October is almost here and it’s time to travel. Fall is the ultimate shoulder season for European destinations — when hotels are discounted and flights are on sale. If you have a budget for a trip, now’s the time to cash in and take that plunge.
Below are some sample itineraries for flights to and around Europe that are simply too good to pass up. Remember, do your research, shop the deals, and find that much-needed escape from the everyday.
KAYAK
Kayak Explore is a great place to start any ticket quest. Enter your city with the time of year that you want to travel and a map will pop up with prices to major airports all over the world. You might be able to snag a super cheap deal. Or, at the very least, you’ll get a good foundational price for further shopping.
That said, flights from Chicago to Berlin are only $380 roundtrip this fall. That’s a great deal right there — especially in a city where a dope Airbnb will set you back $50 a night and a HostelWorld hostel bed will set you back around $12 per night.
RYANAIR
Once you’re in Europe, you don’t have to be stuck in one destination. Ryanair gets a lot of much-deserved hate for being the bottom of the budget airlines barrel. A few tips: Don’t check any bags and don’t expect any perks and you’ll be fine. Embracing the budget airline means that you can easily — and affordably — tack on another awesome European city to your European escape.
Right now, Ryanair has a lot of €10 ($12) fares to make up for being less than great. So you can fly from, say, Berlin to Bologna, Venice, Milan, Bucharest, and more all for under €10 each way. That’s around $24 roundtrip to fly to another part of Europe for a long weekend. The seats may be uncomfortable, but it’s hard to pass up.
NORWEGIAN
If you want to hit Europe for a quick in-n-out jaunt, budget carriers like Norwegian are perfect. Right now you can book flights in October and November for as low as $99 each way all over Europe. You can pop over to Belfast for 99 bucks and chase the Game Of Thrones trail while pub hoping across Northern Ireland. Which, come on, that’s a great vacation right there.
WOWAIR
WOWAir is Norwegian biggest competitor to get Americans to Europe on the cheap. At the moment they are expanding to more and more cities around America, making Europe all that much more accessible.
Right now you can fly to Brussels from Boston for only $99 one way. Once there you can go on a beer tour of some of the best beers in the world and even stay in an old brewery in the center run by Meininger for about $24 per night, thanks to Hostel World.
BRITISH AIRWAYS
If flying across the Atlantic on a budget airline isn’t your jam, then you can still find great deals on the major airlines as well. British Airways has great deals to Europe from the US for the fall. Flights are as a low as $490 roundtrip starting in November and that includes fees and baggage with meals and drinks. Which, when you add luggage fees, meals, and seat reservations on budget airlines, you might be close to the same price.
Alternatively, British Airways also offers flight and hotel packages on trips to London, which start at $739 per person. If you’re flying solo, these deals are a bargain since they’re based on five nights accommodation in London — which can cost well over $500 alone even if you use Airbnb. So, don’t discount the major airlines in your search for the best deals to Europe this fall.
