Hi all,
I am looking for a travel agent in Sydney for my upcoming trip to Melbourne for 3-5 nights.
Any recommendations which travel agents are good?
I am thinking to go to chinatown since I think travel agents there are relatively cheaper than other places.
Let me know if you have good experience or recommendations for any of them
Thanks
Yep this,
DO NOT use an agent.
You do realise Agents get a commission from booking the same fares/accommodation we get? (i.e. you don't pay more)
If you ask for a bespoke itinerary with things like tours loaded on, you might end up paying more because you wouldn't of otherwise thought to do a tour etc, but you're the boss of what goes on. They can suggest it, and if you don't like it, don't say no.
Absurd comments.
If you're confident booking online, sure, do it.
get a commission from booking the same fares/accommodation we get? (i.e. you don't pay more)
In some cases, yes.
The initial cost is just one aspect of using a travel agent. I can't speak for everyone, but my own issue with travel agents happens when I need to change my itinerary. Most have additional fees that get charged on top of the airline/hotels' own change fees etc. It's extra work for the agent and I'm not saying that the agent shouldn't get paid - I'm just saying that there's no reason to have a third party in between. In addition, I've found that airlines generally refuse to deal direct with anyone who has booked through an agent - no agent is going to be available during all hours of airline operations so there's no chance of instant change confirmation like an airline can provide directly.
Travel agents are not all bad - sometimes its worth paying extra if someone is booking a complicated itinerary and don't have the expertise/time to do so.
OP's specified itinerary is as simple as it can get.
I'm with the others. Why would you use a travel agent for such a small timeframe and to Melbourne. There are plenty of cheap airfares through someone like Jetstar, you just need to look at the extras. I think that Virgin do special deals on Thursday afternoons. There are a lot of good hotels in the CBD. (I don't know your budget but we just stayed at a Rydges in Sydney and they do pretty good bang for buck deals on accomodation - particularly if you become a loyalty member).
The trams within the CBD network are free and you will need a myki card to travel anywhere else on the network - you can pick them up at the airport.
You will need to either get a taxi/Uber from the airport or get the skybus. We don't have a train to the airport.
I live in Fitzory and I would look into getting an Air BnB in Fitzroy and then either travelling to the city by tram or walking in; dependent on how close you are to the city. Fitzroy has great eateries such as Lune (world class croissants), Nyala (a great BYO african place), La Niche (great French food), etc.
Personally I think one of the best value eating in Melbourne is "Philippe" in the city. It is fine french dining and the lunchtime Fixe Prix is $40 for two courses or $50 for three courses and includes a 250ml carafe of french wine. This is one of my "go to" places.
Have a great time in the city - happy to try to answer any other questions you might have.
Flights and acco I can book myself but more for the tours.. I want hassle free trip.
Just walk into a tour place when you get to Melb… Where you looking to go anyway?
Also if you don't speak Chinese maybe don't book a tour with a chinatown travel agent as you'll probably end up on a bus with Chinese tourists and won't have an english speaking guide
ask mr google "tour booking Melbourne"
You can also compare pricing/tours with flightcentre
What tours are you thinking of taking?
I agree that you are much more likely to get good value tours from Melbourne than in Sydney. If nothing else there is a pretty good information centre that is in Federation Square - right opposite Flinder St Station in the CBD. They should be able to help you out.
http://www.visitvictoria.com/regions/Melbourne/Travel-inform…
^^ this should be at the top.
The visitor centre in Fed Square is a one-stop shop for Melbourne tours, I reckon.
It's Melbourne, Australia, not Melbourne, Florida; I agree with everyone else in that you don't need a travel agent, even for booking tours
but but one in Florida pronounce as Melbooooooooo-ne
Tripadvisor has a whole section for tours in Melbourne.
https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g255100-Activitie…
You only REALLY need a travel agent for a round the world or open jaw flight these days. A travel agent will try to upsell you on everything.
+1 on the round the world flight. We went to Flight Centre when we did our round the world business class flight with Virgin and they were really helpful. The guy spent ages working with our dates to get us a good price.
We also used Rail Plus when we booked our train travel in Europe because we were doing a lot of travel; including a lot of the sight seeing trains in Switzerland. The women there were really helpful making sure all our sectors lined up. It was just great peace of mind knowing we hadn't cocked anything up. They have an office in Melbourne so you can talk to them face to face.
this is probably the most Un-Ozbargain post this year.
not gonna commet on op's name…
Google Extragreen travel in Melbourne for some of the best tour prices.
Book tickets and accommodation online yourself - you'll probably end up saving quite a bit. If you don't know how to do that, ask someone to show you.