2015 might be the year to visit Europe

hoffse · January 2015

Why? Flight costs are dropping because of fuel prices, and it's pretty easy to find a deal to get you over there right now. The euro also hit an 11-year low this morning, and it may continue to drop slowly against the dollar over the next several months:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102342803

We are going to France in July and priced the trip out around early October 2014. Since then, we got plane tickets for half the cost we were expecting to pay, and the euro rate has dropped enough to save us several hundred bucks over what we were estimating (assuming the rate stays where it is).

If these trends continue and we can swing it, H and I are talking about doing a second trip over there in December while it's cheap (if we can get another deal on airfare of course).

Food for thought.

simplyelise · January 2015

I was thinking the same thing this morning! We went on our honeymoon in Ireland in october and the it was about 1.5 Euro to 1 USD. Today it's 1 Euro to 1.15 USD.

If any of you out there can swing it, go crazy in europe!

hoffse · January 2015

simplyelise said: I was thinking the same thing this morning! We went on our honeymoon in Ireland in october and the it was about 1.5 Euro to 1 USD. Today it's 1 Euro to 1.15 USD.
If any of you out there can swing it, go crazy in europe!

Ireland would be amazing.

If we go a second time this year (I can't believe I just typed that) it will be because of a deal. Still, flights during high season right now are so much cheaper than they were last year. And we saved enough on our flights to France for us to both fly over there again during low season at regular prices. We'll see what we have left after the dust settles from our first trip, but we aren't ruling it out.

The exchange rate can just kill you when traveling. Going while the exchange rate is good can save a small fortune.

vlagrl29 · January 2015

we are already going to st. lucia in april so no more traveling for us after that.

i'm still in denial we will be without dd for 7 days - I may cry.

MommyLiberty5013 · January 2015

It's a great idea....except for all those terror cells waking up right now. I hope it calms down.

hoffse · January 2015

MommyLiberty5013 said:

It's a great idea....except for all those terror cells waking up right now. I hope it calms down.

At this point I think I would be more worried about visiting NYC or DC than most of the big cities in Europe. I think it's going to calm down over there. Can't let the terrorists win.

Erikan73 · January 2015

My advice is that if you are planning to rent a car there, make sure to budget plenty of money for gas. Not sure if their gas prices are dropping like ours. Even if they are, I know at least in Germany, gas prices are 3x what it costs here in the states.

jtmh2012 · January 2015

I was looking at plane tickets yesterday for 2 adults and a lap infant. $2800!!!!

It cost us that to go to Thailand in 2012 and Thailand is a lot further away.

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

jtmh2012 said:
I was looking at plane tickets yesterday for 2 adults and a lap infant. $2800!!!! It cost us that to go to Thailand in 2012 and Thailand is a lot further away.

Oh boo! Where are you flying out of?

hoffse · January 2015

jtmh2012 said:

I was looking at plane tickets yesterday for 2 adults and a lap infant. $2800!!!! It cost us that to go to Thailand in 2012 and Thailand is a lot further away.

Ah sad - keep looking though. The deal we got was a flash sale type thing. There have been a lot of them recently!

jtmh2012 · January 2015

Xstatic3333 said:

I was looking at plane tickets yesterday for 2 adults and a lap infant. $2800!!!! It cost us that to go to Thailand in 2012 and Thailand is a lot further away.
Oh boo! Where are you flying out of?

Richmond International (RIC). It's somewhat of a regional airport. However, I also tried looking up flying out of Newport News-Williamburg (PHF) as it is sometimes cheaper, Norfolk International (ORF) and Dulles (IAD). Not enough variance to make it work the gas and parking fees.

jtmh2012 · January 2015

hoffse said:

jtmh2012 said:

I was looking at plane tickets yesterday for 2 adults and a lap infant. $2800!!!! It cost us that to go to Thailand in 2012 and Thailand is a lot further away.

Ah sad - keep looking though. The deal we got was a flash sale type thing. There have been a lot of them recently!

I'm actually too far out for my dates (Sept '16). Was just trying to get an idea as we were going to book a European cruise and wanted to book that now.

hoffse · January 2015

More updates on this:

www.bbc.com/news/business-30933515

JoanE2012 · January 2015

I'm thinking it may be cheaper to go to Europe than to the Caribbean! We've been pricing out some Caribbean spots and the airfare is RIDICULOUS! I have a fear of flying though, and the whole Europe terror cells make it much worse.

@hoffse - Where in France are you going? We were looking into Nice a couple months ago.

Xstatic3333 · January 2015

JoanE2012 said:

I'm thinking it may be cheaper to go to Europe than to the Caribbean! We've been pricing out some Caribbean spots and the airfare is RIDICULOUS! I have a fear of flying though, and the whole Europe terror cells make it much worse.

@hoffse - Where in France are you going? We were looking into Nice a couple months ago.

Airfare in general is looking pretty steep right now. Most European spots are consistently $1000 for me, but I just Googled Amsterdam for our vacation week and its hovering around $1200. One article I read said it's because of all of the recent airline mergers removing competition, but you can still get lucky if you watch your price points and watch for specials.

Flights to Peru, where we really want to go, are soooo cheap right now that it's killing me not to buy them. $600 from Boston! That's so far to go for $600! We just need a few financial challenges to successfully pass and a little more money saved before I feel comfortable committing to that trip.

formerlyGDaisy09 · January 2015

I'm hoping domestic flights drop so we can get to a wedding in California this summer, seriously the weddings are putting a major dent in savings progress this year.

hoffse · January 2015

JoanE2012 said:

I'm thinking it may be cheaper to go to Europe than to the Caribbean! We've been pricing out some Caribbean spots and the airfare is RIDICULOUS! I have a fear of flying though, and the whole Europe terror cells make it much worse.

@hoffse - Where in France are you going? We were looking into Nice a couple months ago.

We're going to Provence for a week and then Paris for two days. We got a deal on a cute apartment in a small town near Avignon - 700E for the week's rental, and it includes an American kitchen, parking spot, laundry, and it's own private patio. We'll save a lot on food by being able to cook meals, and we will be able to travel with a carry-on, which is going to be so nice. It's in the town that hosts the third largest antique market in Europe outside of London and Paris - and the town is tiny! Apparently the antique market takes over the entire town every Sunday

The owners of the apartment are American. We've spoke with them on the phone, and we like them a lot.

We're going to rent a car and explore the area. We both love Roman ruins, and we should be within an hour's drive of most of the really good ones, as well as the lavender fields. We will be going at the very end of July, which is peak lavender season and just the beginning of sunflower season.

Then two days in Paris at the end because I've never been there. H has been there a couple times and is excited to show me around.

I'm not too worried about the terror cells. I think the American media is really overblowing it. The euro news sources aren't nearly as frightening. I've also been reading tripadvisor forums pretty diligently, and it sounds like everything is back to normal in Paris. Maybe a few more security guards than you would normally see in the tourist areas, but nothing too noticeable.

We figure that bad things can happen anywhere. There are obviously places in the world we would not visit due to the political situation, but most of Europe is not on that list for us.

JoanE2012 · January 2015

Oh that sounds like a great vacation! I'm always afraid to drive in a country where I don't speak the language or am able to read the signs. Then again, I guess GPS can probably make it alot easier!

Mom987 · January 2015

This may be silly but that's okay. Are there any well known all inclusive resorts in Europe like sandals is in the Caribbean?

hoffse · January 2015

Mom987 said:

This may be silly but that's okay. Are there any well known all inclusive resorts in Europe like sandals is in the Caribbean?

Check out Iberostar. It's a Spanish chain that has AIs on the Mediterranean.

However, if you go to Europe I would suggest you do something different for a first trip. The Med is spectacular - I much prefer it over the Caribbean actually (less tacky)- but the beaches on the Med are the playground for Europeans the same way the Caribbean is the playground for Americans. I think the Med beaches tend to be more crowded than Caribbean beaches, and I don't really see a reason to fly all the way over there just to bake on the beach. Granted, I live near Florida so going to the beach is a 4-hour drive for me. We usually go a few times a year over long weekends.

For me, the charm of the Med is the small towns dotted along the coast. The food, the views, the weather, the lifestyle. It's wonderful.

I'll also say that the best beach I've ever been to is on the Gulf Coast. The beaches along Highway 30A in Florida (in between Panama City Beach and Destin) are absolutely to die for. We have been to the Caribbean for the AI experience, but if all we are looking for is beach and privacy, we head to 30A. There are houses and condos you can rent down there with direct beach-front access. If you pick the right spot, you might see just a dozen other people on the beach with you. It's really hard to pass that up for huge crowds elsewhere. Disclaimer: I haven't been to Hawaii or Tahiti/Bora Bora/etc.. Those beaches could be better.

But yeah if you visit Atlanta, Birmingham, or any other large-ish southern city you'll see 30A stickers on people's cars all over the place. They're the ones who know...

hoffse · January 2015

JoanE2012 said:

Oh that sounds like a great vacation! I'm always afraid to drive in a country where I don't speak the language or am able to read the signs. Then again, I guess GPS can probably make it alot easier!

Well H has been practicing his French - it's coming along pretty well, and he's the driver. That said, I'm the one who is supposed to navigate, and I speak zero French. We are going to bring our GPS with us and buy a map. I'm ok with getting a bit lost though. It will be an adventure!

Mom987 · January 2015

hoffse said:

Mom987 said:

This may be silly but that's okay. Are there any well known all inclusive resorts in Europe like sandals is in the Caribbean?

Check out Iberostar. It's a Spanish chain that has AIs on the Mediterranean.

However, if you go to Europe I would suggest you do something different for a first trip. The Med is spectacular - I much prefer it over the Caribbean actually (less tacky)- but the beaches on the Med are the playground for Europeans the same way the Caribbean is the playground for Americans. I think the Med beaches tend to be more crowded than Caribbean beaches, and I don't really see a reason to fly all the way over there just to bake on the beach. Granted, I live near Florida so going to the beach is a 4-hour drive for me. We usually go a few times a year over long weekends.

For me, the charm of the Med is the small towns dotted along the coast. The food, the views, the weather, the lifestyle. It's wonderful.

I'll also say that the best beach I've ever been to is on the Gulf Coast. The beaches along Highway 30A in Florida (in between Panama City Beach and Destin) are absolutely to die for. We have been to the Caribbean for the AI experience, but if all we are looking for is beach and privacy, we head to 30A. There are houses and condos you can rent down there with direct beach-front access. If you pick the right spot, you might see just a dozen other people on the beach with you. It's really hard to pass that up for huge crowds elsewhere. Disclaimer: I haven't been to Hawaii or Tahiti/Bora Bora/etc.. Those beaches could be better.

But yeah if you visit Atlanta, Birmingham, or any other large-ish southern city you'll see 30A stickers on people's cars all over the place. They're the ones who know...

Thanks for the input! Yeah we're 5.5 hours from the gulf also and have been many times. We love it also. Santa Rosa Beach was our most recent trip and we would definitely like to plan more 3 day weekends down there.

2015 might be the year to visit Europe

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