How much did you budget for your flights to Europe this year? $1,000? $700? What if I told you to halve that … or less?
It might sound crazy, but in a world where seemingly everything costs more, flights to Europe could cost you way, way less in 2025 … but only if you book right now.
Spring break in Madrid (MAD) for $347 roundtrip is a mind-blowing flight price. Same for these October flights to Dublin (DUB) from Seattle (SEA), too.
This latest sale really knocked our socks off. It included Aer Lingus, American, and Iberia (all OneWorld alliance partners) offering roundtrip fares in the $300s from several U.S. cities from coast-to-coast. And it followed in the footsteps of a handful of other deals offering crazy cheap fares this year and next.
Here's the gist: If you want to save big money on your 2025 or 2026 Europe trip, it's time to book right now. That's what our Thrifty Traveler Premium subscribers have been doing over the past few days, thanks to these sizzling flight deals.
Check out just how cheap it can get.
Madrid, Dublin, & More Under $398 RT (The Deal of the Year?)
When airfare nosedives into the $300s roundtrip from multiple U.S. gateways, we're always quick to find it. That's exactly what happened Thursday night, which is why Thrifty Traveler Premium members got this email alert just a few minutes later.
Delta hubs from coast-to-coast all benefitted from these beautiful roundtrip fares to Europe. The flights themselves are on American and its foreign partners (Finnair, Iberia, Aer Lingus, and more), so it's clear American is targeting some Delta flyers with these promotional fares. But the reason doesn't matter, the end result is one of the cheapest flights to Europe you'l ever book.
While many of the best fares can be found in fall and winter of this year, many cities included peak summer fares like this one from Minneapolis (MSP) to Dublin (DUB).
Other peak times include these spring break fares from Detroit (DTW) to Madrid (MAD), too.
And Salt Lake City (SLC), a place where cheap Europe flights can be hard to come by, also jumped into this deal with fares like these up to Helsinki (HEL) to see the Northern Lights this fall.
I won't soon forget this flight deal, and neither will the Premium members who just halved their vacation budget (or were able to up their budget on lodging, food, and drinks instead!) and are taking the trip of a lifetime this year.
Iceland and Europe in the $300s RT
Iceland fares are often cheaper than the rest of Europe because the flight is much shorter and therefore cheaper to operate. And with Icelandair crushing the competition with insanely cheap flights to Reykjavik (KEF), travelers like you and me are the winners.
This latest Icelandair sale included several flights to Europe in the $300s roundtrip, including many nonstops to Reykjavik and one-stop itineraries to Dublin (DUB) and Stockholm (ARN).
The beauty of these fares? They're eligible for free Iceland stopovers. Read our guide to booking a stopover to see two countries for the price of one.
These Nordic carriers love cheap flights almost as much as we do, it seems. Scandinavian Airlines, like Icelandair, is known for its incredible sales.
With one quick stop in Copenhagen (CPH), you can fly all over Northern, Western, and Eastern Europe in the $400s easily, and in some cases, in the $300s, too!
Brussels (BRU) seems to benefit most starkly from these low fares, but if you're flying from Boston (BOS), for instance, you can fly roundtrip to far-flung destinations like Bergen (BGO), Stavanger (SVG), and Milan (MXP) for less than $399 roundtrip.
Nonstop on Norse Atlantic in the $300s RT
The airlines we outlined above were what we call “full-service” airlines. That essentially means you can expect perks like a carry-on bag, free refreshments on board, and even a meal in most cases. But some airlines, like ultra-low-cost Norse Atlantic doesn't always include those perks.
But because they offer such competitive rates, we still search for those fares – making sure to factor in the cost of a carry-on bag.
The results: Some insanely cheap fares – even with a carry-on bag. I flew Norse Atlantic and found it to be just fine. Nothing more, nothing less. Just fine. But for $363 roundtrip for a nonstop flight to Rome (FCO), “fine” is all I need!
Norse's funky point-to-point routes connect New York, Florida, and L.A. with some of the most coveted travel destinations in Europe. You should at least consider flying the carrier to save the most on your next flight across the pond.
Bottom Line
Flights to Europe don't have to be expensive. In fact, they don't have to cost more than a trip to Florida this year!
You'd be surprised how inexpensive it might be to fly to Europe this year or next, with several routes coming in under $399 roundtrip. The key? You'll need to book soon while these fares are still at their lowest.
The insights on dropping flight prices to Europe are spot-on and came at the perfect time. Thanks a ton for sharing, making it easy for folks across the U.S to plan an European getaway.
Browsing now, prices for summer are higher then in 2023, what r u talking about, get real
The discount fares of today don’t match the ones we were seeing pre Covid. Sure the price may be similar but airlines have devalued the international basic economy product so much that you should expect to pay $160 RT plus for any option to even have an oppt to select a seat. Even then seat prices add $15-$50 per segment. By the time you add in all the hidden costs and fees expect to pay $200-$250 over the discount price listed. The old days are gone and those fares are not coming back…ever.
Hello, we are a family of six (2 kids) looking for affordable tickets to Europe. Could leave from Chicago or Detroit. Spring 2024 would be perfect, but can wait til fall if more affordable . What’s the forecast for prices next year? Many thanks,
Susan
Taking my Grandaughter to Paris for her graduation trip, 2024. Unfortunately it’s the Olympics and I’m worried pricing is going to be crazy. Want to snag tickets early but am flexible on dates. End of May through September. Any suggestions??
Greetings and thank you for excellent info. What does your crystal ball reveal with regards to airfare deals to Spain from mid 19/20June to 9/10July 2023. I love Google Flights and use it often. I’m WA state resident and have found SFO to be the best west coast departure port. Willing to fly through any European city if less since fares intra-Europe still remain inexpensive. Thank you
Chris
Looking for a cheep non-stop flight to Copenhagen on July 5, returning on August 13. Is this an impossibility?? I know it’s soon.
Thank you for the mail list – love it!
Until Europe drops the vax card requirement, I’d assume they’ll be hurting for flying business. It’s way stressful to protect that little card.
The fares to Europe over the summer have not come down very much at all. What are your predictions there?
I’ve been watching your site and keep seeing the ads for premium. I’m wondering if it is worth it for us to join as we are in western Canada. Are we really going to see many great deals that originate from Calgary, AB YYC? The whole concept sounds wonderful, but not for us if this is primarily an American site. Any thoughts on this.
Hi Linda! While we do cover mostly US travel news on our website, our flight deal email alerts are for both US and Canadian departure cities 🙂 We typically find flight deals out of YYC at least a few times a month! Would love to have you join for cheap flights 🙂
Looking for cheap flights to Europe from pdx thru october
Lynda, great! We see cheap fares to Europe every month or so from cities including PDX. Just this weekend, we found flight deals to Croatia, Czechia, and Poland for $530 roundtrip from PDX. Don’t miss the next deals we find out of Portland: https://thriftytraveler.com/premium
London RT from TPA
Hi Nat! We don’t make the deals (just find them), but we see cheap fares to London come around every few months 🙂
Lincoln?!! Where can I head off to on the cheap from Lincoln? I’m in!!
Hi Lynne, yes! In the past month alone, we’ve found cheap international flights from Lincoln to Hawaii, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Chile, and Toronto. There’s more to come in the coming months: we’d love to have you join us for more cheap flights! More info on our Premium service here: https://thriftytraveler.com/premium/
What about London ? Any changes there?
I have been a Premium member for several years!
Hi Lynne,
You can add LNK to your departure city preferences to get alerts for deals from Lincoln! Sent you an email with details 🙂
Thank you!
We see cheap fares to London come around every few months! Most recently, we found fares in the low $300s 🙂