It's been a busy summer for travel agents as many people decide to travel for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic first hit. However, rising airline prices and ever-changing guidelines and regulations haven’t made things easy for travel agents the last few months.

Travel agent Martha Alderman-Boyer, owner of Boyer Travel, said she's happy to be busy again this summer after she experienced the slowest months of her career a year ago.

“As soon as things started lightening up a little bit, right around the end of April, that’s when my phone started really ringing. Now, people are saying, 'I want to do this, I want to do that,' ” Alderman-Boyer said.

Being a travel agent hasn’t been an easy job the last few months. Alderman-Boyer helps people book getaway cruises around the world.

“It’s a little bit difficult because some things are already being canceled for 2022. I had an Australia-New Zealand cruise, because Australia is not allowing tourists in yet. So, there’s a first one in January of 2022 that’s being canceled, at least for me,” Alderman-Boyer said.

Amy Jarvis, owner of The Travel Store, has also had some headaches when it comes to planning cruises. Aside from international trips, Jarvis said helping people plan out trips in the U.S. has been challenging.

“It is stressful for many reasons. One of the reasons is the changing rules. The other thing is people just don’t understand why it’s more expensive than it used to be. And, they don’t understand that the planes are full. And, there’s a lot of delays going on,” Jarvis said.

Mask mandates and COVID tests, depending on the destination, also have to fit into the planning process. Hotels and rental car shortages have also become an issue as of late while airfares have soared due to demand.

“I often suggest to clients, from here at least, to drive to New York, New Jersey airports. It’s not a whole lot longer to drive there as opposed to sitting in an airport and waiting for your connection in New York if you’re flying from Syracuse and you can save some money,” said Boyer.

“You always want to book as early as possible. The prices are only going up at this point. I have not seen anything come down at all. So, the earlier you can book, the better chance you have of getting a better price,” said Jarvis.

Getting the most bang for your buck when traveling is something we all want to do, and it’s usually easier to get a little help.

“I love to see people happy and have a great time,” said Jarvis.

“I love this. I think that planning the trip is actually more fun that taking the trip,” said Alderman-Boyer.

Alderman-Boyer said the reopening of the Canadian border will also make many of the cruises she plans out much easier.

Jarvis said you can never check your flight statuses too much, regardless of your destination, because things are constantly changing.