<p>Another idea if you have this at your disposal is a credit card concierge. Our credit card, which we put absolutely everything on even though we pay it off monthly, allows us use of a special “concierge.” I used this for the first time last year in planning a trip to niagra falls with my husband for a few days. Yes, we used “points” we’d accrued using our card, but not all of our details were set up by swapping points, and she was great at telling me how to get a better deal for my points, i.e. whether to use them swapping for airline tickets, rental car, or hotels. I’m not used to service like that as I have always done the scheduling on my own. I had, however, done some internet search to begin with … so she and I could discuss certain hotels and I’d know where they were, etc. Since things worked out so well, we used the service again this summer planning a trip to San Francisco. The concierge was great. We’re currently two for two. :)</p>
<p>kathiep,
There is an advantage to using a travel agent IF they save you time and/or money.</p>
<p>The majority of our clients do not have the time to mess with travel details and they expect us to be available 24 hours if they choose to make changes, get stuck etc…
We do not advertise (never have) and work strictly by referral much to the annoyance
of our local yellow pages.</p>
<p>Funny you mention AAA. I had a travel rep in our office the other day and we were chatting about the agencies that were closing down in our area (Amex is closing too which was a surprise). She said our local AAA agency never really does much in the way of bookings. Personally I would only use AAA for roadside assistance and TripTiks.</p>
<p>As with any business there are excellent and mediocre agents.</p>
<p>If I were you I would search online for an agent that specializes in golf vacations.
Ask questions and give them your budget up-front.
Another approach - ask the Puerto Rico tourist board for travel agent recommendations.</p>
<p>From the materials in my AAA office, I’d think they do quite a few bookings. I love AAA maps and free guides. On occasion when I’ve thought to ask them about air fares or a hotel in an area I don’t know, they’ve given the impression of doing far worse than I’d do at home with an hour on the internet. Not the agents for my type of travel. </p>
<p>In my town there is an agency that caters to the educational travel market. Years ago, after I had torn out my hair trying to book a reasonably priced spring break trip to Asia, I called them, and saved hundreds of dollars. Was well worth their booking fee. Flights were full out of our town on a Friday, so they had me bus to Chicago, with the return to my home city. They can see where the bottlenecks are, and guide accordingly, something impossible with on line reservations. They’re also well traveled themselves, have good advice, and are well aware of fleeting travel specials. I still do most of my own online booking, but call them on occasion, to see if they’ve got a better idea, which sometimes they do.</p>
<p>Kathiep, I know you’re a very experienced traveler. Would think you’d tend to do better on your own, if you can just figure out those golf pros!</p>
<p>zebes, is your concierge though Capitol 1? Friends highly recommend that card, but I don’t like the idea of giving up my booking independence. Your experience sounds well worthwhile however.</p>
<p>I usually check [ITA</a> Software - Solving the Travel Industry’s Most Complex Problems](<a href=“http://www.itasoftware.com%5DITA”>http://www.itasoftware.com) before calling my travel agent. Usually when they quote me the fare I have the same itinerary on the screen. I tell them to email me the details and then I’ll let them know if I want to buy from them.</p>
<p>You can use the site if you log in as a guest, even if you’re not a member of ITA.</p>
<p>Okay, now we have a flight and a hotel for four nights. I don’t usually go for big resort sort of places but this [Caribbean</a> Golf Vacations, Puerto Rico Resorts-Wyndham Grand Beach Resort & Spa](<a href=“Wyndham Hotels and Resorts | Site Temporarily Unavailable”>Wyndham Hotels and Resorts | Site Temporarily Unavailable) was a great deal. I got four nights for the price of two plus $100 voucher for food and drinks. Next up is two nights in old San Juan. Any suggestions for something kind of unique?</p>
<p>Wyndham seems a little desperate these days. They call me on occasion to come listen to a condo sales pitch in exchange for free nights, good rates etc. Putting twins thru college is a great excuse to not buy, so have gotten some nice things from them, for an hour of listening and then saying no. Repeatedly.</p>
<p>Sounds like an interesting trip, Kathiep. You do vary your experiences!</p>