Welcome to my first post in my Travel Tidbits series!
Everyone talks about wanting to travel. Dreams of traversing Europe with a backpack, traveling to the far corners of the globe and living out every item on your bucket list are dreams many people have, but few people ever start. It's understandable, travel can be expensive and a little daunting if you've never gone abroad before. Luckily, we live in an age that has brought the world closer together through technology and accessibility. I remember the good old days, road tripping with my family, navigating the confusing interstates and highways of California, with dad frantically asking for the right exit while mom tries to make sense of the giant unfolded map in her lap and trying to keep us hungry kids quiet. Nowadays, you can pop in a DVD for the kids, turn on Google Maps, play your favorite Spotify station and get to your destination in ease.
So what about international travel? A common misconception among wanderlusty travelers is that international travel is ridiculously expensive. I say not so, especially if you know where to look...which is where this review comes in handy.
There are a number of airlines that specialize in budget air travel. Quite a few domestic companies make flying across the USA an affordable experience such as Allegiant Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Jet Blue to name a few. When purchasing a ticket, you can opt out of checked baggage, meals, and other things to help bring the cost down. The international budget airline market is fairly new, and at the head is the incredible Norwegian Airlines. Jacob and I first flew on Norwegian back in May of 2015 from Los Angeles to London Gatwick. Any normal airline would charge in the ballpark of $1,000 per person round trip. Yet we were able to travel to London and back for the incredible price of $600 each.
I was actually very nervous when we bought these tickets. I had flown on some really cheap airlines before, and it was like flying in a rattling plastic tube on a cardboard seat, but I was pleasantly surprised. At Norwegian, the price of your airfare can go up simply by purchasing a meal, (usually $40 for two meals on a 10 hour flight) and to check your baggage (up to $65 per bag) or even another $30 to choose your seat. Yet by going with the basic ticket, you and your party are still able to sit together for half the price. The airplanes are all very comfortable with modern amenities. Each seat has its own in-flight entertainment system with up to date movies and TV shows, which are very beneficial on a long flight! The airline also uses a really neat system of cabin lighting and dimming of windows to reduce jet lag. Remember that guy on that flight who opens his window and lets the burning sun into the cabin while everyone else is sleeping? Not anymore! The windows come equipped with an automatic dimmer, some Tony Stark future level technology to keep the sun out and regulate your body clock. We were pleasantly surprised with the comfort of that first flight!
The second time we flew with Norwegian, it was from Las Vegas to Rome, totaling $900 for the two of us, if you can believe it! Once again, I was incredibly impressed with the service and the price. The airline company has never failed to impress us!
We are thinking of planning another trip abroad next year and would be ecstatic to fly with the airline company again. If you ever have the chance to travel to Europe, I highly recommend flying with Norwegian Airlines, you will not be disappointed!
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