Hey Mightyred....Read This Please!

[Daisy2418]

My fiance and I are going to Maui for our honeymoon. Do you have any suggestions of good travel agencies to go through?

We''ve been looking at TheVisitorCenter.com. I checked on the BBB and they seem to be okay. A few complaints, but I guess that''s to be expected. Have you heard anything good/bad about them?

Thanks so much! I really appreciate it!

 

[mightyred]

Hi Daisy2418

Sorry I missed this post! Just caught it today!

I am not familiar with The Visitor Center (but that doesn''t mean to say they are not good ;_) )

Definately try a specialist travel agency for Hawaii & her islands to get quotes as well. The trick is to get a travel agent that balances the knowledge of Maui but that can also get you good air deals. You find most have one without the other so when you find one who has both - jackpot!!

The main ones I have experience with are:

blue-hawaii.com
tanega.com

It''s been a while since I dealt with Hawaii so that''s as much as I feel comfortable suggesting - there are tons more out there. The best bet is to go to the GoHawaii.com web site (tourist board of Hawaii) and see who they recommend. Always make sure a travel agency is bonded with ARC (airline reporting corporation) . IATAN is helpful too or ASTA.

It all depends how tailored you want the honeymoon. My best advice is to contact several agencies (say 4 or 5). It''s a bit of legwork but if you can do that it will be worth it because you can soon tell who really want''s your business and who is pepared to follow through and work for your custom! Also you can see who asks you probing questions - the more they ask you the more likely they get to know what to recommend. If they don''t ask many questions make sure you give them as much info as possible of what you are looking for .

Not sure if you use the theknot.com but the message boards there are very helpful for up to date hotel/resort recommendations so even if you just use it for a search tool you will get a good idea of where people are staying for their honeymoon.

Ooooh what I would give to be in Maui right now! Four Seasons with a cocktail by the pool! Alas snowy Boston for me!

Hope this helps.

Mightyred

PS For your first quotes don''t mention it''s your honeymoon otherwise they may throw in a lot of "extras"! Its easy for travel agents to equate honeymoon with unlimited cash! Once you have a rapport and are narrowing down your choice ask them if there are any honeymoon options (free upgrades etc). Oh and ask the gate agent at the airport if they are offering honeymooners complimentary upgrades ....every now and then if there is room up front they will bump you up!

 

[Daisy2418]

Thank you SO much for that information!!! I forwarded it on to my fiance, so hopefully he comes up with something good.

Thanks again!

 

[CuteGirl]

Don''t use the visitorcenter. I was going to use them and they are nice until you say you will not be using them. The manager hung the phone up on me. The quote they gave me was $500 higher then what I would have paid going directly to the company. I was booking a hotel and rental car on the big island. When ask why the price was higher based on what I came up with when I did it myself, I was told by John that the cost of the rental car has hidden fees that I would not find out about until in Hawaii and the visitor center price included those hidden fees. So I contacted the rental car directly and the price they gave me was even lower than the one I came up with when I booked it online. I informed John of this and said I will be booking it on my own, he then asked me the price of the hotel and it came to be that the hotel price was the different. I said it will be cheaper for me to just do it on my own. He then hung the phone up on me after sending me 10 plus email and voice mail where on each occasion I keep saying no I will book it on my own. I guess he finally got it. But he was rude when he did. So, I haven''t found any different with travel agents, any saving. And I also found that if you contact the hotel or rental car company directly they will give you an even better discount and additional saving if you are a member of costco, sams etc. So do it on your own and save that commission to do more shopping with.