Booking fall travel to London. Any bets about Brexit?
March 23, 2019 1:44 PM Subscribe
Should I book my trip now or wait until Brexit day?
I'd like to travel to London and Paris in late November from the US. As of today, the Brexit issue is still a hot mess, with the big day (?) about a week away. Airlines and hotels are booking travel for the future and I'm presuming that the travel industry will still exist in the UK after this spring.
Is it possible at all to predict how prices for traveling to/staying in Britain will be affected after Brexit day? Should I pull the trigger and book my (expensive) trip now, or would it make sense to wait a month or so if prices are expected to fall?
I'd like to travel to London and Paris in late November from the US. As of today, the Brexit issue is still a hot mess, with the big day (?) about a week away. Airlines and hotels are booking travel for the future and I'm presuming that the travel industry will still exist in the UK after this spring.
Is it possible at all to predict how prices for traveling to/staying in Britain will be affected after Brexit day? Should I pull the trigger and book my (expensive) trip now, or would it make sense to wait a month or so if prices are expected to fall?
No one has a clue about either Brexit or about prices and exchange rates.
Buy now or buy next month, you might as well decide with a coin toss.
Whichever you do, I'm sure it will be a great trip.
Drew
posted by Dr Ew at 1:57 PM on March 23, 2019
Buy now or buy next month, you might as well decide with a coin toss.
Whichever you do, I'm sure it will be a great trip.
Drew
posted by Dr Ew at 1:57 PM on March 23, 2019
Go with your gut. We'll be out of the EU by then, most likely, but it could be anywhere between business-as-usual and full zombie apocalypse.
posted by rd45 at 2:00 PM on March 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
posted by rd45 at 2:00 PM on March 23, 2019 [6 favorites]
I'd book in and out of Paris and book a cheap Ryanair flight to and from London from Paris later. If it's a disaster you don't have to go, and if it's all fine it's a very quick flight.
posted by DarlingBri at 2:28 PM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]
posted by DarlingBri at 2:28 PM on March 23, 2019 [10 favorites]
What DarlingBri said: make plans for Paris, hold off for London. There's no shortage of ways to get between the two capitals, and there's limited value in complicating your plans by worrying about exchange rates or other unknown unknowns.
posted by holgate at 2:48 PM on March 23, 2019
posted by holgate at 2:48 PM on March 23, 2019
At least wait until next week. I’ve been traveling in Europe the last few weeks; I front-loaded my time in England so I would be safely on the continent when whatever happens happens. Things are too much in flux to make any serious bets.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:51 PM on March 23, 2019
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 2:51 PM on March 23, 2019
Hello, I am in the UK and I honestly don't know what will happen. I am a scientist, an involved citizen, a general optimist, but...
Seconding fly to Paris and take a trip if you can. The way things are going I'd honestly focus on staying within the known EU in the short term. It's such a disaster and the zombie future for us here seems pretty high...
/endofdespairrant
posted by sedimentary_deer at 6:30 AM on March 24, 2019
Seconding fly to Paris and take a trip if you can. The way things are going I'd honestly focus on staying within the known EU in the short term. It's such a disaster and the zombie future for us here seems pretty high...
/endofdespairrant
posted by sedimentary_deer at 6:30 AM on March 24, 2019
Nobody knows what's going to happen, except that it's going to be a shitstorm.
Rather than Ryanair, book the Eurostar, which takes you from the centre of Paris to the centre of London by train in 3 hours. Ryanair will only fly into Gatwick or Stansted, both a long train journey into London. Plus Ryanair is the very worst airline for bilking its customers by having stupid rules that you don't even know you've broken which end up costing you £££ at check-in.
posted by essexjan at 7:27 AM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
Rather than Ryanair, book the Eurostar, which takes you from the centre of Paris to the centre of London by train in 3 hours. Ryanair will only fly into Gatwick or Stansted, both a long train journey into London. Plus Ryanair is the very worst airline for bilking its customers by having stupid rules that you don't even know you've broken which end up costing you £££ at check-in.
posted by essexjan at 7:27 AM on March 24, 2019 [2 favorites]
On the basis that the EU has just forced the UK to conclude this farce one way or another within three weeks it seems unlikely that there would not be some kind of working process for personal travel by the end of November, even if they crash out. If you’re concerned about other effects do what DarlingBri suggests. And yes, stay away from RyanAir
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2019
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:43 AM on March 24, 2019
And I appreciate *conclude* may be wildly misstating things but if the farce continues beyond that it would be with a long extension
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:47 AM on March 24, 2019
posted by koahiatamadl at 7:47 AM on March 24, 2019
I don’t see how airfare prices from the United States will be affected unless the U.K. has no food or medicine and the Red Cross is handing out oranges in Trafalgar Square.
posted by Automocar at 9:12 AM on March 24, 2019
posted by Automocar at 9:12 AM on March 24, 2019
The pound is going to crash though, surely. So you could save money by waiting? I don't know how long to wait but anything post-Brexit will be cheaper for you in USD.
posted by lokta at 2:58 AM on March 25, 2019
posted by lokta at 2:58 AM on March 25, 2019
> The pound is going to crash though, surely.
But that won't change airfare in USD - it means airfare in UK pounds will go up (overnight, if need be).
To me, the bigger issue is the border situation in case things go drastically wrong (i.e., crash-out Brexit, very much a possibility). That may tie up Europe border crossings in unpredictable ways, and it seems like traveling from the US to UK without a stopover in the EU may be a safer bet.
Really, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:01 PM on March 25, 2019
But that won't change airfare in USD - it means airfare in UK pounds will go up (overnight, if need be).
To me, the bigger issue is the border situation in case things go drastically wrong (i.e., crash-out Brexit, very much a possibility). That may tie up Europe border crossings in unpredictable ways, and it seems like traveling from the US to UK without a stopover in the EU may be a safer bet.
Really, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
posted by RedOrGreen at 1:01 PM on March 25, 2019
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posted by richb at 1:52 PM on March 23, 2019