Now that you can put your whole vacation together by yourself on-line, why bother to contact a travel agent? I may be a little biased, but I think travel agents can be a very valuable resource on several fronts.

Traveling abroad is not just about getting tickets from point A to point B. You can do that yourself and sometimes more inexpensively than through a travel agent. The airlines want you book on-line on their sites so they make it the easiest and most economical for the traveler. Travel agents can sometimes get better deals working through consolidators or, if they are part of a huge consortium, have access to special fares . Before booking on your own, ask a travel agent to see if they can get you a better deal.

The real importance of an agent is the inside information they have about the hotels and the cities you want to visit. Reserving a hotel on Expedia or hotels.com can be cheaper, but you never know what room they are going to put you in or what that room REALLY looks like. I know several people who were shocked at the poor quality of the room they booked and ended up paying more to upgrade to an acceptable room. Experienced travel agents, in many cases, can get you a better room and arrange upgrades. They also deal with hotels that are not part of chains, so can get you the “country experience” that you are looking for.

What practical things do you need to know before you travel to Europe? Travel agents who specialize, know the ins and outs of the country you are traveling to and will make sure you are prepared.

What do travel agents cost? Some travel agents make their money solely on commissions from the hotels and tours that they book, so in that case, nothing.

But in the age of specialty, more travel agents are charging an up-front fee to do all the planning and booking for you. Sometimes, this fee is then deducted from your total bill if you book with that agent. This fee eliminates the “shoppers”, who are trying to pick an agent’s brain for free, then book on their own.

Why pay a fee? These specialty agents are fonts of knowledge and have real and important information they offer their clients. These agents have taken classes on and have traveled to their specialty area. One person simply cannot know everything about everywhere on earth, nor can they know all about every specialty travel area such as honeymoons, adventure travel, wine and culinary, etc. When an agent specializes in a certain area, they are a resource that is far more valuable than a good guide book.

Look for an agent who specializes in the place you want to go. An experienced agent will ask you a lot of questions so he or she can put together a trip that meets your interests and budget. You are busy and this is their full time job; go with an expert.

But, don’t take my word for it: the Motley Fool just published this article about the value of travel agents.