Directed by Philip Schofield (Let's Go Travel Agents)

Member Name: Rosassnaps

Product:	Let's Go Travel Agents
Date:	02/05/03 (2784 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Gets your holiday booked.

Disadvantages: Does not have branches all over U.K.yet.

LET'S GO TRAVEL....

This is a name that some of you may not be familiar with, unless you live in the South West of England, as I do.

Maybe you will have seen an advert on the T.V. with Philip Schofield in it, saying how he always books his holidays through this Travel Agent.
It is not one of the big chains, so even if you live in my area, you may not have noticed them, although ...............

LET'S GO TRAVEL, which is the largest Independent Travel Agent in the South West of England, and also the fastest growing Independent Travel Agency in the U.K, has 35 outlets scattered over Cornwall Devon, Dorset and Somerset.
30 of these outlets are Travel Agencies, and the others are a Business Travel Division; a Leisure Travel Call Centre, running travel clubs for organisations nationwide; and Specialist Cruise and Ski Centres.

LET'S GO TRAVEL has their Head Office based at Barnstaple, in North Devon.
This location includes the Personnel Department, Accounts Department and IT Departments.
This is also where LET'S GO TRAVEL was established in 1985, by Simon Maunder, who is the Managing Director.
The other Operational Director, the Commercial Director, is Robert Pocock.
There is also a Board of Non-Executive Directors, which includes PHILIP SCHOFIELD. (Yes, THE Philip Schofield, who we all love to watch on lots of T. V. programs these days!) Or maybe you don't like to watch him, but I think he is quite a nice fellow! (Taken the place of Noel Edmonds!!!)

The colour scheme in the LET'S GO TRAVEL shops is very bright, in purple and yellow.
The Travel Consultants have a smart uniform..dark purple skirt or trousers and jacket, and a patterned yellow and purple blouse.
They all wear a name badge which also states their position in the company, either trainee, consultant or manager/ess.
On entering a LET'S GO TRAVEL Agents shop, you are greeted by one of the g

irls (or boys), and asked if
they can help you.
My local branch is at St. Marychurch in Torquay, which is a quite small shop, with just 3 desks, each with a computer on, and comfortable chairs in front.
The shelves are always well stocked with all the various holiday brochures--either long haul destinations or the shorter journey destinations, which include city breaks and holidays nearer home, such as boating and holiday camps etc..
The windows of the shop usually have special offer/late deal posters on them, and other offers such as "Free transport to airport" for selected holidays, too.
In one of LET'S GO TRAVEL'S newer branches in Exeter High Street, which is their largest shop, you will find a new concept in travel..
A TRAVEL CAFÉ. This is open 7 days a week (other smaller branches may only open 6 days) Here, you may be met by a "greeter". You will be served with specialist coffee and cuisine in this coffee shop, (I think the coffee is free), so you can browse the brochures if you have to wait to see a suitable travel consultant to deal with your personal requirements.
I have not seen this facility at any other travel agent's shop. I wonder if it will catch on!

BOOKING your holiday at LET'S GO TRAVEL is quite painless. The Travel Consultants are very friendly and chatty, and soon make you feel at home.
Thomson Holidays is probably the first brochure you would be given, to choose from, as the Agency gets top commission from them, and usually have a target of sales to reach, in order to maintain this.
But you are free to pick a holiday from any Tour Operator.
The Travel Consultant asks which airport you want to fly from, and goes into the computer to check flight availability for your holiday destination and date.
You are then given a price.
On booking, a request can be made for a quiet room, or a high/low floor etc. at your hotel, but this is not guaran
teed.

On booking your holiday, you are given a receipt for your depos
it, (normally about £60 per person) and receive the official confirmation note by post, about a week to 10 days after.
Then your final balance usually has to be paid about 8-10 weeks before your departure date, for which you get a receipt.
Your travel tickets are then sent on to you approx.2 or 3 weeks before your departure date.(Keep these safe, with your insurance certificate and any other documents that you need to take with you).

Talking of Travel Insurance, LET'S GO TRAVEL can offer you a good insurance if you require it. If you are negotiating with them for a good price holiday, and they really want the booking, you may get a free insurance.(We have our own annual travel policy now, but DID get a free insurance for one of our holidays, booked with them).

You can also book Airport Hotel accommodation, if you have an early flight, and need to travel the day before (usually if flying from Gatwick).

Car parking at the airport can be booked in advance too. This can save you quite a lot of money if you do this.

Currency can also be ordered. (But they do charge commission for small amounts under £50). Unlike the Post Office who do not charge.

Car hire can also be arranged.

I have booked many holidays with LET'S GO TRAVEL.
More recent ones being a Blakes boating holiday to the Norfolk Broads, a couple of years ago, and another to the Welsh Canal in the Brecon Beacons, last year.

Also, we wanted to book a Coach Tour from the Bakers Dolphin Brochure.(A weekend trip last September and an 8 day trip this April 20th). As Bakers Dolphin is a rival Travel Agency (based in Weston Super Mare, I think),LET'S GO do not stock these brochures, but they did not refuse. The Travel Consultant got on the phone, and sorted it out for us.
Why did we not go to the Bakers Dolphin branch, you ask. Well, my
youngest d
aughter is a Travel Consultant at LET'S GO, so who better to give the commission to! But
I would not recommend booking a Bakers Dolphin trip again, as both were cancelled 4 weeks before departure!
We have had to wait now, until this month ( May )for a similar trip to Lake Garda, which should have been in April. Mind you, we are flying instead of coaching..don't want to get cancelled again!!

We have already booked our September holiday with LET'S GO. We are going to Bulgaria. Second visit to this country, but the last time was about 17 years ago when it was still behind the Iron Curtain, and there was hardly anything to buy in the local shops. All the women were working, sweeping roads etc. We are expecting it to be a little different now. Maybe I will write an opinion about Bulgaria when we return.

LET'S GO TRAVEL can be found on the internet at www.letsgotravel.co.uk where you will see their bright purple and yellow logo. It is fairly easy to navigate.

Under "Essentials", there are links to hotels; car hire; ABC Holiday extras(airport parking/hotels); brochure bank; currency info; travel health and U.K. government travel advice.

Under "Holidays", there is a holiday search form, where you fill in date, destination, airport, number of nights, number of persons and preferred tour operator to find your holiday.

Under "Flights", you can search for charter flights.

Then there is also a "Special Offers", which speaks for itself.

The Head Office of LET'S GO TRAVEL is at
22 Joy Street, Barnstaple, Devon. EX31 1BP.

Let's Go Direct can be contacted at 0870 400 8000
This call centre is open
Mon. to Thurs. 8-30 to 20-30;
Frid. 8-30 to 19-00;
Sat. 9-00 to 17-30
and Sun. 10-00 to 16-00.

ABTA and IATA.

Email:- sales@letsgotravel.co.uk

So to conclud
e this opinion,
I can say that you should be very pleased with the service you get from LET'S GO TRAVEL. The travel consultants are so eager to help you to find the perfect
holiday you are looking for.
Even if you have seen a holiday on the teletext pages, they can usually find the same one for the same price.

So get yourselves around to them and book your holiday.

(And I expect that there are some West Country people on Dooyoo!!)?????Is there??????

Thanks for reading.

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