How to Spend a Fortune This Summer
March 9th, 2007 Posted in Cheap Europe Travel, Destination reportsIf you’ve got money coming out the wazoo and aren’t sure what to do with it all, you are a prime candidate for traveling to Western Europe this summer.
First of all, here’s the lowdown on hotel prices, where a room that would be considered ho-hum in much of the world is going to cost you upwards of $400 a night from June through August. Here’s just one example: “The average daily rate for a four-star hotel in London has skykrocketed to $213 for this summer, up 22 percent from $175 last year.” Yes, that’s the average, which means they’re counting all those little fleabag places that are glorified broom closets with a shared bath. And London at least still has some of those places left! It’s worse in much of France and Italy.
Then there are airfares. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal the other day, Delta, Northwest, Austrian, Air France, and American Airlines have all added new flights between the U.S. and Europe. Only problem is, the increased capacity is not bringing down prices at all. “The New York-to-Rome non-stop on American from June 6 to 12 costs $1,275, an 18 percent increase from the same time last year.”
“Northwest’s soon-to-be-added Detroit to Frankfurt route route costs $1,301 over the July 4 holiday, a 10 percent increase over last year.”
May I suggest a different destination, or at least a spring or fall departure?
