Vacation, use a travel agent or do it yourself?

[lyman]

Question for the world travelers here

in 2026 the wife and I will celebrate 40 yrs of Wedded Bliss,

we ventured out to the UK, London specifically, in 2008
and want to do a redo, or sorts

then it was all booked thru AAA, mostly all inclusive ( as in we were basically delivered to the hotel and picked up for any scheduled ventures and some tours, we were on our own a good part of the time, and only breakfast was covered (and a damn fine one at that)



we are thinking hitting Scotland, and maybe Ireland, maybe flying into London for a day or so as well,

not worked it all out as far as what we want to see or see again,


so, question is, for you jetset vacationers, do you book your own, or go thru a service?


and any details on what / when etc to do (related to bookings etc ) and of course, not to do's


thx

[Allen]

Good places to go to. If I were to take a trip overseas and had a choice that's where I would want to go.

AAA. Not worth drinking over.

Using an agent would be simpler but don't they set you up with tour groups? If so, you see the tourist traps and not get a chance to explore much on your own. Since the UK language will be the same (mostly) no need to study basic foreign words. Once there you may want to consider traveling by taxi since everyone drives on the wrong side of the road. But, you've been there before so..... Some tours would be wanted no doubt but you don't want to be herded like cattle.

I would at least consult with the travel agents to see what they offer. Might be some $ discount available. They may have good advice on what areas to stay out of, how and where to exchange currency, what places don't take CC's, and answer questions. Things may be different too from the last time you went there.

[Oyaji]

Uncle Sam arranged for all my overseas travel during the twenty years I was in the service. That was enough for me. Been all through the Pacific, north and southeast Asia, and places in Indian-subcontinent and eastern Africa most people have never even heard of. Now days if I can't get there by driving my own vehicle and booking a stay at Motel 6, I ain't going. Ain't no place like home........
:1948:

[Johnny P]

Friends did the tour thing, and at times had to have their luggage ready and outside their door about the time you would like to be getting up.

[Phloating Phlasher]

I'd go with a GOOD travel agent.
Id find if they were good with checking references & reviews.
I traveled a lot a while back both internationally & within the U.S.
We had a corporate travel agent & they were both really good.
If you're looking for England, Ireland (both of them) Scotland & Wales I can ask a few friends from there who have done this locally who they'd suggest.
Flying into London can be a bit "interesting" for starters. A couple of London's Airports, like Stanstead, are miles from London for example.

55228

[JB White]

I’m not the world traveler but my GF is. Especially her daughter who filled her passport before her 23rd birthday. Certain trips they book their own if they have been there recently. I would recommend you at least consult a GOOD travel agent as already mentioned.
A lot of variance in tour packages. If you prefer to roam on your own, the TA can arrange flights by price, interconnect flights without lengthy layovers, assist with accommodations, and arrange rental cars etc.
Heed all warnings in regard to safety. Heed all warnings in regard to safety.

Double check recommendations. Unless you want to accidentally spend your first night in a French speaking roadside whorehouse? Hey, it was listed with a four star rating! WTF ��

As an aside, my nephew works travel. Even he consults others before going off to India, SE Asia etc.

[Phloating Phlasher]

Double check recommendations. Unless you want to accidentally spend your first night in a French speaking roadside whorehouse? Hey, it was listed with a four star rating! WTF
Er, umm yes.
I spent 10 days chasing a balky ship all over the Caribbean, it kept breaking down towed repaired & sailing off, only to break down again & repeating.
If you know you know.
If you have a receipt I'll bet money its No2! I had to buy a book of receipts & got No1.
My dubious claim to fame is getting a U.K. Tax Refund for the night as a business expense!
:icon_salut:

55234

[Mark in Ottawa]

The advantage of using a travel agent is that they usually specialize in one area and are personally familiar with it and if problems arise they can usually solve them better than you can yourself. That is particularly true if you are going to someplace "exotic" such as Asia. If you enjoy researching travel destinations you can do it yourself but it is often easier to just take advantage of the agent's knowledge. For what its worth, when we went to Ireland we had an agent book a one week bus tour around both north and south and that worked out very well. On the other hand, when we were in London, my wife booked the hotel herself since it was a simple, one off transaction.

[Allen]

If you're planning to see Stonehenge it may have changed a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DewEKz9TzmM

[JB White]

If you're planning to see Stonehenge it may have changed a little.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DewEKz9TzmM
Oh, they have fixed it since then. Back to the way when the Druids were using it.
Decorated with urban murals and a McDonalds inside.

[Merc]

My wife is our travel agent. She spends weeks on the Internet planning a trip. We were on a cruise in Alaska in 2022 and a Mediterranean cruise in 2023 and visited 7 cities in Italy and Greece, and this year, we’ll be doing a riverboat cruise in Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands. It’s all on the Internet. Cruising is great because the ship is your hotel and you get an itinerary of all the tours that are available.

[Phloating Phlasher]

I remember when they had the "new Tourist office, parking lot & cafe across "the street" from Stonehenge & you could wander inside the circles.
Then they discovered they'd paved over the outer ring of wood post holes to build it!
I'm the "little oik" on the left!
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[jon_norstog]

I've always just gone. Europe is EZ 'cause the trains go everywhere and there is plenty of food. I like Thailand because my wife's family is there and like to show us a good time. OZ is EZ 'cause everyone speaks English. Lately I have been taking a bicycle and carrying my stuff on that - sleep in campgrounds when I can, otherwise in the wild.

Traveling with my wife is another matter. She likes to have a plan and uses her smart phone to line up hotels or air B&Bs.

We never use a travel agent. Salisa will get travel insurance, but I don't bother with it when I'm on my own.

I'm always surprised at how nice people are, even to someone as iffy as me.

jn

[Mark in Ottawa]

We have travelled a lot since we retired, with my wife doing all the research and organizing. Mostly, though, she has worked with a travel agent since they can often get you the best prices and usually are familiar with your destination and the best located hotels for your interests and budget. That is particularly true if you are going someplace exotic such as Asia. Having said that, we previously had an agent book us to Iceland and then a Baltic cruise. Unfortunately, the company that booked the flights neglected to confirm the booking and everything fell apart. They then tried to blame us for not noticing that the air tickets had not been charged to our Visa card. Bottom line here is that I would use an agent but then check every single leg of the itinerary to confirm that it has been booked and makes sense. On a trip to Ireland we found that it was going to be impossible to get to the airport in time at the end of our bus tour. We informed the agent and she managed to change our arrangements. As mentioned by others, get a good travel agent. Check the internet or ask friends for references