Estimate your airfare

• It isn’t always significantly cheaper to fly into and out of the same city in Europe. For example, if your trip begins with a flight to Paris but you travel to one or more other countries, it may not cost more to leave from Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, or Rome for your return home. When you consider the additional time and cost of ground transportation to get back to Paris, it will likely be cheaper and more convenient to book your return trip from a different city. So choose a search engine that lets you price ‘multi-city’ as opposed to ‘round trip’ if you are traveling around the continent.

• Be sure you are looking at the airfare price including taxes and fees. Taxes and fees may cost almost as much as the base price of the ticket itself! Also avoid taking the bait for a ‘special’ rate you aren’t going to get for your group or an inconvenient route with an overnight, 10-hour layover in Reykjavik. Unless you think that would be a good way to squeeze in a day visiting Reykjavik.

• Faculty chaperone airfare is typically included in the trip fee paid by the students. So, unless your university pays your way, you will need to add your airfare (and that of any faculty who co-lead the trip) to the airfare budget.

• Now, add at least 20%. Your don’t have the same flexibility with a group as you do when booking for yourself. The travel agent you will be working with will get a fee, prices will rise, you may be traveling on a high-volume day of the week, and it is better to be safe than sorry. If the airfare winds up being lower than your estimate then you’ll have more money to spent on students’ meals, admissions, and unexpected expenses that arise.