✈️ How to Afford Getting to Europe + Google Flight Tips

Fellow lovers of travel! This week I go over:

• Best kept flight secret: How to afford to fly to ANY country in Europe

• How to: Utilize Google Flights full potential

• Down low: Carry on bags price increases

Lets start with a story. My friend told me she was Croatia this summer with her family, however she aborted the dream plan when she saw how expensive it was going to be the fly. Coincidentally, we are traveling to Croatia this summer and I love finding cheap flights! I couldn’t wait to tell her how she too can afford to make her dreams a reality.

Being from the good Ol’ USA, if you haven’t traveled a lot, it is hard to wrap your head around how doable it is to travel to alllll sorts of European countries. Picture this: you board a beautiful train and can go practically anywhere in Europe! Check out these EuroRail options to travel to a handful of countries on just one pass! Now, while a train can be the experience itself, like crossing through 5 Scandinavian countries over 11 days, airlines offer endless amounts of quick and affordable destinations.

💬 The best kept secret if you want to go to Europe is- just get to the continent. That’s right, forget about the actual destination- find the cheapest option to get ANYWHERE east of the Atlantic and you have now positioned yourself with all of Europe at your finger tips. Europe is now your oyster, my friends.

I can hear the hesitation…👂️. This sounds complicated? This means two flights? If you want to travel hack it comes with a little give and take.

First, I scored our family non stop flights on Virgin Atlantic for 24,500 miles per ticket making this an epic flight deal to London. I transferred points from this card. I wasn’t even sure where we’d end up going in Europe, I just wanted to secure a flight to the continent. We will get to Croatia don’t worry!

Now comes my favorite search tools, so favorite in fact, that while most are scrolling Tik Tok and Insta, I am searching google flights in my spare time, daydreaming about all the endless possibilities around the world. 

My favorite way to use Google Flights is to put in my 3 home airports (you can list up to 6 airports) and leave the destination as Anywhere.

Once I decided that we were heading to Croatia, I simply put Croatia in my destination and found non stop flights to Dubrovnik for $65 , which I booked via Capitol One Portal using points and spending only $75 total in taxes and fees (for 4 tickets total!).  🫣 

For more in depth explanation on Google Flights , I’ve created a resource (Stop Wasting Time- 7 of the Best Google Flights Tools) that goes into all the ins and outs on how best to utilize this tool!

Baggage Fees… 👀 

Almost across the board, some of the largest airlines have increased their checked bag fee in 2024 by $5-$10. This isn’t such great news for folks who haven’t discovered the freedom involved in efficient packing, requiring only a carry-on to survive the elements- tho this is something I highly recommend! The airlines responsible for the hike in pricing include: JetBlue, Delta, American and United. Boo!

In fact, even some rules around carry-on luggage have seemed to tighten. At the AirFrance counter last month heading to London for example the attendant had us weigh our carry on bags. The kids' bags, paired with their book bags, each weighed less than 10kg, they passed the test. 

However when we weighed ours: thanks to some camera gear, we exceeded the weight limit of 12kg.

“You’ll have to check your bags, ma’am.” - lovely airline counter lady just doing her job.

“But these are carry-on bags, we intentionally packed only carry on bags.” - I say, likely appearing as a nervous, uptight traveler who's been forcibly veered off her plan.

“You do not meet the weight requirements, you’ll have to check your bags.” -less lovely airline lady, causing distress and angst in her customer.

While I will always air on the side of packing a carry on, I know for some, it feels impossible to dwindle life down to a mere 22in x 14in x 9in and survive to tell the tale. But live life on the edge, I promise it’s freeing and you actually might just feel better! Just remember to check the weight restrictions to avoid the mistake I made! We will get into packing and suitcases soon!

Content we’re looking forward to reading, watching, and listening.

Watch: Somebody Feed Phil DC- Phil travels all over the world eating food and exploring cities. We have watched him in India and Italy. He is actually in DC in season 7 so we are looking forward to seeing where he goes!

Read: The 52 Definitive Rules of Flying - The Washington Post put together an funny list of flying reminders. A funny read to remind people how to behave on a flight. “The beverage cart is not an open bar at a wedding.”

Listen: Layovers- This podcast which is all about air travel was recommend by a friend. I am looking forward to diving into this so I can learn more about travel and in turn share with you!