Travel Agent for complicated US itineraries
We are a Berkeley-based family with a student heading to a New England college next year. The school is nearest to a small airport with several, all imperfect options to access from OAK or SFO. Since we, and our child, will be making this trip several times a year for the next four years we are hoping to find someone who can help us sort through all the possible routes with the typical variables involved - duration, cost, transportation, etc - since each trip will require two planes or a plane and a car/bus/train - and it might vary each time.
Can anyone recommend a travel agent who is efficient and knowledgeable about sorting through options and presenting you with a menu of choices? I haven't used a travel agent in years.
Thank you.
Feb 11, 2017
Parent Replies
Recommend Going Places in Berkeley. Booked a trip to Japan with them - leaving in March. Last summer they were very helpful in trip to Europe. competent, honest. Don't fly through Denver or Chicago in the winter - weather can cause plane delays.
I don't have a travel agent to recommend but I do have experience getting from the Bay Area to small-town airports and back. Your #1 problem is if you have to use two different airlines. Then, if one of your legs gets canceled (and it will be the flight into or out of the small city that is most likely to be canceled) you are stuck till the next day, or you have to take a bus to the connecting city, or worse. Some suggestions: 1. Is there is an airline that serves the small city that also serves Oakland or SFO? That would be your best bet, since they will arrange an alternate flight should one of the legs be canceled. 2. If not, pick the most stress-free outbound route. Is BARTing to SFO just as convenient as Oakland? SFO will have more flight options, so often cheaper, but SFO on BART from the East Bay adds an hour to your trip, so in that case Oakland might be worth it. 3. Once you decide SFO vs. Oakland, figure out what city to fly into. Is there a big city airport within a couple of hours so you could rent a car? Is there a train with multiple trips per day from a big city airport tot he college town? Consider airlines like Jet Blue, which flies from OAK to NYC and Boston. Can you get a train from there? 4. Is there a mailing list or helpline for parents at this college? If so, post now and ask your question! Or wait until fall and have your kid ask around other students how they get home. 5. Maybe make a test run this summer for family vacation. Doing it a couple of times will tell you pretty quickly what works and what doesn't.