<p>Whoa, 6 weeks! That eruption in Iceland is much worse than I thought. Certainly, that will push air fare prices up. Just relocating all of the delayed passengers will put on squeeze on seats that will be like a rat going through a boa constrictor.</p>
<p>One alternate possibility is to book a southern route, through Madrid or to Rome directly. However, if prices seem out of reach right now, I’d strongly consider moving travel dates to shoulder season or another time when prices are more reasonable. If she can travel in the last half of August or later, she could easily save 20% or more.</p>
<p>I heard via NPR that many insurers will not cover trip cancellation due to volcano ash - so buying trip insurance might not be much help. If you do get insurance, you will want to read the small print – and in any case, you can’t get it NOW to cover THIS volcano (kind of the travel insurance equivalent of a pre-existing condition).</p>
<p>Wow,6 months! I thought my daughter would surely not have to worry about this, as she finishes her study abroad in May, but is staying on until early July for an internship. Her city will not likely be affected, but her flight goes through Copenhagen. We booked SAS because it was less expensive than just about all the others, but Curm, I will now not suggest SAS because I thnik all their OB flights to Europe go through either Copenhagen or Stockholm. If she does have to stay longer, she won’t mind because the World Cup, while not in Europe, will be much more exciting over there than here.</p>
<p>calmom, what reason were the insurers giving for refusing to cover trip cancellation due to volcano? Is that a whole lot different than cancellation due to weather, which is covered?</p>
<p>I really don’t know – I just heard on NPR that it wasn’t covered by many policies. I do know that most trip cancellation policies are written primarily to cover things that happen to the traveler (illness, death of a family member, jury duty, etc.) – rather than things that happen to the airline. For domestic flights, airlines have to compensate passengers for delays that are their “fault” (like mechanical problems or overbooking), but not stuff due to bad weather and the like. </p>
<p>One reason that people buy cancellation insurance is to cover the cost of the plane fare, since lower fares are generally nonrefundable. But if someone is booked on a flight that doesn’t take off – for any reason – the airline will put them on the next available flight without charge, whenever that might be. Of course, stranded travelers are worried about the cost of food and lodging while they wait – but again, it depends on the individual policy.</p>
<p>Cur, if you still read this thread and still hope to find good deals online, I would like to second the poster who said that the intercontinental travel part of this trip WILL be the least of your worries. </p>
<p>Based on a few recent trips to Europe, I can share that visiting Europe requires a VERY large budget and seems to be only attractive when the bill is paid by someone … else. Yes, yes, there are ways to keep the costs down by staying in youth hostels and surviving on a cornet of frites or a DRY baguette. But, why go on a lengthy trip to “suffer” day after day of horrible lodging at the local Fleabag Inn and unhealthy and pricey food? Staying in a dollar economy that is still reeling from a crisis sounds like a better plan! At least, if having FUN is important. </p>
<p>OK, if that is not enough, let’s talk about travel. There are ways to book cheap plane travel in Europe that require saturday stayovers, but the added taxes and fees could kill you. Example? RT between Madrid and Brussels … fare was Euro 55.00 but taxes and fees were an additional 200 dollars! Train travel can be a tad cheaper but requires knowing the system of pre-booking VERY well. And then, one has to factor the absolute delight for the French and other Europeans to plan strikes that affect the entire system when many tourists converge to Europe. For isntance, today’s problem with the volcano is compounded by the French train problems. </p>
<p>Oh, and as far as students meeting at a local caf</p>
<p>For cruises, curm, check out vacationstogo.com. I get a newsletter from them that seems to have some amazing deals.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I also think that prices will go up once the airports open again because the airlines have lost a fortune that they need to recoup.</p>
<p>Just got off the phone with my dearest daughter. I have mentioned before that getting between my kid and a goal is like getting between her Anatolian shepherd and a pork-chop. Not always the most pleasant place to be. :eek: But…she is what she is and she does it with a smile. </p>
<p>The conversation ended with me saying “Well. Ya know. I guess you could survive a week without food, soaking up the street scene …'cuz that’s where you’ll likely be sleeping.”</p>
<p>I will admit she has done yeoman work tracking down Ryan Air, EasyJet, and train travel within Europe. She’ll explain it all to me after she finishes her “next to last college paper ever” later tonight. Oh, joy.</p>
<p>Cur… who’s paying? Because my well-traveled daughter pretty much managed all arrangements on her own… except for the part where I flew out to Paris to meet her and stay for a week, and sprang the cost of our room and most meals. (I saved money by arranging lodgings via Craigslist)</p>
<p>I will note that when my d was hosteling on her own, she met individuals of the male persuasion from various parts of the world at every single hostel she stayed at. Said males frequently picked up the tab for meals & drinks. (So, contrary to Xiggi’s reports, there are many ways for young women traveling on their own to have fun and cut costs. )</p>
<p>I do think the volcanic ash thing is a huge problem, though. Your d. and friends might seriously want to consider alternative destinations.</p>
<p>Do you just happen to have tons of frequent flyer miles available she can use? I sent my D to Europe once with frequent flyer miles. I tried to use American miles but they’re awful to try to get a mileage seat for popular destinations (like anywhere in Europe anytime in summer). I ended up using United’s mileage award because they had a level (I think 75K miles) that allowed one to get any seat on any flight instead of just the few allocated ones that are never available. Doing this I was able to get her a nice nonstop flight and she was even in the economy plus (or something like that) which had more legroom which is nice on a 10.5 hour flight.</p>
<p>The “paying” part will be a combo- some her, some me. She is going with two of her best friends from college, both males. She is making all the arrangements, I’m just …pointing out things she’s missing from her budget. And making snide remarks. For example, our conversation tonight was all about airport to city center costs. </p>
<p>To be honest, I was impressed with her research so far. Of course, it’s nowhere near where it needs to be but …it’s a start. Air Canada to London appears to be leading the pack right now. Eurostar to Paris. Fly to Barcelona. Fly to Milan to get to a train to Venice. (Sucks.) Train to Florence. Train to Rome. Fly home from Rome. Still needs work on the Barcelona to Venice leg. Budget went up another $500 tonight. </p>
<p>She is checking EasyJet and Ryanair and all their goofy add-on charges and baggage restrictions. RyanAir sure flies to some out of the way airports. (“Sure we fly to Venice if by Venice you mean 70 minutes out”.)</p>
<p>TripAdvisor forums are really helping her out and she’s posting the questions herself for a change. Feels confident she has 2 or 3 choices of rooms in each city. Not going for cheapest, trying to stay about $150 for 3 in a room and she has options everywhere but Paris ($180). All well-located. She’s looking into all the public transport passes in each city plus museum/attraction passes. </p>
<p>It won’t be West End theatre (maybe one at the 1/2 price tickets booth) and GeorgesV or Crillon kind of trip but…they’ll have fun. My D is not as well-traveled as calmom’s but she has been footloose in Europe 2 times before. I think she can pull it off. And one of the boys is 6’5" and built so…if she’s gonna go…</p>
<p>I’m betting the presence of the two dudes will cut down on the free drinks action. ;)</p>
<p>Fodors.com is also a good source of travel info, especially the Europe forums, if anyone is interested. missypie, I think, recommended it & I have found it very helpful.</p>
<p>Cur - we had trouble finding hotel rooms in Europe for more than 2, although I do think there are some “American” style hotels with larger rooms. And we did fit 3 in our room in Rome, by putting D on the floor. I think that was the only time we were allowed to fit more than 2 in. Not saying it can’t be done - just saying, don’t take it for granted, because it isn’t as common.</p>
<p>Friends traveled with 3, and although they emphasized that there were 3 adults, they were given a small room with a double bed, and the hotel staff insisted it was big enough for 3. (A married couple, and her sister. Not sure what the hotel staff was thinking…) This was in Rome.</p>
<p>Once, in Hamburg, we were traveling with all 3 of our kids. We booked two rooms, and asked for a “cot” to be added to one, for our D. We showed up, and they’d put a crib in one room. D got teased mightily by her brothers. Ended up sleeping on the floor. They charged quite a bit extra for her breakfast - maybe 20 Euros.</p>
<p>Europe through the Back Door (Rick Steves) does list hotels that have triples and/or quads. It is mportant to check it out as the standard for Europe is just space for two. They do have some on-line recommendations in addition to their annually updated guidebooks.</p>
<p>“Acts of God” and acts of nature are frequently NOT covered by insurance. Insurance policies sold after the volcano erupted are also not covering volcanic eruption disruptions since it is now a pre-existing condition, according to the insurers we spoke with.</p>
<p>You have to read the terms of the policy & be prepared to escalate it and fight it to get what your policy specifically states. READ ALL TERMS of your policy–many policies may not provide what you may think you are buying (read BEFORE you buy).</p>
<p>tripadvisor was an excellent resource for me when I was planning a girl scout trip to Europe for 8 people. We started off planning to stay in youth hostels for budget reasons but ended upraising enough funds to stay in hotels. Tripadvisor has reviews for hotels and alternative accommodations such as youth hostels and even monasteries and convents. </p>
<p>When we went to Venice we went by train. It is only a couple of hours by train, not a bad journey at all. My personal recommendation would be to try and stay near the train station in Venice (actual Venice, not the mainland station). Saves trekking through Venice with bags and getting round Venice by boat is easy. (We stayed at the Hotel Abbazzia, an old converted monastery near the Station. They do have triples and I think breakfast was included. I would stay there again).</p>