Realizing Your International Travel Dreams —
Custom, Independent, International Travel from Home At First
Your journey begins in the immense sky.
Over the vast ocean, you sleep
high above the storm.
Begin Your Dream Journey Here…
SIX STEPS TO MAKING YOUR Custom, INDEPENDENT, international Travel DREAMS COME TRUE —
1. DREAM
Do you dream of custom, independent, international travel?
• Maybe stories you have read or movies you have seen have inspired you.
• Or, maybe tracing family roots is your ambition.
• Or, maybe music, theater, or sports are your focused goals.
Whatever your reasons to travel overseas, your travel dreams can come true. This is where the travel experts at Home At First come in.
2. dESIGN
Tell us your custom, independent, international travel dreams. We design a free trip proposal for you, with all the right flights, lodgings, & ground transport you need to turn your custom, independent, international travel dreams into realities. When you accept your personalized trip design, send us your deposit payment. Then we arrange all the elements to make your dream trip come to life.
3. dAYDREAM
Read & daydream about your trip! Before your trip begins you receive a comprehensive guidebook keyed for your destinations. Thirty days prior to your departure you receive all necessary trip documents (tickets, vouchers, passes) plus detailed arrival information, including your overseas addresses, contact information for your lodgings and your hosts, and specific meeting plans for arrival day.
4. dEPART
Departure Day. Check-in and Security and two hours of Waiting-to-Board (sorry). Then the big bird soars, and the wise flier snores. Too soon breakfast interrupts rudely, signifying the approaching landing. Terra Incognita appears out the cabin window. A new world appears as if out of your airplane slumber. Dreams begin to transform into first impressions, but not yet hardened enough to be considered realities.
5. dECOMPRESS
Arrival Day. In some prearranged way — train, bus, taxi, rental car — you find your foggy way to your first night’s lodging. Bed’s invitation wrestles with your curiosity to explore, and bed mostly wins, at least for a couple of hours. You wake in a new place where you barely remember arriving. Time seems as fuzzy as your mind is groggy. You are hungry. Your first meal will help reestablish order. Relaxation begins, and Peace happens.
6. dISCOVER
Your custom, independent, international travel dream begins. A new morning — the first day of your new life. Take a walk. Eat a fresh pastry with a reassuring coffee or a change-up tea. Watch & listen closely. Hear strange language: even English words now sound foreign. Observe all around you. Dare to speak, to order, to shop. Can you find your way home? Home. Your new home. Comfortable. Roomy. You’re 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
Jump ahead to see our Current Travel Bargains.
SUPERBLY LOCATED CENTRAL LONDON APARTMENTS:
• Tower Bridge North
near historic Tower of London & Tower Hill tube.
• Tower Bridge South
in fashionable riverside Bermondsey.
• London Bridge North
near Monument tube station.
• London Bridge South
near London Bridge station.
COTTAGES IN FOUR
ENGLISH REGIONS
Heart of England
The West Country
Northwest England
North Yorkshire
& by SPECIAL REQUEST:
• Cambridge • Oxford
• Cheshire & Shropshire
• The Midlands
Central England
LODGINGS IN THREE SCOTTISH REGIONS:
Scotland’s Heartland
Scotland’s Historic Capital
The Northern Highlands
& by SPECIAL REQUEST:
• Glasgow
• The Borders
• Isle of Skye
• Mull & Iona
• Outer Hebrides
• Orkney & Shetland
COTTAGES IN TWO
NATIONAL PARK REGIONS OF WALES
Brecon Beacons Nat’l. Park
Snowdonia Nat’l. Park
& by SPECIAL REQUEST:
• Southwest Wales
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park
COTTAGES & APARTMENTS IN FIVE IRISH REGIONS:
Tipperary & Clare
Cork & Kerry
Donegal & Sligo
Antrim & Londonderry
Dublin
LEFT & RIGHT BANK
PARIS APARTMENT LOCATIONS:
Central Paris
Apartments
in safe, attractive, desirable neighborhoods near attractions, the Métro, restaurants, and services:
Arrondissements 1-8, 11, & 18.
& by SPECIAL REQUEST:
• Provence
• Normandy
• Alsace
APTS. & CHALETS ACROSS THE SWISS ALPS:
Locarno & its neighbors
The Matterhorn & Zermatt
& by SPECIAL REQUEST:
• Eastern Switzerland:
Pontresina, the Bernina Alps, & the Upper Engadine
CIRCLING ICELAND:
THE RING ROAD TRIP
Boutique Hotels, Inns,
& Apartments around
Iceland’s Ring Road
including Reykjavik,
volcanoes & glaciers.
Independent discovery set itineraries of 3, 7, & 10 day lengths, or custom-made for your budget, interests, and time constraints.
Iceland is combinable with most European destinations.
LODGINGS IN THREE DANISH REGIONS:
• Zealand: Copenhagen & Roskilde
Classic lodging locations in Copenhagen & Roskilde. Special request locations throughout Denmark.
OSLO, BERGEN, &
THE FJORDS
Plus Stavanger, Kristiansand, Lillehammer, Ålesund, Trondheim, Lofoten, & Tromsø
Lodgings at 8 classic & 5 special request Norwegian locations including the World Heritage Site fjords.
NORTH & SOUTH ISLANDS — A ROAD TRIP OF DISCOVERY:
Individually planned itineraries using boutique lodgings with outstanding hosting in:
• 6 North Island regions
• 6 South Island regions
BETWEEN BRITAIN &
THE CARIBBEAN:
Bermuda offers much
more than its famed pink sand beaches. We offer cottages & inns across the island.
COUNTRIES WE CUSTOM-PLAN DREAM TRIPS TO:
• Britain • Ireland
• Finland • Iceland
• Germany • Holland
• Greece • Italy
• Portugal • Spain
• France • Switzerland
• Denmark • Norway • Sweden
A Letter from Home…
What’s Going On?!
By now you’re probably spinning from the mixed predictions about the economy in general and the travel economy in particular. We certainly are. That’s the bad news. But there is good news, too: if the predictions support inaction, the data encourage action. And the actions can be very positive. Here’s what we mean —
The scary “R” word — Recession — has been predicted long and strong by so many pundits and insiders that we innocent bystanders can be forgiven for believing that the economy is deeply mired in depths of negative numbers.
But the data are mixed. The stock market is in positive territory for the last quarter of 2022 and the first month of 2023. Employment is at or near all-time highs, although not in all industries. Right now it’s Big Tech’s turn to downsize its staff. Inflation — another very scary word — seems to be subsiding in most sectors, but not all. Gas has dropped by as much as 25% in most states, returning to pre-Covid levels in many places. But grocery prices are way up and not easing. Egg prices are so high that hen fruit is being smuggled in from Mexico. And, with housing already in short supply, anti-inflation Fed interest rate increases have made buying or renting one’s next home unreasonable to untenable in the current market.
Dire predictions have been made for the cost of heating homes this winter, but, so far, the unaffordable price increases feared have not materialized here in America. Similar projections of skyrocketing 2023 travel costs have – so far – needed to be revised. There are some notable jumps: Disney’s parks raised ticket prices dramatically, raising the ire of families for whom a trip to Disney World or Land is an assumed right of passage. And the airlines, assuming increased post-Covid “revenge travel” demand and sky-high energy costs for 2023, have pegged their published transatlantic fares with increases we expect to see in the health-care industry or in higher education. The biggest airfare jumps have been applied to the expanded high season (now stretching one week shy of 4 months, May 16 to September 8), reflecting the dates between college graduations and the restart of school after Labor Day. The airlines are not alone. In most countries, hotel and rental car prices, anticipating a tsunami of demand in 2023, have jumped like the airfares. But because the transatlantic airfares you pay are likely the single largest item in any overseas trip you book, we (and you) watch them most carefully.
In travel, published fares are a kind of futures market, a kind of educated guessing and insider betting, but, like shelf prices at Walmart, published fares are always subject to change. In recent weeks we have begun to see airlines hedge their educated bets by announcing “sale fares” for spring and fall travel, and, this week for the first time this year, even for the high season. This usually happens because seats aren’t selling as quickly as expected in a competitive market when one or more airlines decide drop fares below the levels set by the so-called “flag carrier” of the destination. In France, the flag carrier is Air France. For Britain, think British Air. Lufthansa sets fares to Germany (and to Switzerland through its Swiss International Air Lines). And so on. Sometimes these rebellious sale fares remain one-offs, and soon die on the vine. But often in hotly contested markets, one airline’s sale fare leads to most other carriers matching the drop. And, rarely, a sale fare can initiate a fare war, with the potential to severely damage one or more airline’s profitability and future.
Here at Home At First we monitor the airfare marketplace as a kind of stock market. We watch for significant fare changes. We scan for value-priced airfares that can save our clients real money. We use these usually short-term airfare sales to create our Current Travel Bargains, and we publicize these on our website and via our Travel Bargain Alerts emails to subscribers. Early in 2023, we are seeing considerable volatility in the airfare markets for certain destinations, especially for England, Wales, Ireland, Italy, and Switzerland. So far there has been little movement for Iceland, France, Portugal, and Scandinavia. But this too, can change, and, when it does, it will be without notice. Scandinavia, in particular, likes to announce very short term sales, even for the high season. Such sales can last only a few days, not enough time for us to get the word out to our customer base and expect a response in time to meet the sale deadline, making these sales a kind of bait-and-switch tactic.
Nevertheless, if you are thinking of traveling overseas in 2023, contact us whether or not your chosen destination is affected by a Current Travel Bargain. Ask us for a free trip proposal with an “Instant Discount” quote. We’ll research the best current airfares, and if there are sale fares available, we will propose your trip using the lowest fare available.
You need not let published fares and the predictions of pundits scare you off. 2023 just might be the year you travel overseas for below-budget cost. Importantly, traveling well and saving money start with a phone call or email to Home At First.
— Ron Fahnestock, Editor
Sign up for Travel Bargain Alerts!
We’ll send you breaking news of special bargains for custom, independent, international travel to your favorite Home At First destinations — like the ones in the right-hand column. Notices come as we discover them — approximately monthly — and typically offer savings of 17-30% off full-packages with flights, lodgings, & land transportation.
FIND OUR BEST VALUES HERE:
4 OUTSTANDING DEALS
FOR CUSTOM, INDEPENDENT, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL DURING 2023!
• PARIS — Late-Summer & Autumn
• IRELAND — Late-Summer & Autumn
• SWITZERLAND — Late-Summer & Autumn
• COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Late-Summer/Fall
7-Day Independent Travel Full Packages to:
MAJOR SALE!
TRAVEL 11SEP23 — 08NOV23
• Independent Travel with r/t Transatlantic Flights
• Departures Mon–Fri from 11SEP23 — 01NOV23
• 7 Nights Lodging — Central Paris Apartments
• Paris TransPass for Métro & RER Included
• Pre-Arranged Arrival Airport Transfer
• Includes Detailed Paris Guidebook
LATE-SUMMER & AUTUMN SPECIAL!
$AVE UP TO 31.9% – $1099/person!
SUPER PRICE!
$2,342
PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
BOOK BY MARCH 24, 2023
NEW OFFER!
PARIS SEP-NOV 2023 SPECIAL: DETAILS
ASTOUNDING VALUE!
$AVE 25.2% – $641/person!
LATE-SUMMER & AUTUMN 2023 SPECIAL!
25 MUST-DO ACTIVITIES IN IRELAND:
CHOOSE FROM 4 IRISH REGIONS:
• Central Ireland (Co. Clare & Co. Tipperary)
• Dublin (in the center of Ireland’s capital)
• Northwest Ireland (Co. Donegal & Co. Sligo)
• Southwest Ireland (Co. Cork & Co. Kerry)
7-Day Independent Full Package:
Independent Fly/Drive Travel with Transatlantic Flights
+ Cottage/Apartment Lodgings + 1-Week Car Rental or Dublin TransPass
TRAVEL 8SEP – 4NOV 2023
Friday Departures 8SEP23 to 27OCT23
OFFER EXTENDED!
$1,899
PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
OFFER EXTENDED!
BOOK BY MARCH 26, 2023
— LATE-SUMMER & FALL —
An Ideal Time to Go to
LATE-SUMMER & FALL
IN SWITZERLAND!
TRAVEL 25AUG23 – 27OCT23
7-Day Independent Full Package:
CHOOSE FROM 4 GREAT SWISS LOCATIONS:
• KANDERSTEG – Alpine Village w/ super rail service
• MÜRREN – Car-free village in spectacular setting
• LOCARNO – Italian-Swiss city with Lake & Alps
• ZERMATT – Alpine resort town by the Matterhorn
• 7 Nights Centrally-Located Apartment Lodgings
• Excellent, attentive, English-speaking hosts
• Independent Swiss Travel by train/boat/lift/bus
• Scenery, Food-Beer-Wine, Multi-Cultures, Hiking & Biking
• TransPass for the unmatched Swiss Transport Network
• Home At First’s Exclusive Swiss Regional Guidebooks
OFFER EXTENDED!
BOOK BY MARCH 24, 2023
• Friday Departures 25AUG23 – 20OCT23
$AVE 15.76% – $452/person!
$2,416
PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
EXTENDED OFFER!
LATE-SUMMER & FALL SPECIAL!
$AVE UP TO 26% – $822/person!
Wonderful, Wonderful
TRAVEL 30AUG – 4NOV 2023
7-Day Full-Package includes:
Independent Travel with Transatlantic Flights
+ Inn/Hotel Lodgings + 1-Week City TransPass
BOOK BY MARCH 26, 2023
• Depart TU-WE-TH-FR 30AUG-27OCT, 2023
BIG PRICE REDUCTION!
$2,309
PER PERSON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY
HOW TO BUILD, PRICE, & BOOK YOUR CUSTOM, INDEPENDENT, INTERNATIONAL TRAVEL —
Contact HOME AT FIRST: (800) 523-5842 (toll-free USA & Canada) • +1 610 543 4348 (worldwide) • info@homeatfirst.com