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CUSTOM EUROPEAN TRIP PLANNING 

Do you have a unique travel goal for Europe? Home At First researches and custom-plans individual itineraries to your specific dream destinations, with all the lodgings, flights, and ground transportation needed to accomplish your goals.

WE CUSTOM-PLAN DREAM TRIPS TO:

• England • Scotland • Wales • Ireland • Isle of Man

• Austria • France • Germany • Greece • Italy

• Netherlands • Portugal • Spain • Switzerland
• Iceland • Denmark • Finland • Norway • Sweden

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A Letter from Home…

Despite the Headlines —

2025 Is a Very Good Year for Bargain Travel to Europe.

(Sorry – But a Little Math Might Be Necessary During This Article).

        Maybe you+ have travel dreams, but find there are lots of hurdles between you and your goals . Politics. Weather. Crowds. Finances. Let us debunk some of these misapprehensions.

Politics: While many foreigners believe the United States has lost its mind, few think that individual Americans are suddenly crazy, untrustworthy, and, therefore, unwelcome. Here in Europe where I write this piece, Americans remain the happy, inquisitive, loud, friendly, generous visitors Europeans have come to expect and appreciate.
          Regardless of politics, American travelers are generally positive, honest, open, friendlier than most, and not overly tight with money. Europeans welcome us, although many now avoid political discussions with Americans.

Weather: Summer can be oppressively hot in Mediterranean countries: Spain, France, Italy, Croatia, and Greece. That’s not new. In recent years the summer heat has intensified and spread into southern England, lowland Germany, Paris, and even lowland Switzerland.
          Europe is largely ill-prepared for temperatures in the 90’s (32°C & up). Air conditioning is not widely as Europeans tend to view air conditioning as an expensive, selfish indulgence that adds heat and carbon to global warming. It is not often used in hotels, private homes, and even in rental cars.
          Our best advice: the prime weather time to travel to southern Europe and low-lying middle Europe is during spring (mid-March to mid-June) and fall (mid-September to mid-November). Travel during these times is not only more comfortable, but crowds are generally smaller and airfares usually lower.
          Otherwise, summer travel offers mild temperatures, longer days, and active holidays in northern Europe (Scotland, Ireland, Wales, northern England, Scandinavia, the Baltic, and Iceland) and the Alps (much of Switzerland, plus parts of Italy, France, Germany, and Austria). I write this in early July in the Swiss Alps, where last week we had heat warnings (temps rose to 74°F), and this week we wear jackets & long pants with fresh powder expected on the high peaks that surround us.

Crowds: In America, if you go to New York, Niagara Falls, Las Vegas, Orlando, Hollywood, or beaches along the East Coast, Gulf Coast, or West Coast, you expect large summer crowds. Likewise in Europe, expect summer crowds in London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, many other major cities, plus tourist meccas like Venice, Pisa, Florence, famous alpine resorts, and, of course, all along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Greece, Croatia, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, and England.
          Much of the extraordinary growth in day-trippers originates from the many huge new cruise ships in the Mediterranean. Otherwise, crowding this year is not worse than in prior years. In fact, numbers of North Americans flying to Europe in 2025 are down. The political headlines may be partly responsible for this: some Americans are afraid of being unwelcome in Europe, while many foreigners (including Canadians!) have become wary of traveling to the United States.

Finances: After several years of solid strength versus European currencies, the US dollar has lost 12-15% since January’s inauguration. You may be concerned that the weakened dollar makes travel expensive this year. There may be some truth here, but 2025 is really a bargain year for European travel. This is where you need a little math:

1. Currency fluctuations mostly affect the money spent you spend on-site in Europe. This means your costs for food, activities, and other purchases you make after you arrive in Europe are going to be 12-15% higher than they were at their recent low-point in mid-January.
2. Typically, on-site spending represents between 25-33% of an American’s travel budget for a European trip. This means that between one-quarter and one-third of your total trip costs will be more expensive by the 12-15% increase due to the weakened dollar. Illustrating the worst-case scenario (where 33% of your trip is on-site costs and on-site costs rise 15%), here’s the math part:

   33% x 15% = 4.95%

   This quotient, 4.95%, is the increase of your total trip cost you can expect due to the inflated cost of on-site spending. If your total trip cost budget was planned for $2,500, you can expect that projected cost to increase by $123.75 for the 15% increase of on-site spending.

3. However, for most people, about 50% of the trip cost are the travel days to and from Europe: airfares, taxes, travel to/from the airport, food, and other ancillaries during flight days. But – largely because fewer North Americans are traveling to Europe AND many fewer Europeans are traveling to the USA this year – airplanes have empty seats, and have dropped fares to attract passengers. So, flight costs are down, in many cases by more than 20%. More math:

   50% x 20% = 10%

   This quotient, 10%, is the decrease you can expect to apply to the cost of traveling to/from Europe (mostly airfare). If your total trip cost budget was planned for $2,500, you can that projected cost to decrease by $250 – the 20% decrease in airfare.

4. Therefore, a $123.75 increase for on-site spending due to the weakened dollar is more than offset by a $250 decrease in airfare. Total Savings: $126.25.
5. $126.25 saved means an actual 5% reduction on your projected budget for 2025 travel to Europe. Despite the US dollar having lost up to 15% of its value against European currencies.

* * * * *

More Good News for Travelers: Certain destinations — and, therefore, certain airlines especially at certain times of year – are not doing well at all. They projected getting many more visitors than what is happening. They have already committed to the airplanes, the flight dates, the airport services, etc. These airlines hope to mitigate loss projections by further discounting flights to fill planes in the last two months of their main travel season: September and October..
             Home At First monitors these airfare reductions, using the savings to create its full-package Travel Bargains. Some European destinations are offering September and October travel 23%-40.5% below retail.

WHERE ARE THESE GREAT TRAVEL BARGAINS? See FULL DETAILS HERE.

WHAT IF THESE TRAVEL BARGAINS ARE NOT FOR THE DESTINATION I HAVE IN MIND?
Because travel to Europe is generally lower in 2025, the cost of travel to your destination is also likely to be on sale, albeit not in the 23%-40% range like our current Travel Bargains. But 10%-20% savings are now commonplace for many destinations. To get a current quote with a savings rate for the 2025 trip you have in mind, contact Home At First by phone (800-523-5842) or email (info@homeatfirst.com) and ask for an Instant Discount Quote for your destination and travel dates.

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Importantly, vacationing successfully and/or traveling well — and affordably — begins with a phone call (800-523-5842 US & Canada) or email (info@homeatfirst.com) to Home At First.

— Ron Fahnestock, Editor

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