Are your travel plans changing due to rising costs?
Are higher gas prices and air travel costs prompting you to change your travel and vacation plans? What about the weak US dollar? We’d love to hear from readers who are rethinking travel plans as well as those who plan to stay the course.
I for one have definitely changed my summer travel. For the past few years I’ve ditched my husband and children for a week to enjoy my passion - swimming.
I book with Swimtrek, a holiday tour operator. Back in October I signed-up for a swim trip to Turkey. I looked at airfares ranging from $700 - $1200 which was reasonable given the distance and within range of what I’d paid to travel in years past. I signed-up for the trip and waited until I could start booking airfare for late August. Much to my surprise when I went to make my flight purchase, the tickets had increased to $1,800 - $2,700 due to rising fuel costs.
I also had to factor in that I would need an extra night in the hotel outside of the tour package and that cost had increased as well. The hotel hadn’t raised rates, but the US dollar wasn’t going to get me as far as it once had.
Given that my entire budget in the past has been under $2,000, I’m cancelling this year’s trip and will look for a 2009 trip where I can use my frequent flyer miles.
Comment by Manicmom on 11 June 2008:
Oh yes, if we are going anywhere this summer it won’t be far. There is a lot of local sights and events to attend so we won’t feel like we haven’t had any fun.
My son is planning a big spring break trip for next March. CanCun!! Luckily, his aunt has a time-share that will only cost him and his friends around $50 each for a week, but airfare is what’s going to kill them. He’s checked and it’s around $700 now. He’s debating whether to book now or wait. The kicker on this trip is if he and his friends back out of it, my husband and I will be taking the trip. I had to agree to that so my sister wouldn’t get stuck with it.
Comment by canoer on 11 June 2008:
We did Italy last year. This year we’re flying to visit family and triangle over to Chicago to see the sites there and hopefully hit a play or two. And an old friend will meet us there for a couple of days.
The price? Staying in the States will run about the same as going to Italy last year cost; what we save in the exchange rate we lose in energy costs.
After this trip, we’re dusting off the tent and will be hitting the national parks and national forests closer to home.
Comment by Local Vaca on 11 June 2008:
My advice is to stay local. Especially when you’ve got kids. Lots and lots of good day trips in the Bay Area: Marin Headlands, Tilden Park, Muir Woods, Jelly Belly Factory, Great America, etc…
Comment by Stayin' Home on 11 June 2008:
As we all know, the price of fuel is affecting the cost of everything. There are lots of things to do locally nearly anywhere you live. It can be quite an eyeopener to visit one’s local chamber of commerce or state tourist bureau. Check their websites! It’s easy to find plan fun daytrips that are much easier on the wallet than big travel plans.
Comment by MsSpend on 17 June 2008:
My honeymoon is coming up in September and we’re off to Europe for a full month — talk about feeling the hurt of the declining dollar. We really wanted to take the time for ourselves, but knew the price we’d have to pay (literally).
We were able to get one plane ticket at a discount thanks to a reward’s program, and we decided to rent an apartment in each of the two cities we’re visiting instead of staying in hotels. This way, we can at least save money by cooking meals at the apartment and not having to eat out 3 times a day.