Home At First

FIND YOUR CUSTOM, INDEPENDENT, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DREAM DESTINATION HERE:

Home At First Destinations

Our World of Custom, Independent, International Travel

Featuring Quality Hosted Lodgings in a large number of set destinations.

• 1-Week Full Packages    • Ground Arrangements Only    • Lodging Only

Jump ahead to see our Current Travel Bargains.

CUSTOM EUROPEAN TRIP PLANNING 

Do you have a unique travel goal for Europe? Home At First researches and custom-plans individual itineraries to your specific dream destinations, with all the lodgings, flights, and ground transportation needed to accomplish your goals.

WE CUSTOM-PLAN DREAM TRIPS TO:

• England • Scotland • Wales • Ireland • Isle of Man

• Austria • France • Germany • Greece • Italy

• Netherlands • Portugal • Spain • Switzerland
• Iceland • Denmark • Finland • Norway • Sweden

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A Letter from Home…

The Early Bird Has Landed —

Where in the World Do You Wish to Travel in 2026?

        Maybe you have travel dreams for 2026, but are unsure about making plans without knowing if your trip’s cost will fit your budget. What if you could arrange your 2026 travel with 2025 price guarantee? Avoid inflation. Avoid any increases brought on by new tariffs. Lock-in the cost of your lodgings, your ground transportation, even your round-trip transatlantic airfare.
        That’s where Home At First’s Early-Bird Special comes in — travel next year at this year’s fixed prices AND get first choice of travel dates, lodgings, and flight space. Read all about it: EARLY-BIRD SPECIAL.
        Now that you know how much your 2026 trip should cost, you can relax and dream about your next European trip. Just like we do. Please read on.

          Mürren, Switzerland, is my slice of Heaven. I found it long before I knew I was on the hunt. I’ve been traveling professionally since I was 32. Traveling professionally used to mean a rapid-fire itinerary, alternately working with guests or visiting one or two destinations each day, lots of meetings with suppliers, hotel stays, and frequent restaurant meals. Free time was when I slept, or when I hung around airports, or stared out the window of a train/bus/ferry. There was little time for activities like hiking or biking, or visiting museums or historical places like castles. My camera was always busy shooting accommodations and their immediate surroundings, regardless of the weather. Precious rare were the days when good weather corresponded with the chance to photograph thematically: Nature, People, Action, Sport, Drama, Transportation, Culture, Adventure, Animals, Peace, Risk, or the New/Unusual/Bizarre.

          A day-trip introduced me to Mürren – mostly to its extraordinary setting atop a remote terrace a vertical kilometer above the floor of the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Switzerland’s Yosemite. I had been working in the Central Switzerland heartland, a couple of hours from the drama of the Bernese Alps. My wife and colleague, Judi, was also in Switzerland on assignment, west of me a few hours, working with guests in the exceptionally pretty Lake Thun and Kander Valley region. Somehow, we both got a Sunday free, a Sunday as beautiful as today, the last Sunday in August, 2025. We railed from our respective work regions, met in Interlaken, and headed up by train and funicular to alpine Grütschalp, then walked along the isolated, cliff-hugging BLM railway line 90 minutes to the village of Mürren. We walked Mürren’s main street, bought a drink at the grocery to go with our packed lunches, reversed our course and walked back to Grütschalp. We stopped at a bench with an especially stunning view of the Bernese Alps and the deep Lauterbrunnen Valley, and enjoyed our lunch, one another’s company, and our day off. We had been exhausted, but the 3 hours walked from Grütschalp to Mürren and back invigorated us and reminded us why we were working in travel. Neither of us told the other that one day we would come back here, and stay longer. Our travel dream had been born, but necessarily filed away for future pursuit. We had a family to raise, with graduations, weddings, and then grandchildren, too.

          More than 15 years into the new millennium our opportunity to return to Mürren occurred. We owned our travel company. We had become empty-nesters. We had put away a few dollars. We had first-hand knowledge of some of the world’s great destinations. Away from the office we were still traveling separately, only occasionally meeting when our paths crossed and gave us the chance for a few days together in Wales, Scotland, England, Italy, Scandinavia, Paris, and Italy. After many years, our paths again crossed in Switzerland, where a shared a short familiarization visit to Zermatt by the Matterhorn was an easy tie to the arrival of our first grandson in nearby Geneva. It was during this visit that a discussion of favorite Swiss memories brought up Mürren. When we compared notes, Mürren was at the top of both of our wish-to-return lists.

        It took another ten years before Judi and I could squeeze a week’s visit to Mürren into our busy schedules. It wasn’t enough timeto settle in, and Mürren, unlike most every place we had ever been, made us want to settle in. We began planning visits to Mürren each summer.

        Now, after visiting several times, Mürren has become like a second home for us. We have neighbors there who call us by our first names. The ladies at the grocery store brighten when they see we’re back. Some restaurants greet us as regulars. I have hiked almost all the trails in all kinds of weather. Nature’s wonders come to me as I sit on our chalet apartment’s balcony. I keep a camera ready for new visions that appear nearly every day.

          Judi and I are not alone in our regard of Mürren. The village is small, with a limited number of visitor apartments. We have learned to request reservations for next year as soon as we can project our travel dates. This year, we made our reservations for our 2026 visit before we left for home. We’re hooked on Mürren and do not want to face the disappointment of not getting the time slot we want for the year to come.

* * * * *

        Haven’t found your Mürren, your Shangri-La yet? Maybe 2026 will be your Year of Discovery. Still have lots of travel goals on your wish list? Maybe 2026 will be a Year of Accomplishment. Why not book early so you can get the right reservations for your needs? And why not get your 2026 travel for guaranteed 2025 prices? Home At First’s Early-Bird Special is a win-win for travelers. SEE FULL DETAILS HERE.

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Importantly, vacationing successfully and/or traveling well — and affordably — begins with a phone call (800-523-5842 US & Canada) or email (info@homeatfirst.com) to Home At First.

— Ron Fahnestock, Editor

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FIND OUR BEST VALUES HERE:

Current Travel Bargains

 4 OUTSTANDING DEALS

FOR CUSTOM, INDEPENDENT,
INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL IN 2025-26!

• Cheers!  LONDON &/or PARIS for the HOLIDAYS! 

• Super Weather! Fewer Visitors!  LONDON OCT/NOV

• BEST AUTUMN SALE EVER! ICELAND: OCT/NOV  

• Travel in 2026 for 2025 Rates!  EARLY-BIRD 2026! 

SHOPPING • THEATRE • ESCAPE

1-Week Independent Full Packages to:

London

+/or

Paris

for  the

Holidays

TRAVEL DECEMBER 1–23, 2025

• Choose 1-Week in London, Paris, or London+Paris
• Independent Travel with r/t Transatlantic Flights
• Departures Mo–Th between 1DEC25 & 17DEC25
• If London+Paris, fly to LON; fly home from PAR
• If London+Paris, Select 4+3 nites or 3+4 nites
• Airport & Railway Station Transfers Available
• City TransPasses + Eurostar Train btw Cities
• Detailed London & Paris Activities Guides

LONDON &/or PARIS
HOLIDAYS SPECIAL!

Ideal for Holiday Shopping, Customs, & Theatre

A CHOICE of 1-WEEK FULL PACKAGES —  

Choose LONDON or PARIS

$AVE UP TO 35% – $1,276/person!

$2,330

PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

or Choose LONDON and PARIS

Price includes Eurostar train London-Paris!

$2,622

PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

BOOK BY OCTOBER 12, 2025

THE HOLIDAYS in LONDON &/or PARIS

BRILLIANT! SPOT ON!

7-Day Independent Travel Full Packages to:

London

AUTUMN SPECIAL!

• TRAVEL 24OCT25 — 21NOV25

• Independent Travel with r/t Transatlantic Flights
• 7 Nights Lodgings – Central London Apartments
• Apartments located near historic Tower Bridge
• 9-Zone Transport Pass — Tube/Bus/Train/Boat
• Comes with a Detailed London Activities Guide
• Private Car Airport Transfer Service Available
• Departures DAILY 24CTOBER — 13NOVEMBER

$AVE UP TO 23.15% – $722/person!

PRIME-TIME LONDON 2025!

$2,397

PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY

BOOK BY OCTOBER 12, 2025

SAMPLE LIFE in LONDON!

LONDON LATE-SUMMER/FALL SPECIAL