Cheap Travel When Prices Are Rising
Cheap Travel When Prices Are Rising
Sticker shock, the wrestling and tips for travel as costs soar
Sticker Shock!
This is all too real, isn’t it? Gas prices, groceries, eating out and even buying underwear, for goodness sake…it’s all so expensive!!! And unfortunately, there is no good news for the travel industry in times like these, either.
Have you tried to purchase an airline ticket for the summer or attempted to plan a bucket list holiday for the fall? The world is open again, but travel prices are SOARING. As a travel lover who watches the market closely, I’m blown away by the rise in taxes and fees that are being added literally over night to flights all around the world. But who can blame the airlines? They have to survive. Travel tanked from 2020 to 2022. Then, just as soon as we all saw hope of taking to the skies once again, war happened…and fuel prices have soared. What is anyone supposed to do? Should we all just give up? Stay home? Should we put a pillow on our face and try to somehow smother the wanderlust out of us?
I’ve been thinking a lot about this in the last few days.
Here’s where I have landed….
Since March 2020 there has been a tension in my travel spirit. Yours, too? During the height of the pandemic, I deeply believed in protecting my neighbors around the world. Shutting down borders, requiring vaccination cards and negative Covid tests to travel was a nuisance. Still, it was only a small inconvenience in the grand scope of the reality we were trying to live amongst. I was happy to comply and pleased to do my part to love others and myself by following mandates and lowering the anxiety by being a kind and compliant presence wherever I went.
But in those hard times, it’s not like my personal dreams of jumping on a plane and throwing unmasked caution to the wind disappeared. I wanted to be safe, but I wanted out of my house. I wanted to do my part, but I also wanted to live my one life. I was filled with wanderlust probably more than ever, and yet, in the middle of it, I knew people were suffering. There were days when the guilt over my own family’s health was overwhelming, but to keep my personal, mental health in check, I had to look forward. I had to dream. I had to plan and pray and live into who I was, even when it seemed selfish or even impossible. So, I survived by inspiring travel to anyone who would listen, even in the midst of the turmoil of two long years.
Today I feel much the same. On the heels of a pandemic, I now find myself in a world, once again, blanketed by a new war. I am tempted every day to shrink in the guilt that I shouldn’t dream of something as frivolous as going on holiday when others are struggling to travel across a border just to stay alive. I sit in this tension all the time. I can’t look away from the atrocities and I won’t spend my days complaining that I am now faced with yet another inconvenience (this time in the form of rising prices). I will do my part to be kind, speak life, help, protest and love when I can. But in the middle of it all, I once again have to be who I was made to be. I have to press into my passions and contribute what I have to give. The world changes us and I’m more passionate about experiencing her and inspiring you than ever before. So as long as it’s possible, that’s what I am going to choose to do. I love it that you’re following along.
With that being said….
Here are some tips for continuing to afford travel when prices are rising
Plan WAAAAAAAAAY ahead. Do you hope to travel within the next year? Purchase airline tickets and reserve hotel rooms or Airbnb’s at least 9-12 months out, even if you’re not positive you’ll get to go. Take advantage of airlines who refund ticket costs, or in the very least, offer you a credit when your plans change. Reserve hotels on sites like hotels.com who allow free cancellation. All of these things will save you hundreds of dollars, because what I have seen is a steady increase in all things travel related as leave dates get closer. It seems that, for now, the days of getting a good, last minute deal are fleeting.
Be flexible. The more you can travel during off-peak travel dates the better. I personally would not even attempt to take a bucket list holiday this summer. I’d never afford it. But November or February? Absolutely!! Also, be flexible with your location. Paris is lovely and everyone should go, but Costa Rica, Eastern Europe, Colombia and Puerto Rico are amazing, too. The whole world is the most glorious playground, so if you luck up on a great deal in today’s travel climate…go there! Paris isn’t going anywhere, I promise.
Travel close to home. I feel like this advice has been given again and again like a broken record since 2020. My one caveat to it is this…it is not always cheaper to travel close to home. If your home is the US, it is often just as expensive to travel for a week here as it is to travel Europe and sometimes it even costs more. Seriously.
Start gathering a bank of frequent flyer miles. You knew that one was coming, didn’t you? Frequent flyer miles are still the cheapest way to travel internationally, by far. I can’t imagine that is going to change any time soon. Take a look at previous Frequent Flyer Boot Camp newsletters that I have written about this beautiful currency…AND watch this space. I’ll be launching my ebook later this month where you can learn all the ins and outs of traveling the world for almost free…even now. The release of this book is turning out to be very timely, indeed. I can’t wait to share it with you.
Welcome new subscribers!
Our little community has grown a lot in the last week. Thank you for joining me. I’d also like to invite you to follow along on Instagram @bigstoryliving. It’s so much fun to watch us grow!
Coming Soon!
I promise you’ll be the first to know when my ebook is released.
Until next time…
Happy Travels,
Amy