drrich2
Contributor
However for me I need facts and figures to support that a TA will save me money I cant not just blindly use a TA and assume I am saving money. I want to do a cost comparisons.
Reasonable line of questioning but I think to take best advantage of a dive travel agent, you need to go in with flexibility. If you say I want this live-aboard boat on these dates in 2021, I've figured all the flight arrangements and nailed down a cost...if I contact a dive travel agent, will he get me the exact same thing cheaper, maybe 5 or 10% off?
Maybe not. But that's not always how it works.
Yes I am traveling alone and my dive destination with the exceptions of maybe Dahab and Raja Ampat are a little off the beaten path so maybe TA's are not the best option for these obscure trips.
Those are the kind of trips I like them for. I just went though an exercise like this last month. I used Liveaboard.com to find out what boats were available for a far-flung destination in a region I've never been. Too many to sift through. In effect, I'm using a travel service's resources by using their site (it's a nice, clean site - effective and easy on the eyes).
I've got a dive travel agent with another company. I contacted him and laid out what sort of person and diver I am, and what I wanted. He helped me choose between 2 destination options, and named 3 different boats, each with a different date, and gave me some pro.s and con.s on choosing amongst them. I noticed Liveaboard.com had a 20% off sale on one option; my agent's company price-matched, saving me over a grand. And Lord willing and providing, when we're 9 - 10 months out, he'll book airfare for me and an over-night hotel stay. He'll know which travel routes are preferable, desirable layover times in foreign airports, and a hotel other customers have been happy with. He even told me they have 6 of the larger than average tanks I like, no extra cost, but they sometimes switch them around depending on need - so I might best secure my claim on one if I don't come up with too much gas left too often. Not a likely problem...but if I need to kick up the consumption at the end of a dive, I can do that.
What am I saving? Over a grand in cash, hours of grueling research trying to determine air routes and booking flights (likely with different airlines), the frustrations of going at a less optimal time of year, worry over whether I'm missing something because I 'don't know what I don't know,' and a competent advisor who can tell me about the destination.
Could a person find a boat, maybe even that one and those dates, with that sale? Maybe. Research your own travel arrangements? Yeah. Find a way to shave off a little money maybe? Perhaps.
Could I have provided myself as good or better overall value for money as my dive travel agent did on this far distance, complex trip plan? No.