Depressed about international travel costs

[Anonymous]

We took the entire family to England/France a few years ago (OK, 5 years ago), and the airfare was about $600 per person round trip. We took the train from London to Paris, so that was a few hundred dollars more. It didn't break the bank then and wouldn't now if we could find such great fares, but I doubt it. We went during "mud season" in late Feb, early March, when the weather was terrible (wet, cold, snowish), so fewer people travel then, and seats are more plentiful and cheaper. I'd go again, but kids are now in public/private and the school vacations don't match up! Ya, first world problem, but I really, really loved taking the kids to Europe, and I do so want to go again, but doubt it will happen. Prices are higher, and we don't have as much money any more.

I did do extensive searching and found the cheaper fares using BA and American websites, and got special deals on certain days (like travel on Wed and Sat). Expedia, etc. (do people still use those?) had higher fares, plus you pay some surcharge, so we didn't use them. The airlines' own websites were slightly cheaper, but it is definitely more work, and the prices change from minute to minute practically, so you have to be ready to jump if you find a good price.

[Anonymous]

OP, I just read an article in the Travel section of the Post on that very subject. Someone asked about the -- relatively - cheap way to travel to London, and the answer was, the airfare rarely, if ever, goes under $1000. The cheapest way to travel would be to find an indirect flight, and off-season, but still.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I long for the days when I could get a $500 flight to europe over the winter. sigh. now that I have kids, I think it'll be another decade before I travel internationally.

I just got a $530 ticket to Europe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I long for the days when I could get a $500 flight to europe over the winter. sigh. now that I have kids, I think it'll be another decade before I travel internationally.

I just got a $530 ticket to Europe!

Turkish Airlines?

[Anonymous]

we are using FF miles but even those tix are "pricey" these days.

[Anonymous]

I thought I found a great deal recently ont he Virgin travel site, only to realize it was Aeroflot through Moscow. Uh, no.

[Anonymous]

Cheapest I can find for one adult, two kids:

https://www.britishairways.com/travel/fx/public/en_us?eId=111011×tamp=0124062456&source=continue&source=continue

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:we are using FF miles but even those tix are "pricey" these days.

Yes, we used frequent flier miles to buy our tickets to London this summer. Were able to find saver fares on United for 30,000 miles each way (240,000 miles for 4 of us round trip). Taxes were about $800. We are renting an apartment for about $2000/week. My husband travels internationally for work a lot - otherwise I don't know how we would be be able to afford it.

[Anonymous]

I'm unhappy about having to spend over $1000 to fly my family to Atlanta for a weekend for a wedding. I can't believe how expensive even short domestic flights are now. And yes Europe and such are over $1000 each now - I remember when I got a $400 flight to London to see my sister for a long weekend - never again I guess.

[Anonymous]

We afford it because we budget for our base salaries only and max out my employee stock purchase plan. Gains on stock and bonuses are used for travel and gifts.

15% of bonuses and the principal investment on stock goes to additional retirement and college savings.

[Anonymous]

It's all timing. I fly to Europe about every 2-3 months. If I fly outside of summer, my tickets are $800-1000. If I fly in summer, they are $1,300-1,600. Same route and same carrier every time. It's just supply and demand.

Right now it looks like I have to go to Amsterdam in July for work. Tickets on the dates I need are pricing at $2,400 (direct flight; with connections is $1,500), though it drops to $1,600 if I stay the weekend. THat's still high -- I can fly there in winter for $800.

Basically what I realized now that we have kids is that if you want to fly when they are off school, that's when everyone else wants to go also so you'll pay dearly for it.

Compare that to the $3,000-$4,000 I pay to fly to China in business class when I fly in October/November (17 hours of traveling). There's simply no demand then.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I drive a cheap car, only eat out in cheap ethnic places and live on a house on a busy road. In return, we can take the kids to UK/Europe for two weeks every year, as well as go on a couple of mini-breaks a year while in-laws watch the kids. We probably spend a good chunk of our money on travel but we enjoy it.

PP, how much do your two-week family trips cost - airfare, lodging, transport, entry fees and activities, food, souvenirs… total bill? (I assume you do the trips in the summer?)

No tips for finding cheap flights, I am afraid, other than the usual - look for flights from BWI, IAD, and if you don't mind changing, DCA. Look at LGW as well as LHR.
Personally, I look for direct flights because it isn't worth the hassle of changing with kids.

last year the tickets were 5.5 K for the 4 of us - most I have ever paid by far, but I think that is the type of price we are looking at for this summer unless something changes drastically.

Then spend about $1000 paying for part of a house share in Europe - in UK stay for free with family and friends.

We do spend a lot on food - probably $150/day in Europe, even more in London. Then maybe $50/day on incidentals.

I guess in total we spend about 10K on our summer trip.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there's an easy way to do Europe on the cheap unless you really don't care where in Europe you're going. I get the travelzoo emails and often they'll have tickets to random European cities for good rates (especially if you can go off-peak, which I can't since I'm a teacher!)

We've honestly found some European cruises to be cheaper than doing Europe by land once you factor in hotels + food + activities + train fare between cities. I know many don't like cruises, but we find them stress free and a great way to see a lot of stuff in a short amount of time.

[Anonymous]

I thought a European vacation was cheaper than Disney, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:we are using FF miles but even those tix are "pricey" these days.

Yes, we used frequent flier miles to buy our tickets to London this summer. Were able to find saver fares on United for 30,000 miles each way (240,000 miles for 4 of us round trip). Taxes were about $800. We are renting an apartment for about $2000/week. My husband travels internationally for work a lot - otherwise I don't know how we would be be able to afford it.

We're doing the same thing! Just cashed in 240,000 frequent flier miles we've been saving for a few years. Were able to find the saver flights to London for 30,000 miles per leg, but still end up paying $1,000 or so extra for the taxes.