This One Travel Trick Is How I Spend My Winters in Europe for Cheap
Although some people rule out traveling to Europe during the winter, winter is my favorite time of year to visit. That is because, during the winter months (low season), European destinations are less crowded, and airfare and accommodations are less expensive. I don’t mind the cold weather or shorter days, either.
And here’s the thing: From New York City, flights to European destinations have cost me less than $300 round trip.
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You might be wondering how I manage to spend my winters in cities like Stockholm and Oslo without blowing my travel savings. It’s simple — I fly with Norwegian Air Shuttle. Norwegian has quickly become my go-to airline for finding the best flight deals to Europe, especially during the winter months.
Norwegian is a long-haul, low-cost airline known for its budget-friendly transatlantic fares between the United States and Europe. If you’re looking for affordable flights to European cities like Barcelona, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and more, consider booking a flight with Norwegian Air during the low season, the months between November and March.
That being said, here are three strategies that I’ve used to book cheap flights to Europe with Norwegian Air — and you can, too.
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1. Fare Sales
One of the things that I appreciate about Norwegian is that it offers lots of fare sales without the need to enter any promo codes. Not having to scour the web for a promo code saves a lot of time and makes the booking process easier.
In fact, there’s a page on the Norwegian website where you can enter your “departure” airport and Norwegian automatically lists all of their deals for the next couple of months. Filter by budget, temperature, activity or region to find the right travel destination for you.
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2. Norwegian Low-Fare Calendar
Another tip for searching for flights with Norwegian is to select the low-fare calendar. The low-fare calendar is perfect for travelers who are flexible with their travel dates. The calendar offers a comprehensive view of airfare prices for the entire month.
All you have to do is start your flight search by selecting where you’re flying to and from, and which month you want to travel. After selecting “show low-fare calendar,” Norwegian shows all the available rates for the month and conveniently highlights the best prices.
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3. CashPoints
Lastly, every time I fly with Norwegian, I earn CashPoints, which I later use to either partially pay or fully pay for flights. Think of CashPoints like Norwegian’s digital currency. Every time I fly with Norwegian, I earn a percentage on each ticket. You can also use CashPoints to cover other things, like extra luggage fees, ticket changes and more.
Unlike other frequent flyer programs where you have to accrue enough points to redeem a one-way or round-trip ticket, Norwegian makes saving money on every flight a lot easier by allowing you to use CashPoints to partially pay for flights.
Overall, off-season travel can be extremely cost-effective, and when coupled with Norwegian’s frequent fare sales, low-fare calendar and easy to use CashPoints program, traveling to Europe has become more affordable — perhaps as affordable as traveling domestically or to the Caribbean. The only downside to booking with Norwegian is that they charge for nearly everything, so just be sure to plan ahead. You can also use this Norwegian currency conversion hack to save even more money on your next flight.
Click through to read more about affordable historic hotels and places to stay in Europe.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: This One Travel Trick Is How I Spend My Winters in Europe for Cheap
