The Money Mustache Community
Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: plank on August 01, 2014, 01:24:51 AM
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My family and I must travel from Europe every year to see family. I hate spending such a big part of the budget for the flight. Are there any cheaper/ environmentally friendlier alternatives to flying? I think it would be awesome to go across on a boat for a few days.
If you have any ideas please let me know.
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Certainly you can go by boat but it will be more expensive than flying, check out freighters, they are ususally cheaper than cruises.
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Possible to take hire on a boat crossing and working your way over, earning money on the way? That would have been top notch mustachianism... :p But probably not as easy as it once were in the good old days...
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I have this issue too. I'm trying to easy into only going over every two years, or less. Every year is just too much. And since everyone in Europe brag about having so much vacation I say they can come here instead.
Looked into boats once, but only found cruises that take a week and cost as much as flights.
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Norwegian have recently started a low-cost transatlantic service, and are well worth checking out. They are currently showing New York - Bergen, one way in September for £94.40.
http://www.norwegian.com
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Travel hacking for free flights would be the cheapest way to do it. A google search will give you loads of personal finance blogs describing how to do it, but I like Holly at the Frugal Travel Guy's posts. You can get a good primer on travel hacking here: http://www.frugaltravelguy.com/2014/01/frugal-travel-guy-rookie-guide-introduction-background.html
Honestly, since doing this myself I rarely pay for airfare.
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Norwegian have recently started a low-cost transatlantic service, and are well worth checking out. They are currently showing New York - Bergen, one way in September for £94.40.
http://www.norwegian.com
Yes NAS is interesting (especially since I'm going to norway), but be aware of their fees for luggage, infants, food etc. It adds up! And they also only fly from JFK which is an awful airport and cost much more to get to. So for us the price almost evens out, and we'd fly a worse airline..
Iceland air is nice, and usually slightly cheaper(?). Add in a extra day in iceland for some extra sightseeing is also easy and not terribly expensive.
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My family and I must travel from Europe every year to see family. I hate spending such a big part of the budget for the flight. Are there any cheaper/ environmentally friendlier alternatives to flying? I think it would be awesome to go across on a boat for a few days.
If you have any ideas please let me know.
Environmentally friendly?
Unless you take a private charter, the plane goes with or without you. OT, but there's a wonderful book called Just Food that deals with the carbon footprint of, say, fruit that was flown in from one continent to another. It's very good for putting air travel in perspective.
Transatlantic cruises do tend to be cheaper than, say, a round trip cruise. Not necessarily less expensive than flying, and certainly it takes longer. But I've done it before and will again. Sailing was great. I've encountered people who sailed to Alaska via ferry very cheaply. Quite the no-frills experience. But I don't know if such a thing exists for transatlantic. Others I've encountered going free on cruise ships with all the amenities were entertainers on ship or people who taught a series of art classes onboard in exchange for their fare.
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First, flying is the most environmentally friendly way to travel today, as long as you aren't in your own private jet. Lower CO2 emissions/mile than driving thanks to Boeing and Airbus developing new technology over the last 30 years. But, if you want to be environmentally friendly, stay home. That's the only way to do it.
Second, I looked at taking a cruise to Europe and back recently. Price was about the same as round trip plane tickets, plus we would get fed for six days and have a place to stay. It didn't work out because 12 days transit was too long, but if you have the time, a cruise could be great. Plus, no jet lag, which is one of the things I detest most in life.