Don’t Get Stuck With European Sticker Shock

It feels like the old days in Europe for penny-pinching American visitors this summer, and that can be a shock.

After an uncertain start, the Continent’s peak travel season has settled into a pattern of $1,000-plus round-trip air fares from the West Coast and a sinking dollar. Gone are the under-$600 London round trips of winter and spring and the cheap euro, the universal currency adopted last winter in 12 Western European countries.

Fortunately you can still plan an affordable Continental idyll by using tours, packages and perhaps a change in dates. Fall and winter in Europe can be lovely--and cheaper.

First, some perspective.

In many cases, getting to Europe doesn’t cost much more than it did last summer. It just seems expensive compared with this year’s off-season winter fares, which were driven into a tailspin by discounts that followed the huge drop in transatlantic travel after Sept. 11.

Round-trip summer fares between LAX and London are up about 3% from last year, said Bob Harrell of Harrell Associates, a New York-based firm that tracks air fares through the database that supplies computerized reservation systems used by travel agents. The lowest advance-purchase fare for nonstops on that route was recently about $984, compared with last summer’s $956, he found. (Note: Fares change constantly, and those fares, found about 10 days ago, may no longer be available by the time you read this.)

Getting to Paris is a different story. Fewer nonstops are offered from LAX than last year; Air France alone reduced its transatlantic flights by 14%, the European Travel Commission says. So it can be tough to get a cheap seat. Round-trip fares for LAX-Paris nonstops are up nearly 20% from last summer, said Harrell, who recently found the lowest advance-purchase fare to be $1,176 versus $988 in 2001.

What has happened is that fewer Americans are flying to Europe, but there are also fewer seats because airlines cut back flights to match supply with the anticipated drop in demand. The result: higher fares, depending on the route.

And the dollar is buying about 9% less in Europe than it did at the start of the year. Late last month it reached virtual parity with the euro, with an exchange rate of 1.01 dollars to the euro. It has also lost nearly 5% against the British pound this year. (Britain does not use the euro.)

Here are some strategies to lower the cost of a European trip:

* Take a tour: Big tour operators often get discounts from hotels and airlines in return for the high volume of business they give them, and they pass the savings on to customers. Sometimes you can buy a whole vacation for only a few hundred dollars more than the air fare would cost if you booked it on your own. A good travel agent should offer a range of tours.

With U.S. tour business to Europe down an average of 15% to 25%, depending on the company and destination, there are more peak-season values than usual. Some examples:

Through Aug. 29, New York-based Trafalgar Tours is offering an eight-day “Taste of Britain” fully escorted trip, with overnights in London, York and Edinburgh, Scotland, starting at $1,540 per person, double occupancy, including air fare from LAX. (800) 648-1638, www.trafalgar.com.

Insight Vacations’ nine-day summer “Taste of Tuscany” tour starts at $1,980 per person, double occupancy, if you book by July 30 and fly American Airlines from LAX. The escorted trip includes stops in Rome, Florence and Siena. (888) 562-0111, www.inusa.insightvacations.com.

* Get a package deal: Not the group type? By booking a package, independent travelers can get many of the price breaks that tour operators get. Packages often combine air, hotel and sometimes a rental car or other extras for a less expensive total. You choose the time and travel companions (if any) and arrange your own activities and meals. Many packages use lesser-known or charter airlines. Some examples:

The six-day “Celebrate Paris” package from Adventure Vacations in La Jolla, available through August, starts at $869 per person, double, including round-trip air from LAX on the French airline Corsair, five nights’ lodging in central Paris, daily breakfast and store discount cards. (800) 600-5587.

New York-based Petrabax Vacations has a weeklong summer package to Spain, including round-trip air from LAX and six nights’ lodging in Madrid, starting at $1,162 per person, double. The package is good for departures through the end of August. (800) 634-1188, www.petrabaxusa.com.

* Travel off-season: Europe draws fewer tourists in spring and fall than in summer, and far fewer in winter. To fill rooms and airline seats in lean periods, hotels and airlines may cut prices. The lowest air fares traditionally start Nov. 1 and continue through winter, except for the holidays.

This year seems to be following tradition. The LAX-to-London nonstop round trip that costs $984 this summer costs as little as $556 when bought for the off-season, Harrell found--about the same as last winter. LAX-Paris fares were showing a similar drop--more than 40%. (Fare sales and shifts in demand can change these numbers between now and winter.)

Nearly any European tour or package is cheaper in winter than in summer, and many prices drop a bit in fall and spring too. Some examples:

Trafalgar’s 10-day “Paris & Provence” package, including round-trip air from LAX, lodging, some meals, high-speed train fare from Paris to Lyon and a cruise, starts at $1,975 through Aug. 30. The package is $1,445 from Nov. 1 to Feb. 28. (Contact information above.)

Insight Vacations’ 10-day “Amazing Spain & Portugal” escorted tour, including round-trip air from LAX, begins at $1,134 for travel in November, December and parts of January. If booked by Sept. 30, the price drops to $1,084--a little more than $100 per day. (Contact information above.)

Adventure Vacations’ $869 summer “Celebrate Paris” package, mentioned above, loses a day, going to five days, for September departures and drops to $579. From Oct. 1 to Dec. 15, the five-day package, renamed the “Christmas Shopping Tour to Paris,” starts at $529. (Contact information above.)

Be flexible: Taking a connecting flight rather than a nonstop can save you money because people are willing to pay more for the convenience of a nonstop, notes Neil S. Martin, spokesman for the European Travel Commission. He also suggests that you book well in advance, use public transit and trains for short-hop intra-European travel and eat what the locals eat to save money.

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Jane Engle welcomes comments and suggestions but cannot respond individually to letters and calls. Write Travel Insider, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012, or e-mail jane.engle@latimes.com.