STA Travel

I came in with a really confusing itinerary and not at all prepared and Nathalie was so helpful and patient! Great place, super responsive and took care of everything I needed help with

I was very disappointed in my overall experience with STA travel. If you want them to just book a generic trip where you’re not involved in the planning and don’t really care about the details/​specifics, give them a try. But if you want to do anything on your own (plan your own trip, pick specific flight options), I’d use another company. Also after you pay, the communication and access to the booking agent drops suddenly. Instead of same day responses, it becomes over a week.
For the booking portion of my trip, I told them every detail I wanted (flights, etc). Regularly I needed to correct them on items. Granted there were a lot of flights and dates being thrown around, but it was all typed in an email. I’d rather not need to double check everything.
Part of my trip was a tour and I booked 4 nights in 2 hotels. 1 of those nights I was put in a far cheaper hotel (~$ 420 less/​night) by the local tour guide (paid through STA, but not STA). When I got home I asked STA for a refund of the difference for that night and after weeks of back and forth I was told that the tour company was «willing to offer [me] $ 150 in compensation». My thought was that they know how much they gave the cheaper hotel and what the cost of the more expensive hotel was, just give me the difference. $ 150 was a completely arbitrary number and I was given no documentation or information regarding why this number was acceptable.
It’s disappointing since STA is such a big name. However I’m definitely using another company in the future.

Sitting in the office now and it is taking them forever to print my tickets, they can’t figure out their printer. I should have gone to the small travel agency I used last time, in and out in 10 minutes. I hope I can finish all my errands before I leave for my flight…

Everything about this STA Travel location is A-​OK. The staff wasn’t overly friendly, but they weren’t offensive by any means. I walked in, got my ITIC, and was out within 20 minutes.
I would have loved to stick around and look given all the cool RTW paraphernalia they have in there but they could tell I wasn’t going to be dropping big amounts of money so the environment wasn’t super warm and fuzzy.

This is a great place to start your traveling plans. I am currently planning a year long backpacking trip through Central and South America. I initially came to STA to discuss their travel insurance. I was immediately greeted and provided with information. They took all my information and set me up so that all I needed to do was call them to confirm and make the purchase. A week later I hadn’t called so they gave me a friendly phone call. Just for all you other travelers… the STA travel insurance is one of the best rated and cheapest around. I’m going to initially purchase 7 months for just under $ 500 and then its an extra $ 50 every month after that. They also provided me with information on activities and places to stay in the regions I will be traveling as well as a travel guide for these regions for free.

Came here in May 2012 to get an International Student ID Card and was happy to find very friendly staff who not only processed my ID card quickly but gave us good advice on our travel destination. Informative pamphlets and brochures too if you’re interested in travel packages. Seems this might be the only one around NYC since last week it looked like the one up by Columbia University shut down?

Staff are very helpful. It’s nice to find a real life travel agency in a time when you have to find everything on the web. The people who work here are well traveled and can make good recommendations. They also try to find you the best deals for all of your travel needs.

I booked a 5-​week trip to Italy and France through them, and the agent I worked with was great about finding me good deals on hostels or hotels and gave me a lot of different options when I asked for them. He even read the customer reviews about each hotel, hostel, or tour to make sure they were positive. Even better, when some of the places I was visiting didn’t have affordable hotels or hostels connected through STA, he looked up the options for me all the same and encouraged me to explore the better deals and book them myself. He never pressured me to book everything through STA and didn’t try to «sell» me anything.
I just booked another trip through STA, this time a 9-​day tour of Costa Rica. I knew I wanted to go somewhere in Latin America during my winter break for under $ 2000 and was willing to go up a little for a particularly exciting tour. Dave, my agent, was very knowledgeable about the tours to Latin America and gave me 4 options and rate quotes and was willing to give me others at my request. He was patient and pleasant the entire time.
I highly recommend this specific office for booking trips. Just make sure to have realistic expectations for how much your trip will cost. For example, if you’re travelling during peak times, your plane ticket will cost more than expected. Also, it helps to make a appointment in advance so that you can have someone’s undivided attention for however long you need. No one here will rush you. However, if you have realistic expectations and know what kind of experience you’re looking for, the agents here will take good care of you.

I went in to the office and got quoted a price for a flight which I said I would go and check out against other prices. I went back 30 minutes later to purchase the ticket and the price jumped 20 dollars. When I asked why, the lady become indignant and tried bullying me into buying the ticket, saying stuff like other agencies will definitely try to con me, the price will jump more etc etc.
Bad service plus I felt conned.

Normally I find STA pretty helpful but my first time at this location was a disappointment. The wait for an advisor took forever and really I just wanted an ISIC card. I figured since I’d waited so long, I’d get some advice about my upcoming trip to South America. Having only been to Brazil, she told me it was odd to visit the Amazon in Peru and not Brazil. Yet Peru is home to a UNESCO site that is the only accessible untouched rainforest. I should have left at that point but I figured it wouldnt hurt to ask her about Maccu Pichu. All she did was push GAP tours since they get commission, even though it did not fit our limited time frame or budget. She then told me I would cetainly get screwed booking with any other agency since local agencies couldnt be trusted. Confused, I mentioned that many local agencies are recommended in Lonely Planet, which I was reading during my exruciatingly long wait. She then narrowed her eyes and asked me why I was asking her for help. Um, I thought you might have some insight besides commission rates?

I’ve visited STA offices all over the world to book trips, and one thing always holds true: these people know their stuff!
STA advisers are travel junkies themselves, so even though it doesn’t take a genius to punch some data into a computer and pull up a cheap flight (all that takes is travelocity!) these guys can offer so much more. They know all the info that you need to plan a trip down to every tiny detail– getting around, accommodation, and even what to pack.
For anything other than a domestic flight, I make this my first stop.