Historically, the fall is the start of low season in Europe, so it's a great time to head abroad for some noteworthy savings and less crowded environs. Traveling around Thanksgiving in the United States is no picnic, so why not take the whole family (or not) and go abroad? Most people don't have to ask for days off, because many employers close up shop the day after, giving many of us a ready-made four-day weekend. Of course, there is the small matter of the turkey, but if you're reading this far then you're willing perhaps to entertain the idea of bending traditions through travel. Perhaps it's best to take the "when in Rome" approach, and celebrate your own personal European Thanksgiving, turkey optional.
TourCrafters (tel. 800/ITALY-95; www.tourcrafters.com) is offering a special to Rome for Thanksgiving starting from $495 for midweek travel for four nights and five days. You must book by November 15. The price is valid for departures from New York, Boston or Chicago, and include roundtrip airfare, accommodations in the three-star Hotel Brasile, daily buffet breakfast, a 5 € discount coupon on a city tour, service charges and taxes. The hotel is located near Porta Pia, close to attractions and public transportation, but you can also upgrade for additional amount. The four-star Grand Hotel Beverly Hills (near the Villa Borghese), starts at $559, or the more upscale Imperiale Hotel on the Via Veneto will start at $705. The promotion is valid from November 15 through March 14, 2008, with some blackout dates around the Christmas holiday; call for details.
Aer Lingus (tel. 800/IRISH-AIR; www.aerlingus.com) can be counted on to try to get you to get to Ireland in the off-season, so the special to Dublin or Shannon priced from $164 one-way, based on round-trip ticket purchase, is not much of a surprise. The fare sale is valid for travel November 1-December 31. Seats, however, are limited and fares of course are not going to be available at that rate for every day of the week. Flights from Washington-Dulles or Chicago O'Hare to Dublin are priced from $164 and $174 from Boston for the entire promotional period. There are two starting rates for departures from the other cities included, such as New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and San Francisco.
Expedia (tel. 800/EXPEDIA; www.expedia.com) is running a promotion in conjunction with Iceland Air for winter travel that expires on October 15. Fly from select departure gates (New York, Boston, Minneapolis, Baltimore) to destinations in Europe such as Stockholm, Frankfurt, London, Copenhagen, and Paris from $492 roundtrip. The sale is valid for travel November 1-March 31, with some blackout dates December 14-January 8. Taxes are included in the prices quoted.
Gate 1 (tel. 800/682-3333; www.gate1travel.com) has a bunch of Europe deals for Thanksgiving, with a six-day London trip starting from $499 with departure November 19 that includes airfare, four nights' hotel and daily breakfast. It's advertised as six days because that includes the day you leave; your accommodations are for four nights at the Express by Holiday Inn at Earl's Court. Similarly, six days in Paris are priced from $559 for the November 19, 20 or 21 departure, with accommodations for four nights at the two-star Kyriad Paris La Villette. Gate 1 also has several Thanksgiving trips that involve rail, and several that go to Central and Eastern Europe, such as Budapest and Prague from $759 for seven days (November 20 departure), or just a six-day trip in Vienna from $659, akin to the London and Paris offerings, with a November 19, 20, or 21 departure. The airport taxes and security fees are not included in any of the advertised prices, which are calculated based on New York departures, but airline fuel surcharges are.
Go-Today (tel. 800/227-3235; www.go-today.com) and Gate 1 are extremely competitively priced for this travel period, so it's worth investigating both companies to compare availability, travel dates, and prices. For example, the Go-Today Thanksgiving prices include accommodations, airfare, daily breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges and airline fuel surcharges. Go-Today gives you the option for some of its trips to choose from four or six night stays in most of its destinations -- London, Prague, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Edinburgh and Barcelona; Venice and Florence are only available for four nights. While their offerings are similar, Go-Today offers a trip to Edinburgh for four nights from $799, and you'll need all the savings you can get with the dollar being so devalued lately against the British pound. For this trip, the price is valid for departures from New York, JFK or Newark, New Jersey, November 16-21; you can leave as late as the day before Thanksgiving if necessary.
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