I don't really like travel agents. I've been travelling a few times and never used one. I actually…read moreenjoy browsing around for the best deal for a flight, reading hotel and hostel reviews to make sure there are no cockroaches and making up the rest of the details when I get there. However, as far as travel agents go, STA isn't a particularly bad one. Rather than intimidating orange ladies with red neckerchiefs, this branch of STA usually has about four chilled out 20-something year old lads in checked shirts behind their desks. I've never seen the queues that Thomas describes but maybe this is just in the run-up to the university holidays. I went into this branch with a friend (who annoyingly pronounces it staaar travel), as she thought it would be the cheapest place to buy our tickets to NZ. Despite the friendly staff and fact that they apparently give discounts to students and under 26s, the prices they quoted for the flights to NZ alone were more expensive than flights I had found on the Quantas website which included 3 free stopovers. I've also been tempted to buy STA's travel insurance in the past but have always found better deals for my requirements elsewhere. As for volunteering, unless you fancy paying a grand to work for free, then you can find much cheaper (and some free) volunteering projects with companies such as Concordia. Only good if you are a student with no time and no imagination.

Sta travel is a hubbub of excited students planning their next jaunt. In those desperate few months…read morebefore the summer things get a little mad and I recall my experience of waiting in a queue for upwards of an hour as a very frustrating experience. Couple this with me not actually going on holiday it made for quite the wind up. I'm trying to see the light with this place, it is student orientated they have lots of well sorted trips that can be booked to pretty much any corner of the world apart from maybe Afghanistan (the army careers office is further down the road) or maybe the poles. Yet again though these trips draw me into another pet hate apart from queuing, the gap year was for me about really plonking you in the middle of nowhere, no guides nothing. Then through your experiences, developing an interpretation of local culture and perhaps even a temporary role within the community; that's real travelling. In recent years more and more websites and travel stores have become gap year orientated creating series of frustrating package deals wrapped up as the real deal, go nurture lion cubs in the outback making a real difference £1200, go diving in some of the most beautiful reefs in the world in the name of conservation (aka a body to drag a measuring tape across the coral) £800 and teach English in Ethiopia amid the savannah grasslands (£900). In my opinion you may as well book yourself two weeks in Magaluf.

The best exchange rate in town at 1.22.10 Euro rate, and the dollar rate is great too! Its a little…read morekiosk with about 3 staff in the American Express Travel shop just off Deansgate we always get our travel money from here, not that friendly staff but does the job.

I have to use this company through work and have had issues with 4 bookings (despite only making…read more3). I have found that you have to be explicit about your trip (they try to make you stay in airport 4 hours longer than required for more money... even when you do tell them the flights they try and book something else). I had them cancelling a flight "on my behalf" which would have left me stranded at an interim airport. They have also committed fraud on my credit card.

Mark is the most thorough, helpful and proactive travel-agent I have ever dealt with by a…read morecountry-mile! He worked hard to find and recommend some amazing places and really took all the stress and hassle out of the booking and the holiday itself. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Mark, particularly for anyone looking for slightly more adventurous trips; but with the safety-net of his meticulous planning and preparation.

Wonderful, professional company to work with. If you are looking for someone to take all the…read moreproblems of holidays, so that you can enjoy yours, use Mark and Scott

I've used Hays Travel for every holiday I've booked since I've lived in Bolton (10 years). Although…read moreI can only speak for the Horwich branch, I've found the staff to be helpful, incredibly friendly, and enthusiastic. They've helped us travel all over the world, including our honeymoon, and kept us updated with any relevant details, as well as getting us the best options and prices available. We also regularly get our foreign currency through their bureau de change. The shop itself is on a main street, with a free car park literally a 1 minute walk away), there's usually 2 or 3 consultants available at any one time, and the shop is clean, comfortable, and has a wide variety of holiday brochures, promotions, and multimedia about places you can visit on holiday. I've never felt compelled to book a holiday through anyone but Hays Travel. They're the best for us.

STA Travel is an especially popular place for students wishing to book a short trip,…read moreindividual/group holiday or flight as staff will provide excellent advice and tips for your trip such as the important things to be aware of. After all, staffs that work there have been through it all themselves and have had previous experience when it comes to travelling abroad. Booking your vacation or flight is simple and easy when done through this agency so there is no need to be afraid as when you leave, everything will be sorted hassle free. It is not only holidays they sell but language courses and volunteering projects abroad are also popular among students (even if you wish to travel off the beaten track). Choices are wide; more often than not, there will be a tour or a course that usually takes your fancy at affordable prices.

This travel agency is just one vowel away from being hilarious and somewhat tragic. Still that…read morecrucial vowel is not in place, we have an 'A' instead and we should probably all be happy about this because STA offer great, once-in-a-lifetime getaways to the under-26s at student overdraft friendly prices. There are a number of tours offered in their brochures (I have come very close on a number of occasions to booking the Greek Island Hopper - reasonable at £775 for 10 days of mediterranean fun) but equally a few enquiries with one of the friendly staffers here can see you jetting off on your own tailor-made break. If you're after genuine seat-of-your-pants adventure it might be best to organise the whole thing yourself (an eccentric university friend of mine said that he found he was constricted a little by some of the scheduling on the tours - comparing his tour of Turkey with a SAGA coach trip with more booze) but if you're after having someone guide you through your options and work to get you the holiday with a difference then I have many more friends who very much recommend the services here.

Excellent service it's the first time I've used holiday hamster…read more My travel agent Hayley went above and beyond to help me, she gave me different options ,dates and prices nothing was to much for her .Booked a trip to Disney world and got a really good price better than what I found online after weeks of searching Will definitely use them again and highly recommend

We had been using the traditional airline/come travel agent and had booked a trip to Orlando, then…read morea friend suggested I try Martin and Hayley as they had been excellent. So i did. Not only did they save me a LOT of money over the other quote the service was super and far more detailed and helpful. They are now my travel agent of choice and I would not go anywhere else.