When clients are asked, "Are you interested in travel insurance?", travel agents know the stigma that is associated.  You are potentially going to spend a significant amount of your hard earned dollars on your trip.  The last thing you want to do is spend more money on something that probably won't be used.  And we as travel agents don't want you to have to use your travel insurance.  But it is much better to safe than sorry when traveling.

According to the U.S. Department of State, there were over 18 million passports issued in 2016.  While both my wife and I have a few years to go until we need to get our passports renewed, this spring we applied for a passport for our daughter.  To be honest, we were both teenagers when we first applied for our passports and our parents did all the paperwork.  When it was time for the renewal in our late twenties, it was rather easy.  We were nervous that actually applying for our (young!) child would be confusing and filled with tedious paperwork.

When push came down to shove, it was much easier than we thought.  Here are the steps to take to make applying for your child's passport as pain-free as possible!

1) Figure out when you are going on your trip.  It can take 6-8 weeks to get your passports processed by the government.  Make sure you have enough time.  There are ways to expedite the process incase of emergencies or last minute circumstances, but this can be both expensive and time consuming.

Cruise or All-Inclusive? This is an age old question that travel agents get asked all the time.  I'm here to not pick a side, but to lay out all the factors you should take into consideration before making a decision.

Before I dig in, understand that these are generalizations.  You can always find exceptions.  An experienced, local travel agent can help you make sense of which option can be a better fit for your next trip!
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​Multiple times a week, I have the following conversation:

"So you're a travel agent?  I didn't know they existed anymore.  I thought the internet took your place." - most people

"Yes, with the internet came thousands of websites about travel. I can help you make sense of it all." - me

Travel agents understand that you can go online and book your own trips.  This isn't a new revelation for us.  But once you go down the rabbit hole of trying to book your own trip, it can become a slippery slope.  Did you remember to book your transfers to the resort or port?  You don't want to do the "walk of death" at the Cancun airport without talking to someone first.  How about insurance?  Your plan in the U.S. probably won't work if you have an emergency outside the country.  With the thousands of travel websites to comb through, the information found can be overwhelming.  As travel professionals, we can help.  Below are 5 reasons to use a travel agent for your next trip.