CLEVELAND -- Travel is a $522 billion business, and more and more people are turning to the Internet these days when planning a vacation.

In fact, with the convenience of just the click of a mouse, nearly 64 million people used the Internet in 2004 to get travel information.

But is it the only way to a deal? 5 On Your Side decided to put it to the test, comparing the traditional travel agent to using the Internet, to see which way came up with the better deal.

NewsChannel5 sports producer Tony Burke and his wife, Carri, are celebrating their 10th wedding anniversary in the fall, which calls for something special -- a trip to Hawaii.

"Maybe biking down the mountain, just snorkeling, a little golfing, a little whale watching would be good," said Tony Burke.

It's a dream vacation, the land of turquoise waters and silky sands -- so who's going to get the better deal?

Chuck Petzinger is the co-owner of Traveline, a travel agent founded in 1956 by his grandmother.

He's been in the business for more than 10 years.

"We look at ourselves as unbiased purveyor of information," said Petzinger.

Carri Burke is a North Royalton mother of two and is pretty good with surfing the Net.

Petzinger and Burke both set out to find the best deal for the Hawaiian vacation.

The Burkes plan to fly for Cleveland to Los Angeles, stay for a night, the fly to Honolulu for three nights, then to Maui for five.

They'll need airfares, hotels booked and rental cars.

Petzinger and the Burkes were given three weeks to come up with the best price.

Burke spent at least one to two hours on the Web every day, visiting sites such as Travelocity, Expedia, Cheaptickets, Hotwire, and many others.

Petzinger made some phone calls trying to find the best deals for the Burkes.

After three weeks, we compared notes.

"It was getting frustrating, because we were going from Cleveland to L.A. and staying in L.A. overnight, we weren't able to book any package deals," said Burke.

For Burke, it was a full time job, spending at least 50 to 60 hours on the computer.

She priced out their anniversary trip for two for a grand total of $4,263.

"You know, I'm waiting to see -- Chuck probably did this in five minutes, and if we came up with same price, I'm really going to be frustrated," said Burke.

To be exact, Petzinger and his staff spent about an hour searching, for a grand total of $3,499.

This makes a total savings of $764 from Burke's estimate.

"I'm sure we'll be following the trip Chuck's planned for us," said Burke.

Although the Burkes have never been to Hawaii, they'll be savvier travelers because of all the research.

And in case of an emergency, Web sites may not give you that personal comfort that a travel agent might.