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| ’Saving money’ by going to Europe |
| by Brian Kelly |
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I think I’ve become a traveling Swiftie.
Let me explain. I spent Memorial Day in Lisbon, a visit which coincidentally overlapped with Taylor Swift’s “The Eras Tour.” So, of course, I had to go … again.
Tickets were a fraction of what they cost here in the United States. My front-stage floor seat tickets in Lisbon cost $500 on stubhub.ie. Those same tickets started at $5,000 in Philadelphia and New York last summer. Plus, the seller transferred the tickets to my See Tickets Portugal account, making for a smooth transaction. Most cities have a transfer process, but make sure you know the rules and regulations before purchasing.
The way Taylor has rearranged the show by adding songs from her new album made the show better than ever this summer. I also caught her shows in Japan and Philly last year, and I can say that the Lisbon show was absolutely spectacular.
Europe has stricter ticket reselling laws, so you aren’t going to see the same price gouging you’ll see here in the U.S. This means even the after-market ticket prices in Europe are likely to save you a lot of money versus U.S. ticket prices.
Some of the cheapest tickets are currently found for Lyon, France; Edinburgh, Scotland; and Warsaw, Poland, with ticket prices starting around $100-$250. This means you can put that money you “saved” by not paying four figures for tickets in the U.S. toward your European trip instead, especially with the dollar still pretty strong against the euro.
And though the “Eras” tour may be moving on to other European cities, don’t let that stop you from visiting Lisbon this summer if you make the trip to Europe. Here are my Lisbon travel tips:
I stayed at the Torel Palace Lisbon, an extraordinary boutique hotel in three former palaces perched on a hill, which I recommend.
One thing to note for Lisbon is that many of the streets are blocked off to cars. This sounds great at first, but it also means that some hotels are on blocked-off streets where you can’t get Uber pickups (or be dropped off right out front with your luggage).
This may or may not matter for you, but when you are traveling with a family and all the accompanying luggage, it can get pretty annoying. My friend stayed in an Airbnb in the Bairro Alto neighborhood, which is very centrally located, but it was really frustrating trying to get to the unit by car.
It’s also very common to drink in the streets in certain neighborhoods in Lisbon, so there could be people outside your home rental drinking, smoking and (loudly) enjoying their evening until the wee hours. Just another reminder to be careful about where you choose to stay.
As you may already know, I am in the process of becoming a Portuguese citizen. I’m about halfway through obtaining my “Golden Visa,” which requires me to spend one week a year in Portugal for five years.
While in Portugal, I also visited Comporta, a beautiful beach town about an hour south of Lisbon. I stayed at the Quinta da Comporta hotel, which made for an absolutely beautiful, relaxing last couple of days in Portugal.
Last year, I spent the month of March in Porto, Lisbon, Madeira and the Azores. So far this year, I’ve only visited Lisbon and Comporta, but I may try to squeeze in a trip to the Algarve at the end of the year.
Overall, there is still plenty of award ticket availability to Europe this summer (even in business class!), and summer travel to Europe is much cheaper than in years past.
No matter where you plan to go this summer, always put your travel purchases on a credit card with purchase protection. Most travel cards come with this perk, so I recommend using the most premium card you have or the one with the best customer service, like the American Express® Gold Card, the Chase Freedom Flex℠ or the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card. If anything goes wrong, you have an extra layer of protection.
So, whether you are a hard-core Swiftie or even a casual fan, I highly recommend stretching your travel dollars and catching her in Europe this summer. Compare the cost of that trip with the cost of seeing her at a U.S. tour stop, and you might be surprised which one comes out on top.
Have a great weekend,
BK
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| Photo Credit: WYATT SMITH/THE POINTS GUY. |
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