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.
Thank you very much. This was very helpful. Just going off of your recommendations –
1. Nova Travel contact number says “not in service “ , not sure if they are still in business ?
2. Anmol travels – spelling is incorrect. It’s ‘Amol Travels’ there is no ‘n’ . Also, the email you provided is incorrect
Their correct email id is info@amoltravel.com