Dreaming about your next holiday is exciting – picturing yourself there, researching what to do or speaking to friends and family. However, planning that trip yourself can be exhausting.

That’s where a travel agent comes in.

Instead of trawling through Google, Tripadvisor and countless other websites trying to research and organise your next holiday, a travel expert can take the hassle out of planning your dream getaway.

While you might think travel agents are mostly needed for international travel, they can be just as important when booking domestically.

Here are a few reasons to book through a travel agent.

1. Security

If you’ve ever experienced flight cancellations, delays or any other sort of emergency while travelling, you know it can be a stressful time.

The scenarios that probably come to mind are missing an international connection, or a lost passport. However, you can run into trouble right here in Australia as well.

There’s help at hand though. If you book with an RAA travel expert, they can act on your behalf when problems arise.

It doesn’t matter if your flight is cancelled or you hurt yourself, the travel expert can provide support and assistance in a timely manner.

This includes before you’ve even left. With borders opening and closing suddenly due to COVID-19, even travelling interstate can have its risks.

RAA Travel can help reschedule travel plans if impacted by COVID-19.

2. Insider knowledge

Travel experts are extremely knowledgeable about destinations in Australia, having visited many themselves.

They can offer advice along the way and often have access to tours, accommodation and flights that may not be available online.

Due to the high demand of domestic travel at the moment, a travel expert’s insider knowledge is now more important than ever.

Many short cruises, hotels, tours and flights are booked-out months in advance, but a travel expert can give you access to last-minute discounts and help you book early-bird deals for 2022 and beyond.

Our experts can also quickly tell you what’s available for the dates you want to travel.

3. Assistance with insurance

When you organise your own travel, there’s a long list of things you need to book, from flights to tours and accommodation.

Often, one of the last things you think of is insurance. You might assume you don’t need travel insurance when travelling domestically, but it’s critical if there are any cancellations, you lose luggage or encounter unexpected car rental expenses.

A travel expert can book your travel insurance when organising the rest of your holiday, meaning you won’t be left without cover when it really matters.

4. Convenience

Nowadays, we all have less time to waste. Travel experts can take care of every aspect of your trip, from flights and accommodation to tours and transport.

This means you don’t have to spend countless hours researching online. Instead, you can speak to a travel expert face-to-face or over the phone about where you want to travel and what you want to do.

They’ll then begin planning your ideal holiday with your preferred destinations, activities and budget in mind.

5. Savings

Have you ever spent hours searching online for a good travel deal, only to be left frustrated because you can’t find any discounts? If you have, maybe you’re looking in the wrong place and need to speak to a travel expert.

Travel experts have endless amounts of insider knowledge. They can find an array of discounted flights, tours, cruises, rail holidays and hotel packages.

To get those discounts, RAA Travel experts recommend planning your trip in advance and booking early. If you know when you want to leave and return, then the odds of finding low-cost flights are higher.