatives. While it is okay to get leads from others, you need to meet the agents in person. Find out what their experience is and even ask for references. Be sure to ask for references of people who didn’t have the best vacation experience. It is important to see how the travel agent handles problems or difficulties.

3. Ask about her personal travel experience. Is her travel all book knowledge, or has she taken the time and money to visit the sites herself. First hand knowledge can be more valuable than all the degrees in the world.

4. Check online or with the Better Business Bureau in your area to see if there have been formal complaints against the travel agent or the company that she represents.

Once you find the travel agent that is best for your needs, make an appointment to sit down and talk with her. Be sure you give her all the information needed to plan the perfect vacation experience for you and your family: budget, interests, special needs or wants, and the importance factor of the different elements (where are you willing to compromise if it is needed).

Be sure that any plans your agent makes are only tentative until your final approval. Even though she is the expert, take a little time and effort to do some research of the suggestions that she makes. In the end, no matter who makes the arrangements, it is your vacation (and money) that is on the line.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 17th, 2008 at 6:19 pm and is filed under Travel Planning, Travel Tips, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.