While there are plenty of domestic cheap traveloptions including cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, discounttravel deals, and cheap vacation packages, youshould not assume that travel to Europe is unaffordable.
Autumn and early winter is often the perfect time fortaking a trip to Europe. Mild weather,smaller crowds, scenic outdoor activities, and lower hotel rates are some ofthe many reasons to consider heading east. Even better news is that you can find low-priced flights, if you planproperly.
The following are tips for finding the cheapest airfares toEurope in the off season, according to Daniel Bortz:
Selecta destination offering better deals. While the cheapest cities can vary depending on your departure point,there are excellent deals to Copenhagen, Dublin, London and Paris. Round trip tickets from New York toCopenhagen have sold recently for $320 and New York to London for $354. Flights to Northern and Western Europe areoffering the most competitive rates. Iceland (Reykjavik airport) and Dublin are top picks for cheapestEuropean destinations.
Identifycheap departure cities. Usually flightsto Europe from Boston, Chicago, Denver, New York City, Orlando, and Washington,D.C. are the cheapest because these cities are hubs for many internationalairlines.
Checkout ultra-low-cost airlines. NorwegianAir, British-owned Condor, Icelandic airline Wow Air, France-based XK Air, andLatvian Primera Air offer some of the cheapest transatlantic flights. For example, Wow Air recently offered a $160flight from Boston to Amsterdam in December. Primera Air has sold flights from Newark to Paris as cheap as $99.
Figureout the total cost of an airline ticket before purchasing it. Low-cost airlines are notorious for charginghidden fees for things such as carry-on bags, checked luggage, seat upgrades,and beverages. Sometimes you can stillscore great deals from low-cost airlines cheap tickets so long as your eyes arewide open prior to purchase. Makecertain to read their pricing structures and terms of conditions so you knowthe true/complete cost of your airline ticket.
Ifyour destination is remote, look into flying to a nearby major city. Generally, flights to remote destinations,such as national parks or Mediterranean islands, cost more than flights tomajor cities. Once you are in Europe,you can often take a train or budget flight most places for under $100.
Bewilling to depart on a Wednesday and return on a Tuesday. After analyzing over a years worth of flightdata leaving the U.S. and Canada to Europe, it was determined that flying easton a Wednesday and returning home on a Tuesday was usually when the cheapestflights were offered. A recent studyrevealed that travelers can save an average of $76 by reserving flights on aWednesday (the cheapest day to fly) instead of a Sunday (the most expensive).
Considerenjoying two vacations for the price of one. With Iceland Air passengers are given the option of adding a stay of upto seven nights in Iceland when traveling from the U.S. and Canada to Europefor no additional cost.
www.cheapfares.com