A comprehensive list of travel agents for booking tickets to India.

Are you looking for travel agents for booking tickets to India? Do you wonder if one should book tickets directly on airlines websites or use a travel agent? How much money do we save and/or are there any fine prints one should be aware of? Read on this blog to get answers to any of these questions.

List of Travel Agents:

• Nova Travel Inc – sudha@novatravel.com – 503-697-4460.
• Wita Travels – neetu@witatravels.com – 408-725-0333.
• Anmol Travels – info@anmoltravels.com – 425-368-2462.
• Just Fares – info@justfares.com – 1-800-766-3601.
• Mudra Travels – MudraTravels@yahoo.com – 614-818-2783.
• Simar Travels – contact@simartravels.com – 949-608-0296.
• Alanita Travels – alanita@alanitatravel.net –  1-888-465-4282.
• Travelnet Inc – info@travelnetusa.com – 301-984-7300.
• Budget Tours and Travels – reservations@bttbusa.com – 203-612-2821.
• Cosmopolitan Travel Services – support@ctsfares.com – 800-633-4087.
• Horizon Trip – support@horizontrip.com – 1-866-666-4066 .
• Lawson Travel – info@lawsontravel.com – 214-631-2458.
• Mercury Trip – Facebook.com/MercuryTrip1 – 510-573-5053.

My recommendations:

I have heard good reviews about Nova Travels, Wita Travels and Anmol Travels from multiple reliable sources. They had a good overall experience and had a positive recommendation for them. That said, the other travel agents mentioned above are legitimate and have been in business for long. I do not have enough reviews from my friends to recommend them here. Do try them out and let me know if you have any feedback at desicompile@gmail.com.

Some useful tips:

• Booking your ticket via agent can help you save $25-$50 per ticket typically (YMMV). The agents usually earn around 5-8% commission on each ticket booked and if you are a regular customer they sometimes give up a portion of their commission to give you a good deal.
• Travel agents are extremely helpful if you have seat/meal preferences, need wheelchair options, open-ended ticketing or want to book multi-city tickets. Also, if you have an onward journey in India, travel agents have good tie-ups with local agents and offer good domestic connections. (When you book onwards journey online, most airlines do not have tie-ups in India and show limited options).
•  Most travel agents allow you to cancel/postpone your tickets without any extra charges.  If you want to cancel, you should book within one year.
• You will be asked to deposit money directly to travel agent’s bank account. If you do not want the hassle of going to a bank branch, just book at the airlines website directly.
• Do your homework before calling the travel agents. Lookup the approximate fares on expedia/cheapoair and bargain hard before agreeing on the price.
• Take quotes from multiple agents and ask them to price match. Most of them are willing to price-match if you have a lower quote from someone else.
• I usually prefer travel agents who are local to my city and I can visit them in case of any issues. Being from Seattle area, I prefer Anmol Travels who have been quite good for me in the past.

PS: The list of travel agents is not exhaustive and I am sure there are many others that I didn’t get a mention here. If you know a good travel agent and have strong recommendation, write to me at desicompile@gmail.com. I will do my due diligence before posting them here.