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3 Affordable Winter Trips to Europe (and what they cost)

November 17, 2015

I hear a lot “travel is so expensive!” And while yes, if you are just booking the first thing you see or not scheduling your trip according to dates you can travel cheaper, it can be. But here’s the thing, there are tons of locations and flights out there that you can get at relatively low prices. When we first started traveling abroad after we got married, Nick and I would just search Orbitz not really knowing anything about airfare or how to get deals. We always figured on planning about $1,000 per ticket to fly anywhere abroad from the US West Coast. But in all actuality, we rarely pay that anymore and many times we’re getting both tickets for not much more than that. There are lots of ways to save on travel, but good airfare is one of the biggest. So here today, I’ve found you 3 affordable Winter trips abroad (from the US) and I’m telling you what they cost! If you’re looking for a great Winter getaway with a lower price tag, I’ve got you covered!

All 3 trips below are to cities I have personally been to, as I wouldn’t recommend them if they weren’t great deals and great locations!

Los Angeles – London | $644.50/person roundtrip

6 Dec – 10 Dec

Book directly through Norwegian Air’s website. (Tip for flying Norwegian from LA, they fly Dreamliners on this route, so choose the last row of seats on the plane, they have a ton of extra space!)

Fancy a Winter escape in one of the world’s most beautiful cities? I know that a lot of people shy away from visiting London in the Winter but hear me out… it’s actually one of my favorite times of year there! The crowds are smaller, the shops and streets are all decorated for Christmas and what better way to escape the rain than to sneak into a pub and enjoy a warm plate of fish and chips? And with fares like this, I’d jump now!

Another great thing about this… you get to fly into Gatwick which lets you miss the craziness of Heathrow! Once you arrive, grab a spot on the Gatwick Express which will transport you right at Victoria Station in London.

Need a hotel recommendation? Here are my fave spots to stay in London.

Boston – Paris | $359.35/person roundtrip

14 Jan – 21 Jan

Book directly through Wow Air’s website. (Tip for searching for the best deals, search in full month mode so you can see the best fares!)

As the famous quote from Audrey goes, “Paris is never a bad idea.” I whole-heartedly agree and for $359 a person, if I lived on the East Coast, I’d be there all the time! This flight from Boston to Paris via Iceland is a fantastic option for a trip to Europe. I haven’t flown WOW Air yet (I can’t wait until they set up shop in LAX next year) but really with this fare, you can’t really go wrong! I would suggest however doing carry on only to save on fees and to make sure and read the fine print to make sure you don’t have a lot of added extras on their fees.

But Paris in January? Incredible! Hardly any crowds, a chance at snow in the City of Light and the perfect excuse to bundle up and eat macarons along the Seine. The other great thing about this fare, once you get to Paris, you can hop on a train for not much money and get pretty much anywhere in Europe or take a cheap EasyJet flight onto another warmer destination!

Need a hotel recommendation? Here are my fave spots to stay in Paris!

Philadelphia – Rome | $935.48/person roundtrip

12 Jan – 20 Jan

Book directly through British Airways’ website.

Looking at a Roman holiday? Here’s a decent deal from the US to Rome! While it’s not the cheapest of the three options it’s on British Airways, which is one of my favorite airlines. Even in economy, your going to get better service, food and an all around great experience. The other great thing about this? Coming back, it’s a direct flight which means no stop overs and can save you a lot of travel time! Take the chance to wander the ancient streets of Rome, meandering around the Colosseum and the Pantheon and eat as much gelato as you want!

Need a hotel recommendation? Here are my fave spots in Rome!

*All of these fares were found on 11 November.

How to Know if You’re a Resort Traveler (or not)

October 27, 2015

I’ve always been drawn more toward trips rather than vacations in terms of my travels. I’ve always gone for trips where I explore cities, drive back roads through beautiful scenic areas and have a lot of control in what I do and where I go. For that exact reason, I had never really done a full “resort vacation” in my travels and really wanted to experience that side of travel to see how I liked it. When we were looking into a trip for our 10 year anniversary and my birthday this year, we decided to do a relaxing vacation instead of a “trip” somewhere to see if we liked it and to experience something different. I definitely concluded what type of traveler I am after this Mexico trip, but before I get to my own reactions, here’s how to know if you’re a resort traveler or not!

Do you like to relax, lay by the pool and read a book?

If the answer is yes, then a resort vacation is perfect for you!

Do you like to have control over where you eat and the activities you partake in?

If the answer is yes, then a resort might not be the place for you. Even though resorts tend to have multiple restaurants and activities, you definitely have more control and flexibility if you travel on your own.

Do you like hotels within cities to explore an area or far away to feel more secluded?

If you prefer hotels within a city, then a resort might not be for you. Though if you like the seclusion, choose a resort vacation for the peace and quiet.

Do you care about higher prices at a resort than you would in town?

If you don’t want to be gauged with food and drink prices, a resort might not be the place for you. In a city, you have many more choices and can choose how much you want to spend on food and drinks.

Do you like a pool, spa and other amenities in your hotel?

If so, then a resort is the place for you! Most resorts include many amenities included in your stay.

So…. am I a resort person or not?

Personally, I found out pretty quickly that I’m not a resort person. I prefer having more control over my travels, being able to choose where to eat out of a multitude of options. I also didn’t like being so far out of town in Cabo and having to take a 20 minute taxi to get anywhere (which also really added up in prices), instead of being able to walk everywhere and take it all in. I’m also not really a beach or pool person so the amenities at a resort are somewhat lost on me.

Now with that being said, I guess it does depend on the resort and location itself. For example the Oberoi Udailvilas in Udaipur, India that we stayed at a couple years ago was a resort with full amenities and amazing grounds, but also right in the city of Udaipur and very easy to go out and explore. So perhaps, my ideal situation are some of the amenities of a resort with the option to go out and explore close by the hotel.

What do you think… are you a resort traveler?

How Much Money Do You Really Need to Travel to Europe?

October 13, 2015

When it comes to travel, it still does take money to be able to do it. No matter how many flights or hotels you get on points or miles, at the end of the day you still need money when you get to your destination or to the pay the taxes and fees on those points-booked-trips. But how much money do you really need to travel? How much do things really cost? This totally depends on where you go and how you travel, but for today, let’s talk about traveling to Europe from the US. I’m particularly looking at heading to Europe from the West Coast of the US as that’s what I do most often, so from other areas of the US it might be a bit different but generally not that much. So let’s talk about budgets and how much money do you really need to travel to Europe.

(PS, of course I’m being totally transparent here and this is from my own travels and experiences, so it will always be different than everyone in different circumstances. While we definitely save money in certain areas of travel, we also might spend more than others in other areas. So take this and adjust according to your own budgets and travel accordingly.)

FLIGHTS

Ok, starting with your transportation to get to Europe. We generally fly direct to Europe (usually to London Heathrow, Paris CDG, or Amsterdam Schipol) from either LAX or Sea-Tac airports as those are the main hubs we prefer on the West Coast. Seattle is easier for us, but it doesn’t have as many options as LAX, so we find what works best with connections and such and usually go through one or the other based on circumstances. But if we’re paying out right for flights (not using points which we’re doing more and more) we plan on around $1,000 per ticket in economy in shoulder and high season and a bit less (around $800-$900) for off season fares. Now with that said, you can find amazing deals and we do often for way less than that. With airlines like Norwegian and Iceland Air offering incredible fares from the West Coast, we use those as well to save money. (Norwegian often offers fares like $300 one way from LAX to Europe and Iceland Air flies out of Seattle and Portland for us and usually offers fares like $400-$500 one way to Europe through Iceland).

If you’re looking at Premium Economy to upgrade a bit, plan on around $1,600-$1,800 per ticket.

Another tip to save money, to get to those major hub airports like Sea-Tac or LAX (or wherever you fly out of) if you don’t live there, use miles on your loyalty airline to book your tickets there and home. We fly Alaska domestically, so we always use points for those flights to and from, that way you’re just paying the base fare from the hub airport to Europe and nothing for the connections from your home city.

HOTELS

Hotels are tricky because they are so different in cost wherever you go. But let’s stick with the main hub cities like Amsterdam, Paris and London. In big tourist cities like that you’re going to pay more. For us, we really like a good hotel so we budget more. If you don’t really care where you stay or want to opt for AirBnB or other accommodation options you can get a lot cheaper. But for us, we like to budget a little more for our experience. We budget between $150-$300 per night for hotels, based on location and our overall trip itinerary. Sometimes we’ll opt for a cheaper place in one city so we can splurge on a better hotel in another. But I try to not go much higher than $300 a night for hotel because there are so many great options out there for under that amount.

MONEY WHILE ON THE GROUND

We like to use cash when we travel, so I take out cash before we leave at my bank in the local currency. That way you aren’t charged fees from local ATM’s or currency exchanges at your destination. For the amount of money you need while on the ground in your destination, we generally budget about $1000 for a week to 10 days of travel in Europe. That will cover everything day to day: activities, tickets, food, tips, etc. Once on the ground we use only our “trip money” which we save all year in a separate savings account for trips, and that way when we get home we have nothing to pay off on our credit cards.

This also really depends on where you go, for example when in larger cities like Paris or London, we usually use all of that cash. On our recent trip through Spain and Portugal though, we came home with extra since everything was cheaper. So it totally depends on where you go.

A final tip on this, try to use up all your coins while on your trip before coming home. Often times most currency exchanges in the US and banks won’t buy back foreign coins and sometimes a handful of Euro or pound coins can add up to quite a bit considering they can be $1 or $2 per coin. So if you end up at the end with a bunch of foreign coins, use them before getting on the plane!

TOTAL EXPENSES

Ok so looking at this as if you were to pay for everything on your trip (which we hardly ever do anymore, when you factor in points and such), for a 10 day trip to Europe with airfare, hotels, activities, food, etc., we budget spending between $4,000 and $6,000 depending on time of year, length of the trip and where we’re headed.

CONSIDERATIONS / HOW TO SAVE

Now as I mentioned, we never spend that on a trip. That’s why it’s so important, if you want to travel often, to understand how to use points, loyalty programs, blogging perks and whatever else is at your disposal to cut that cost. Sometimes we walk away from a trip paying out of pocket barely anything, other times it’s a real mix of paying versus using points/rewards. I’m a big believer in using your points and miles to the most advantage and learning how to do that takes time and research. So if you want to travel but can’t afford that price tag above, don’t worry! There are lots of ways to cut that cost in half or even less and still have an incredible trip staying in nice hotels and flying good airlines. That’s what Land of Marvels is all about, helping everyone be able to travel and do it economically.

I have lots of posts about how to save throughout my archives, but if you’re curious about anything in particular, leave a question in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer it in a future post!

A Love Letter to Portland

October 2, 2015

10 years ago around this time of the year I started college in Portland. I had moved into my apartment earlier in the Summer, but it wasn’t until September that I started school, started to meet new friends and that I met Nick. September 2005 was a special time for me and a time in my life when I really started living my own life, when I really felt the freedom to be who I really was. But no matter who I met or which classes I took, what was always there in the background during such an important time in my life was this special city I call home: Portland.

Portland is the first place I’ve ever felt entirely myself, it’s the only place I’ve ever called home that really feels like it will always be home. It’s the place I fell in love with the rain, that I spent hours wandering the city streets taking it all in. It’s the place that was the backdrop for so many amazing life events, it’s the city where Nick and I fell in love among the Fall leaves, it’s the city where I walked down the aisle as the rain fell outside, it’s the city where I bought my first apartment, where I met many of my lifelong friends. It’s the city where I graduated from college and found my passion for design, it’s the city that I see when I close my eyes and picture home. It’s the city that’s skyline will forever be engrained into my memory.

Portland is also the city that taught me so much about life and acceptance and faith. It’s the city that opened my eyes to all different types of people, that celebrates our uniqueness, that opens its doors to anyone. We’re a city of acceptance, of open-mindedness, of celebrating being different. It’s a city where we proudly say “Keep Portland Weird,” and where grooming your beard has become more than just a hobby, it’s a profession. We’re a city of great coffee, an incredible food scene and some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. We promote clean living and sustainability and we definitely work to live, not the other way around. Portland is about purple hair, a great cup of coffee and smiling when it starts to rain.

I’ll never be able to fully put into words what this city has been for me. For a kid that no where really like home after leaving Saudi and knowing I’d probably never be back, I spent almost a decade of my life feeling adrift. Portland rooted me, it embraced me, it taught me and I’ve never looked back. I’ve seen a lot of the world since moving here 10 years ago, I’ve fallen in love with places all over the globe, but when we land on that runway at PDX, when we drive those familiar streets to our apartment and when our local places say they missed us while we were away, I still get butterflies inside that I get to call this incredible city home.

Portland is and always will be a huge part of my soul, a city that truly has shaped who I am, that has changed the course of my life in the best and most profound way. I feel so incredibly lucky to have roots here, to have fallen in love here, to have grown up here. And so, a decade later, may this be my deepest and most heartfelt love letter to a city that forever has my heart.

Headed to my home town of Portland?

Check out our Portland Travel Guide in the Land of Marvels Shop for only $5!

5 Trips to Take If You’re on a Budget

October 1, 2015

I often get asked, “Your trips look amazing but if I’m on a budget, where would you recommend?” My first question back is always, what sort of budget? Because in all truth, Nick and I travel on a budget too, it just might be different than yours. And while it may look like we splurge on amazing hotels and incredible experiences often, more often than not it’s because we’ve used points or found an amazing deal. But regardless, let’s say you have a fairly small budget for a week long trip out of the US… if that’s the case, then here are 5 trips to take if you’re on a budget to save the most money while at your destination.

1. Thailand

We flew through Bangkok and spent a few nights passing through en route to Cambodia a couple years ago and left saying we wished we had more time there. Not only is Thailand home to some of the friendliest people on Earth and some of the best food in the world, it’s also incredibly cheap to travel to. The biggest cost will be your airfare to get there, but once there, you can eat super cheap (like a huge bowl of pad thai for $1.50 cheap) and explore the culture for hardly any money. Even really nice hotels (we stayed at the Metropolitan by Como for around only $100/night) and if you’re willing to downgrade a little, you can find a lot for not very much money in Thailand in terms of accommodation.

2. Cambodia

On the same trip that we visited Thailand, we also spent a few days in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I was blown away by how cheap Cambodia was, even in regards to just coming from Thailand! The food here was some of the best we’ve ever had traveling anywhere, the people so friendly and the temples, out of this world. With tuk tuk drivers offering to take us around all day for $10 or incredible street food being served for $2, we left Cambodia with money left over and an incredible experience as well.

3. Portugal

Want to head to Europe but don’t want the expensive price tag of the major spots like London, Paris or Rome? Look at Portugal as an option. Our few days in Lisbon this past Spring left us wanting more and in shock at how affordable everything was. Food, transportation, hotels, Lisbon is a big European city with everything necessary for a great trip with great price tags. One trick here, be sure to get out of the main tourist areas so you don’t pay way more for food!

4. Spain

Another great spot to head in Europe for a low price tag? Spain fits that bill for sure. Particularly Andalusia and cities like Granada and Seville. Taxis are super cheap, food is incredible and you can eat really inexpensively tapas style, plus many restaurants throw in free dishes when you order certain items. Even hotels were really well priced for what you get in Spain. We stayed in Barcelona with a view of Sagrada Familia from our hotel room for only around $100/night!

5. India

For a trip you’ll never forget and one that’s easy on your wallet, India is a fantastic place to head to. Transportation is cheap, even when hiring private drivers, you can get a lot of bang for your buck on hotels and the food, well it’s out of this world. It’s also a place where just wandering and exploring you see so much, so you don’t have to pay a lot on activities!