Travel News

Ask Peter: London Fares After the Olympics & Driving Overseas

Locations in this article:  London, England Rome, Italy

Overseas travel is only getting more complicated following the London Olympics. With huge shifts in price and ever-changing rates, find out the Olympics’ impact on European travel as well as how to navigate Italy this summer and more in this week’s Ask Peter column.

Jeff and Helen in Montana asked: We’re going to England in late September for a wedding. Do you have any strategies that can help us get a reasonably priced airline ticket?

Peter replied: I have some great news: all airline prices will be dropping significantly starting August 20. Even if London didn’t have the Olympics, travel and room rates will start to decline around September 7 because that’s when kids go back to school so late September is an opportune time to travel.

This year you will see sales to London and the rest of the UK drop before the 20th. Everyone associated with the Olympics is greedy, they gouged, nobody showed up, and now occupancy rates are down to 28 percent and prices are dropping like crazy!

In terms of buying tickets, wait until August 20. Around August 20, there will be some promotions that won’t last for long but will be valid through the end of the year. You’ll see deals for all of Europe, not just London. If you’re smart and if time allows, you should get a Eurail pass and get an open-jaw ticket. An open-jaw ticket is when you have come back from a different city than you flew into and you fill the open jaw with a train or flight.

For more information on London greed and the drop in price, check out Peter’s latest Travel Detective Blog: Olympic Greed & Other Travel Myths.

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