If you are interested in booking a vacation, you have two main choices. You can do the work yourself, or you can choose to work with a travel agent. Although many people think they will save time and money by doing the work themselves, it is the opposite that is usually true. The next time you plan a vacation, you should consider the following benefits to working with a travel agent.

Travel agents know the best days to travel.

When working with a travel agent, you are dealing with someone who not only books dozens (or even hundreds) of vacations every year, but also someone who probably travels often him or herself. Travel agents understand the best days to travel from a budget perspective, as well as from a time perspective. If your dates are flexible, a travel agent can help you find the cheapest, most hassle-free options.

Save money on flights, hotels, and other types of reservations.

Almost all travel companies offer group rates. The problem is, when you travel with your family, you likely will not have enough people to get that group discount, even if you travel with a big family. With a travel agent, you will get the discount because they buy tickets in bulk. You may also get a discount simply because travel professionals get special discounts through professional affiliations.

It takes virtually no work when you let a travel agent plan your vacation for you.

Although you should still do a little research in order to know what questions to ask your travel agent and to make wise decisions on your travel options, you should have to spend little or no time dealing with the details of final booking and other preparations. You will save hours and hours of time!

Travel agents can answer travel document questions.

Laws regarding visas and passports are constantly changing. Although you typically still have to go through the application process yourself, your travel agent can make sure that you understand important deadlines and answer your logistical questions.

You might get insider perks with travel agents.

Some vacation options and travel perks might only be available for people who book with a travel agent. In short, travel agents know the right questions to ask. For example, if you are a newlywed and book through a travel agent, they might be able to get you a honeymoon suite for the same price as a regular room. Travel agents know how to reap the most benefits when booking vacations.

Travel agents can answer questions about your destination.

Chances are that your travel agent (or someone in his or her office) has been to most of the common travel destinations. That means that they should be able to answer your questions about the vacation. From the best restaurants to what to expect when traveling around town on public transportation, travel agents know how to answer your vacation questions.

Travel agents can recommend travel options that are more affordable.

One of the most common reasons for people not traveling more often is that travel is expensive. You might want to travel to a foreign tropical island paradise, for example, on a shoestring budget. Your travel agent can suggest a domestic sunny location, which gives you longer vacation options on your budget.

Kid-friendly travel is much easier with using a travel agent.

There are many challenges to traveling with children, especially young children. Travel agents can help you to deal with these problems. Remember, they book trips for families all of the time. Along the same lines, they can also help solve problems traveling with pets, senior citizens, or disabled individuals.

When your travel plans change, a travel agent can help you deal with these problems.

Things do not always go as planned. When this happens and you have reserved the various portions of your trip by yourself, you have dozens of calls to make, changing dates and trying to save as much money as possible. When working with a travel agent, you only have one call to make. Better yet, the travel agent might be able to get your dates of travel changed or get you a partial refund whereas alone, you might have simply lost the money.

You have a single bill to pay with a travel agent.

Instead of making a ton of small purchases with multiple receipts, confirmation and reservation numbers, you will have one big bill to pay. Better yet, most travel agents have payment plans, in which you pay a certain amount each month until your date of travel. They might even have financing plans to make things easier. With a travel agent, vacations can be stress-free from a financial perspective, on top of all of the planning perks.

Using a travel agent, online or in-person, to plan and reserve your next vacation has many advantages over doing it yourself. You do not have to go it alone to save time and money. In fact, not using a travel agent can cost you more dollars and headache than you would have had you chosen the services of an experienced travel agent.

When friends and family call me crazy for traveling with my toddler and preschooler to cities like Chicago, New York, and Toronto, I just laugh. My kids have munched on picnic treats while watching the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Millennium Park, clambered up the monkey bars in the shadow of the arch in Washington Square Park and peered through the glass floor on the observation deck of the CN tower. Though it wasn’t always easy navigating the city streets with two little ones in tow, it was well worth the trouble. I had a fantastic time and I could tell from the way they talked about the trips for months afterward that my kids had a great time too.

The city is full of fun and educational activities for children. From skyscrapers to top-notch museums, kids can see and experience things that are simply unavailable in small towns. Though city travel with small children can be challenging, with careful planning and attention to detail everyone can have a good time. Here are a few tips to help the trip go smoothly:

Take a stroller. Even if it’s been a while since your child has used a stroller, you’ll be glad you brought it. City trips tend to involve a good deal of walking from spot to spot and a little one can tire out easily. With a stroller he can ride in comfort and you won’t worry about losing him in a crowd. I’ve found that the inexpensive umbrella strollers work much better than the large, heavy-duty strollers complete with food trays and cup holders. Umbrella strollers fold up smaller and are lighter, making them more convenient for toting up and down flights of stairs or carrying onto the subway.

Make frequent stops at playgrounds. The best part of visiting a city can be simply strolling around, popping into unusual shops, watching the people and enjoying the city energy. Remember that while your toddler or preschooler might be very patient, he’s got his limits. I’ve found that stopping to play for a few minutes at playgrounds that we happen upon is a great way for the little ones to work some of their energy off. They also love the novelty of playing on different equipment than the same old stuff found at the parks back home.

Bring a travel pack of wipes. Even if you’re not a germ nazi, you’ll be glad you did. Those city playgrounds, banisters and benches can be extremely dirty, but after cleaning the little one’s hands up with a wipe you’ll feel more comfortable about letting her dig into a tasty hot dog from a street vendor.

Choose your eateries carefully. If you’re eating at a nice sit-down restaurant, make sure it’s noisy enough to absorb your child’s prattle. I learned that one the hard way when, tired out from our long drive, we decided to eat at our Chicago hotel’s in-house restaurant, the kind of place with a hushed atmosphere and waiters in white gloves hovering about. Naturally my two-year-old decided to belt out the “itsy-bitsy-spider” over and over again. We wound up having the meal sent up to our room. The next night we chose a popular, lively Italian restaurant where the little guy was no louder than anyone else in the place.

Plan activities for kids. Big cities offer all sorts of interesting and educational activities for children of all ages. Do a little research online and in guidebooks ahead of time to find a few age appropriate sights for your child. Has it been over twenty years since you took part in any of these activities yourself? You just might find yourself enjoying seeing the tyrannosaurus rex skeleton at the natural history museum and watching the polar bears glide through the water at the zoo.

Plan activities for adults. Destinations like art museums can still be on the agenda, but keep in mind your child’s limitations and be ready to cut the outing short if need be. Try to engage him at the art museum. Ask questions like: “What do you see in that picture? Do you see a boat? What picture do you like best in this room?” Visit any children’s exhibits the museum might have and ask at the information desk which exhibits are the biggest hits for kids.

Take the bus or subway. Mass transit is an adventure for a small town kid. After the trip is over, he’ll talk about it as much as the dinosaur bones. Try to avoid traveling at rush hour, though, when the sardine can atmosphere might be overwhelming for a little one.