pros and cons of traveling to europe

Travel continues to be complicated — moreso than ever. After the industry ground to a standstill in 2020, now that people are able to travel with relatively few restrictions, you might think that it’s super easy to just book a flight and a hotel and take that trip. And yet — the emergence of a new strain of the Omicron variant proves to us that we’re not out of the woods, yet.

And yet, there are some good reasons to travel to Europe right now, as well. But the devil’s in the details.

The Euro has parity with the dollar.

This week, the Euro lost about 12% of its value, which means that the US Dollar is worth the same as a Euro for the first time since the Euro was introduced way back when. So, for Americans, it’s more affordable than ever to visit Europe. And with so much pent-up demand, the floodgates are definitely open.

Flights to Europe are absolutely bananas.

This week, the head of Heathrow Airport in London asked airlines to stop selling tickets to London. What? That’s bananas. And there are tens of thousands of checked bags that are stranded at Heathrow. Huh? Airlines don’t have enough crew to fly the planes on the flights they’ve already scheduled? How? And airfares are sky-high right now. Why? Uh? Wha—?

Lost luggage has a final resting place perhaps….@HeathrowAirport T2…mine’s the black one (I think) pic.twitter.com/u0tDMTgFHj

— Stuart Dempster (@StuDempster) June 17, 2022

This is a long way of saying that getting there is not going to be half the fun — unless you’re doing a transatlantic crossing on Cunard (which we’d be happy to talk to you about).

Hotel prices are reasonable, unless they’re not.

We’re seeing great availability and very reasonable rates at some of the best properties in Europe. Hotels that are in our “Best of the Best” Virtuoso Hotel Program in some European destinations are less than $300 a night, in some cases — and when you factor in the dining and spa credits, the upgrades, and the included breakfast that our clients get when we book them at these properties, that’s a huge value!

Hotel Alfonso XIII, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Seville, Spain. A property in our Virtuoso “Best of the Best” Hotel Program.

But that’s not the case everywhere. As travel has returned, travelers are going back to the tried-and-true destinations, and avoiding “off the beaten piazza” destinations. London, Paris and the Italian triangle of Rome-Venice-Florence are booked solid. Finding suitable hotel rooms is a real challenge in those popular destinations. And even in cities like Copenhagen, we’ve had trouble finding availability for good mid-range hotels. So…it’s all over the map. But this might be a good reason to venture out beyond the iconic capitals of Europe to some of the less-frequented, equally gorgeous cities and towns in Europe.

Cruises represent a huge value right now.

Your best bet for Europe may actually be a cruise, right now. A river cruise on one of the iconic waterways of Europe or a Mediterranean or Baltic cruise on a small or mid-sized luxury cruise line could solve the problem of scarce hotel availability, since you’re basically on a floating boutique hotel. Unpack once and wake up in a new, exciting destination every day. When you consider everything that’s included, it’s a real value.

Baltic cruises are an especially good value right now. Since port calls in St. Petersburg have been suspended, there’s good availability. And considering that Scandinavia is one of the priciest regions in Europe, this is a great way to see it without breaking the bank.

So, what do you say — ready to travel to Europe this year? Give us a ring — we can help you sort through the complications so that your trip is as hassle-free as possible. Sure, things might still be complicated, but we can help.