The interwebz took the place of the travel agent. Research, reading reviews, booking/reservations........everything the agent used to have the intel on, you now have at your fingertips for free.
We tried an agent to book a Disney trip for us a year and a half ago... dumbass never even called me back. We went in and spent a half-hour telling her what we were looking to do, she took some notes and never responded again to emails or calls. F 'em. We booked ourselves and ended up going on a cruise to the DR and Turks.
The last 2 years, we've done everything ourselves (3 including that one) and it has been great. Anyone looking for a nice, out of the way, hidden gem in the Caribbean, let me know - I know some spots!
Wife was born and raised there. You can check my recent thread about upcoming trip for some photos.
Or wait about a month, and I'll have a ton of fresh pics! Just gotta find somewhere to host them, since PB is about to go tits'-up. lol
The last 2 years, we've done everything ourselves (3 including that one) and it has been great. Anyone looking for a nice, out of the way, hidden gem in the Caribbean, let me know - I know some spots!
Wife was born and raised there. You can check my recent thread about upcoming trip for some photos.Or wait about a month, and I'll have a ton of fresh pics! Just gotta find somewhere to host them, since PB is about to go tits'-up. lol
Agents are a thing of the past unless the patron is of the age not likely to use the "net". If that is in fact the case the Agents are great, expensive but a one stop shop.
I used a travel agent for my recent trip to Seattle with my girlfriend. I told her about a Alaska Airlines going non-stop from Okie City to Seattle and she booked me on a United flight to Houston and from there to SeaTac. I'll not use her again.
My brother in Seattle told me to just book everything on-line from now on. He says that he uses Alaska almost exclusively for domestic flights and British Airways for travelling abroad.
That's what I'd do anyway.
My brother in Seattle told me to just book everything on-line from now on. He says that he uses Alaska almost exclusively for domestic flights and British Airways for travelling abroad.
That's what I'd do anyway.
I've been to Hawaii a number of times and have always done all the planning myself. I used VRBO.COM for the place last time (Stayed North Shore of Maui, outside of Paia) and had a great time. I am looking into going back this Christmas, possibly to Kauai. PM me if you have any questions. I typically try to stay out of the real touristy areas and stay in private residences. It is a lot more quiet and is usually cheaper to boot.
For discount Honolulu hotels, try www.discounthotelshawaii.com, don't expect to find cheap or even reasonable food because you won't except at McDonalds. The Pineapple Plantation is always good for a quick visit on the north side of the island. And if you want things to take back home, try the Aloha Stadium for T-Shirts (6 for $20) and other knickknacks that one absolutely have to have. And the somber WWII Memorial that is free but a must see. They take you out to the Memorial on a boat and you can spend the day or half an hour. It costs I think $40.00 for a taxi to downtown Honolulu from the airport but there are shuttles for ? $5 bucks apiece that will take you to the same place-downtown.
For the price of a bus ticket, you can ride around the entire island of Oahu but it's stop and go if you can handle that. I don't know how long you are staying in Hawaii, but for a couple hundred dollars you can fly to the Big Island and see the volcano that we're often seen on TV. If I remember correctly, you can get a package deal on a car and flight for a couple hundred dollars to the Big Island. Check the internet, there are listings of 100 things to do in Honolulu for less than $10 or free.
For the price of a bus ticket, you can ride around the entire island of Oahu but it's stop and go if you can handle that. I don't know how long you are staying in Hawaii, but for a couple hundred dollars you can fly to the Big Island and see the volcano that we're often seen on TV. If I remember correctly, you can get a package deal on a car and flight for a couple hundred dollars to the Big Island. Check the internet, there are listings of 100 things to do in Honolulu for less than $10 or free.
If you are going to Hawaii, you may want to try the Submarine ride. Just incredible! https://atlantisadventures.com/submarines/
You get a better price from the kiosk on the beach than prebooking. Mornings tend to be calmer so visibility is better.
You get a better price from the kiosk on the beach than prebooking. Mornings tend to be calmer so visibility is better.
While my circumstances are different, I signed up with Smugmug. They have 4 different plans at 4 different prices. I went with the third highest plan so that I could sell photos if I wanted. Photobucket wants $400 for a person to have 3rd party hosting, and the client does get ad-free when he is logged in, however, anyone else viewing said person's site still has to see the ads, regardless of the account supposed to be ad free. Also, Smugmug's most expensive plan (for the professionals) is only $300 per year if paid annually.
Smugmug is ad free for both the client and anyone else looking at the site. In addition, when one clicks on a thumbnail at Smugmug, they see a nearly full "window" sized picture, not a small 3"x5" (or was it 4"x6"). One does have to log into their Smugmug account to be able to post pictures from them.
Smugmug Home Page
Terry's Smugmug Page
If you click on "Browse" in the upper middle of my home page, you can see how one can organize using file folders and galleries.
Just for grins and giggles, one of my pictures at Smugmug.
