How Do You Do It?

I am asked this question quite regularly.  A question imposed by the curious and caring when they hear about my last, or next trip.

Yes, I live in the real world, with bills, car insurance, kids to feed, utilities, etc. I make the travel thing happen, almost by chance.  That may sound contradictory, but it is true. I make it happen by being flexible, considering the many variables that are in play, such as school breaks, costs, public transport at the destination and how much time is allotted. It is by chance because I am flexible to destinations, time of year and accommodations.

Be Flexible

Sounds generic?  It is not in this case.  Back to the “How do you do it?”  I don’t do it by having expectations and wanting the airlines, hotels or attractions to meet my schedule.

If you are dead set on visiting London in the summer, good luck.  If, however, you are willing to forego the summer vacation in London and will consider a fall vacation in Italy, you may be in luck.   Here is an example: Airfare from Chicago to London in the summer is around $1200 roundtrip.  The fall of 2016 I took my daughter to Northern Italy, we flew into Bologna, trained it to Milan, took the train to Lucern, Switzerland and then took the train to Geneva, Switzerland.  We flew out of Geneva, our airfare to/from Chicago was $730 roundtrip per person. You may also need to be willing to travel in / out of airports that are not your home airport.  I live 3 hours from O’hare.  The drive is not fun, especially coming off of an international flight, the tolls are ridiculous, (without an Illinois Toll Road Pass/Ipass).  I have to pay for parking (I would at my home airport too). However, I save $200-$400 per ticket traveling out of Chicago.  Of course this depends on the type of travel.

Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com), for example, recently started non stop flights from my home airport to New Yorks, La Guardia airport.  I was able to land a roundtrip, non stop flight for $143.  I have heard of others getting flights to Washington D. C. for $50 each way.

If you insist on having pre assigned seats, however, the low fare carriers, Frontier, Southwest and Allegant, to name a few will be out of your market.  Flexibility is the only way to fly from Indianapolis to Atlanta for $19 each way, but probably not on a weekend.

Many international carriers are, unfortunately, providing a base fare and you pay for everything a la carte.  I recently noticed Air France’s pay in advance for your meal option. On the one hand it probably saves a great deal of food waste.  On the other hand, it feels substandard by an airline that has had a reputation for taking good care of their passengers. http://www.airfrance.us/US/en/common/resainfovol/achat/menu_a_la_carte.htm

Stay tuned for tips on how to choose a place to sleep and learn the culture of where you visit.