How do you plan your international trips?

[Pharmgirl123]

BTW, if you found a really good deal on flights and you're good with your dates, I would jump on that and book the airfare. That's always one of the hardest things to find - good airfare. Enjoy your trip - Australia is one of the locations that I have not been to and have always wanted to go.

Yes! I found a deal for around $1100 from LAX to Auckland. It includes a 3 day layover (including hotel!) in Tahiti.

 

[Jocelynaus]

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[avengerspoilerer]

You pay your travel agent? that's odd. Maybe for a full out consultation/recommendation meeting I cant see $100, but if he/she is planning your trip - why are you paying them $500?

Because time is money and she has years of experience and connections putting together trips. I don’t have the time to spend on Google and no one on TripAdvisor or some review board is going to be there to help me when something goes wrong and when you travel that always happens.

From getting me rerouted due to flight cancellations and hotels and catching up to the a South Pacific ship, she is worth every penny.

 

[Hrhpd]

Because time is money and she has years of experience and connections putting together trips. I don’t have the time to spend on Google and no one on TripAdvisor or some review board is going to be there to help me when something goes wrong and when you travel that always happens.

From getting me rerouted due to flight cancellations and hotels and catching up to the a South Pacific ship, she is worth every penny.

Do you also send a heaping plate of Sofa Pillows as a thank you along with your payment?

 

[Floridaman999]

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I get tour guide books out of the library. If there is one I really like, I might buy it.

 

[DisMumNz]

I’m in the South Island of NZ, happy to help with any questions that come up!

 

[tcufrog]

While I do a lot of research online, when I'm planning a major trip I find it most helpful to start with a good guidebook to get an overview of the lay of the land. Then I hit the Internet including trip advisor and the official travel associations for the places I'm going to. I also ask for advice here and on another international message board I'm on. We spent a month last summer in the UK and some of my online friends who live in the UK gave me the best advice regarding what websites to use to book my lodging. During all of my previous research I didn't come across the sites they raved about. If I know someone who has been there I'll pick their brains too.

During my research, I create a spreadsheet listing all of the places I'm excited about and then discuss the options with my family in order to narrow it down. I ask each family member to tell me one thing they really want to do on the trip and then I do my best to make it happen. I find that if I'm able to do that then my family is happy. When we went to Boston and Cape Cod DS12's wish was to ride on a lobster boat. I did some research and found one run by two retired men. They let us help haul up the traps, measure and band the lobsters, etc. The kids still talk about that. During our UK trip, DS8 wanted to hunt for Nessie so we booked a trip on a speedboat on Loch Ness. My DH is Indian and England has a reputation of great Indian food. He wanted amazing Indian food so I scheduled a stopover for that in Birmingham during our road trip.

I also try to plan a wide variety of things so that if one person doesn't like something they'll probably enjoy something else that we do.

 

[starry_solo]

Escorted tours

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I use TripAdvisor a lot for getting ideas on what to do, then Google "things to do in..." We're going to Venice, then the Greek Isles next week, so I've been searching YouTube and podcasts for tips on Venice, Greece, and lessons for travelers. It's been helpful, especially since I enjoy planning.

 

[OKW8297]

Love this thread! Nervous about planning our first international trip so this is great!

 

[nkereina]

I pay our travel agent $500 for her consultation and planning or entire trip. Worth every penny!

Because time is money and she has years of experience and connections putting together trips. I don’t have the time to spend on Google and no one on TripAdvisor or some review board is going to be there to help me when something goes wrong and when you travel that always happens.

From getting me rerouted due to flight cancellations and hotels and catching up to the a South Pacific ship, she is worth every penny.

A travel agent makes his or her money on commission from the companies they book you with. The only instance they should charge a service fee is when booking flights not otherwise part of a vacation package, because airlines do not pay commission. Its very rare for an agent to charge outside of that, and $500 sounds exorbitant to me (as a former travel agent). If you're happy paying that then fair enough, but at least know that is not typical in the industry.

OP - I would recommend finding a travel agent to assist with the booking. As I mentioned, it shouldn't cost you anything to use their service. They will have knowledge of what tour operators typically recommend for sightseeing, hotels, and transportation. And they should know the travel documentation requirements (passports, visas, etc). We booked our honeymoon through a national agency and they also offered a 24 hour 1-800 number to call if we encountered issues, which gave additional peace of mind.

 

[xjillianpaige]

I was just in NZ! Happy to share my experience!

As for how I plan... I travel with people who like to plan. honestly, she does a lot of research online and sends it to me and I OK it. I’m also a very laid back traveler with very short “must-do” lists. But we do our research through the internet and some travel book browsing. We often ask people who have gone what they loved and what they would skip.

 

[RUDisney]

Check to see if Groupon or LivingSocial have sites in NZ. I was able to save some money for my trip to England (T - 6 days to takeoff) on dinners and afternoon tea. I found what I wanted to do and started looking for discounted tickets. I was able to join the Historic Royal Palaces group and so I'm saving on admission to many of the places I wanted to go anyway.

Have fun on your trip!

 

[avengerspoilerer]

A travel agent makes his or her money on commission from the companies they book you with. The only instance they should charge a service fee is when booking flights not otherwise part of a vacation package, because airlines do not pay commission. Its very rare for an agent to charge outside of that, and $500 sounds exorbitant to me (as a former travel agent). If you're happy paying that then fair enough, but at least know that is not typical in the industry.

Very typical where I live. Time is my currency and my agent is my asset manager. I pay a CFP a fee AND he makes a commission on my investments. It works for me as well as others. She only has about 100 clients and makes a great living.

 

[nkereina]

Very typical where I live. Time is my currency and my agent is my asset manager. I pay a CFP a fee AND he makes a commission on my investments. It works for me as well as others. She only has about 100 clients and makes a great living.

As I said before, that's fair enough and to each their own. Its just not common in the industry. Many agents work remotely serving clients worldwide, so its not a regional thing either. There are definitely agents out there who have a hard time because of competition and the internet, and some of these agents charge service fees likely to make up for that. But its still not the norm and would put them at a competitive disadvantage, especially if they don't have a solid client base (but it seems your agent does).

 

[avengerspoilerer]

As I said before, that's fair enough and to each their own. Its just not common in the industry. Many agents work remotely serving clients worldwide, so its not a regional thing either. There are definitely agents out there who have a hard time because of competition and the internet, and some of these agents charge service fees likely to make up for that. But its still not the norm and would put them at a competitive disadvantage, especially if they don't have a solid client base (but it seems your agent does).

Considering you are a former travel agent, you may not be aware of the norm these days. But that is okay to each their own. Far less competitive disadvantage than you may believe. I know exactly who my agent considers her competition and the internet and other agents are not even on her radar.

 

[nkereina]

Considering you are a former travel agent, you may not be aware of the norm these days. But that is okay to each their own. Far less competitive disadvantage than you may believe. I know exactly who my agent considers her competition and the internet and other agents are not even on her radar.

You really don't need to defend your TA - good for her if it works for her business. Also, I know the travel industry quite well - I was a travel agent for 10 years, worked in hotels, and I have a degree in travel and tourism - but my credentials are irrelevant. My point in repeating that a $500 service fee is not typical is because reading that discourages others from using travel agents. Its important for people to know that most travel agents do not charge any service fee, so they have nothing to lose by working with one. $500 is a hefty price tag for some people, and I didn't want OP to eliminate the option of a travel agent because of that.

 

[Floridaman999]

You really don't need to defend your TA - good for her if it works for her business. Also, I know the travel industry quite well - I was a travel agent for 10 years, worked in hotels, and I have a degree in travel and tourism - but my credentials are irrelevant. My point in repeating that a $500 service fee is not typical is because reading that discourages others from using travel agents. Its important for people to know that most travel agents do not charge any service fee, so they have nothing to lose by working with one. $500 is a hefty price tag for some people, and I didn't want OP to eliminate the option of a travel agent because of that.

Only the falling travel agents do it these days.

 

[okeydokey]

I am doing an Iceland trip later this year and started with TripAdvisor and just googling ‘travel to Iceland”. I bought a Rick Steves book and also found a great Facebook group. I am feeling much more confident about our plans now.

I feel no need at all to pay someone to plan a trip for me, but I enjoy planning.