Never stay at the Best Property First
My travel agent advised me to not stay at the most expensive property before planning a Hawaii trip. Everything after that will be inferior and you might come home disappointed.” She was right. I wish she had given her advice when I booked a Travel Agent Tips family holiday in Fiji.
Our first hotel was DoubleTree Hilton’s Sonaisali Island. It is only a two-minute boat trip from Viti Levu (Fiji’s main island). The resort provided all the amenities of an island paradise, but also gave us easy access to Nadi, the capital to see the culture and markets. Sonaisali offered horse riding lessons, paddle boarding lessons, and a swim-up bar at its pool. Friendly staff enjoyed playing beach volleyball and called their matches Fiji against the Italians or Australia, depending on whether they were competing with tourists. They would bring in waiters and cooks to help if they lost.
Book early morning flights
I was advised by a travel agent to book early morning flights. This advice was ignored for many years because I am not an early riser. It was a terrible way to start any holiday. The logic was clear: Flights that leave before 8 a.m. are more likely to be delayed than those that depart later in the day.
I regretted not listening to the agent’s advice one morning, but I was grateful for the reasons he gave. We live approximately an hour away from the airport. I had booked a mid-morning flight but my taxi driver was caught up in rush hour, so we missed our flight. We didn’t have flexible fare, and we had prepaid for the remainder of the holiday. So, we went to the airline desk and purchased new flights for our four-person family. It was a costly mistake that I will never make again.
Always Travel Agent Tips on Tuesdays
Mid-week is the best time to travel as it tends be less expensive and also less crowded. To make the most out of Fridays, leisure travelers fly on Fridays. Business travelers usually fly on Mondays or Fridays. A friend who travels a lot now has Tuesdays off because a travel agent suggested that Tuesdays were the best days to travel. Although I don’t recall ever considering keeping a day for travel, I do plan to. We have all experienced packed-to-the-rafters flights, where it’s impossible to wedge your carry-on into the overhead lockers, and it takes an eternity to disembark. This is less common on Tuesdays.
You can make a complete change of outfits for each other’s suitcases
As a precaution against losing luggage, it is wise to keep a spare set of clothes in your companion’s suitcase. It’s like playing Russian Roulette when you check in your luggage. At check-in, you wave goodbye to your bag and then wait for it at the luggage carousel. It is the day when everything goes wrong. The system fails and everyone else is able to take their bags. You are left looking at the revolving emptyness. This sinking feeling is something that most travelers experience at least once during their travels. I experienced it in Cairo, six months after my due date. Although the airline promised to locate the luggage and send it on, we were not staying at a hotel. We were instead going down the Nile. Although passengers offered to lend me clothes they couldn’t find anything that would fit my large baby belly, My luggage arrived 10 days after I started the trip. Several intermediaries asked for bakeesh (the local word for a tip or bribe) along the route. It would have been a good idea to follow the advice of a travel agent and pack some of my clothes in my partner’s suitcase.
Nowadays, I travel alone but am always mindful of lost luggage. I carry a few days worth of clothes and electronics with me on my trip.
Keep Prescription Medicine In Your Carry-On Travel Agent Tips
This was a tip that I received from a travel agent, and have kept in mind ever since. While on a China trip, I witnessed what happened to a woman who had packed her medication into her checked luggage and was lost by the airline. Her blood pressure medication was no longer available and her head began to throb. She was also giddy. Remember that losing your prescription medication, high blood pressure, thyroid or diabetes could cause you to miss your flight. You should always have your prescription medications with you when you travel.
Take more medication than you think you will need
Another agent recommended that I bring extra medication in the event of delayed flights. The agent suggested that I pack extra medication for delayed flights. This worked well until we were forced to delay our flight. It was on a brand new airline out of Chengdu in China. Their next flight was one week away and there were no reciprocal flights. We were put up in a hotel by the airline, which allowed us to Travel Agent Tips enjoy a week of holiday without having to return to work. I wish I had listened to the advice of my travel agent. I decided to cut my remaining pills in half hoping that half-dosage would help my health. It was a stressful situation that I couldn’t live without. Nowadays, I have extra pills and copies of my prescriptions. Although it is not always possible to fill prescriptions overseas, there are always options.
Make sure you only book with travel agents who have been to your destination.
My teenager wanted to backpack across Europe. I helped him plan by taking him to a youth travel specialist. These young agents had traveled the globe for months or even years. They advised that you choose a travel agent who has been to the area extensively.
I booked my first trip to America from Australia years later. It was five weeks of inter-city flights that took me from major cities to Huntsville, Alabama for a conference. I normally book online but the complexity of this trip meant that I needed assistance. I visited my local travel agency, but was frustrated by the high price and the fact that the agent had never been to New York.
In my mind, the young and well-traveled travel agents were the reason I went to their offices to get a quote. I was the oldest person who had ever stepped foot in their office without a teenager. I wanted to speak with the most knowledgeable agent about the U.S. I was seated with a young man whose dad lived in the States. He used each trip to visit his father in the States. I was able to save a lot of grief by his meticulous planning and lower trip costs.
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