The joint holiday is approaching, and Norwegians who want to travel are starting to move around to the major holiday destinations.
But if you have not booked a trip, but still want a holiday abroad, it is not too late. And you do not have to blow up your wallet.
There is agreement in the industry that Bulgaria and Turkey are the most affordable options for travelers this summer.
– It is certainly not too late to book, for example, a week charter holiday at just over 3000 kroner per person if you want to travel to Bulgaria or Turkey in July, he says.
– Terje Berge is commercial director for travel at Finn. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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Record low exchange rate
The latter in particular can be a bargain, according to Terje Berge, commercial director of Finn Reise.
There is a very special reason for that. The exchange rate for the Turkish lira is at a record low, which makes it cheaper to holiday in the country.
– It is incredibly cheap to holiday there at the moment.
For context, a Turkish lira cost one and a half kroner before the pandemic. On Tuesday, a lira cost 60 øre. The sharp fall is largely due to high inflation in the country. It had risen by 73.5 per cent in May compared with the same month last year. The country also has high food and energy costs, according to, among other things NBC.
Berge mentions Turkey as a country that has many all-inclusive hotels, which is convenient when you have children. Alanya, Side and Ismele are popular holiday destinations in the country.
If you want to go to famous holiday countries such as Greece and Spain, the prices are a few thousand bucks higher.
The travel operators TUI and Ving agree that Turkey and Bulgaria are the coups you can do this summer holiday.
– When traveling to Turkey, you get a lot for your money. The prices are very favorable, the same is true for Bulgaria. Here you can make some bargains, says communications manager at TUI Norway, Nora Aspengren.
Stable prices, but that can change quickly
The average price of travel has remained fairly stable, says Aspengren. Her best tip for cheap travel is to be flexible about when you can travel, and that you are willing to travel on weekdays.
– TIP: Communications manager at TUI, Nora Aspengren says the prices change quickly. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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– Also check the remaining seats. And if you are willing to travel quite fast, you can get some decent bargains in many places. Traveling outside the school holidays is the most affordable.
But she warns, because prices can change quickly, she says.
Marie-Anna Zachrisson, country manager in Ving, also says that one should not wait long before prices rise.
– It will probably not pay to wait and hope for lower prices, we see that many flights are starting to approach sold out on the most popular dates.
Zachrisson says that the selection of hotels is getting smaller with each passing week. And she warns against waiting too long to book a holiday in late summer, especially in August.
– “All of Europe” will also be on holiday in August, and then it will be the first man to come, now that the demand is high for holidays around the Mediterranean.
She encourages people to look at the price date before and after the date you want to travel to see if there may be a lower price. In addition, you can use extra beds instead of extra rooms to make the trip cheaper.
– Marie-Anne Zachrisson, country manager at the travel agency Ving. Photo: Private
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If you find a place to live where you can use extra beds in the form of, for example, a sofa bed, it will also be cheaper than using more rooms, Zachrisson continues.
– Avoid stopovers
The big talking point for air travelers in Europe lately has been the airport chaos around Europe. This has been due to staffing issues.
Berge in Finn Reise says they have not experienced any change in the cancellations or that there are any special airports that Norwegians avoid. But Aspengren in TUI comes with an invitation to travelers this summer.
– We get questions about it, but the largest proportion of our departures are direct routes. The safest thing is to fly directly this summer. We have been in contact with Avinor, which has very good routines at airports in Norway.
Zachrisson in Ving also says that they are happy that they have escaped the chaos in Oslo.
– We register that we do not have the same queue chaos with long waiting times at Gardermoen as we see at Arlanda and Kastrup. We are happy about that.
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