Should you use a travel agent? Five situations when you really need a travel agent

Sally forth on the internet with mouse in hand and travel plans in mind and there's not too much you can't do. Flights, hotels, car hire – online travel sites tick all the boxes.

That's fine if you're organising a long weekend in Noosa or Bali for the fourth time, but maybe not so great if you're putting together an extended family trip to Vietnam or a first-time visit to Cuba with a New Orleans stopover.

While the internet is a razor-sharp information tool it's not always the best place to put wheels on your travel plans. When your wanderings are exotic, complicated or involving lots of people, questions such as visas, medical advice and access to cash are all vital, the landscape can change quickly and a travel agent should have the answers.

Here are five situations where a good travel agent can put a Teflon coating on your travels, and probably save you time, money and angst.

If you need a guide you need a travel agent

There are some places where it's almost impossible to go without a guide. Iran, most of Africa and the Middle East, the 'Stans – these are places where you're either backpacking with plenty of time on your hands or else you're travelling with a guide. It might be a guided group tour, just you and your bestie or even you on your lonesome but you need someone who knows the ropes, and a travel agent can help you find a local expert. Vital to this proposition is a specialist travel agent because nothing beats on-the-ground knowledge. When considering a trip to the Valley of the Assassins in Iran or a Nile cruise a crucial question to ask is "When were you last there?" If the answer is "never" or more than three years ago, the agent has less information than you have at your fingertips via the internet.

Hey big spender!

If you're looking for the lowest possible cost there's not too much a travel agent can do that you can't do for yourself. However if you're travelling in Prada mode a travel agent probably has access to information that you do not. It might be a freshly minted four-star hotel at your destination with an unbelievable introductory rate or a Mediterranean cruise that has just dropped the anchor on prices in a desperate bid to fill empty berths. Instead of a premium economy return flight to Europe that might set you back $6300, a travel agent might know of a business class round-the-world ticket with up to five stopovers for just shy of $8000.

The same applies to the special celebration. The honeymoon in June, the big birthday bash, the monsoon wedding, the multi-generational trip that whisks grandparents, parents and teens away to Hawaii to celebrate an octogenarian coming-of-age, these are things you can't afford to get wrong.