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…

2023 Travel Specials for Autumn & the Holidays.
Plus: Announcing the Early-Bird Special for 2024.

          Suddenly it’s September and summer 2023 is morphing into autumn, a favored travel time for many of you, offering cooler temperatures and fewer crowds. We, too, are particularly fond of fall travel: it maximizes our chances of intimately experiencing our destination, and of finding peace and relaxation away from the complexities and social upheaval of life in the States. If you haven’t yet satisfied your urge to travel, we continue to offer September/October 2023 travel to England: London, Cornwall (the West Country), the Cotswolds, the Lake District, and North Yorkshire & the Yorkshire Dales. Remarkably, while hot & crowded Mediterranean Europe has experienced a banner year, Britain & Ireland remain under-visited during 2023. England has decided to keep its prices low for autumn: certainly a prime-time for visitors. The soft light and warm days of harvest-season England may be experienced at a 26% savings via Home At First’s “London & England Special”.
          International Holiday Season travel gains popularity every year. The trend reflects the attractiveness of Christmas shopping overseas, experiencing different Holiday customs in a foreign culture, and avoiding some of the stresses of the Holidays at home. Plus, for some, travel to a destination that offers a strong likelihood for a white Christmas provides once-in-a-lifetime dream fulfillment. Our current “2023 Holidays Special” offers almost 30% off travel to your choice of atmospheric Dublin, Ireland, enchantingly festive London, or (usually) snowy and traditionally Christmassy Stockholm, Sweden.  
          If September has us looking forward to traveling during autumn and the Holidays, it also has us gearing up for the start of the new travel year that follows. Traditionally, the transition from the current year to the next begins with the announcement of Home At First’s annual “Early-Bird Special”, now appearing on this page. The Early-Bird gives regular Home At First travelers first crack at placing reservations for the year to come (2024) and paying only guaranteed prices from the current year (2023), thereby avoiding any prices increases to come. As a win-win proposition the Early-Bird Special is hard to beat; it’s no surprise that is by far our most popular “special” every year.
          The 2024 Early-Bird Special applies to most Home At First destinations in the British Isles and Europe, but not to Paris, France, Denmark, Norway, or Sweden (nor to Bermuda or New Zealand) as of now. Scandinavia traditionally avoids lowering prices to get advance sales. The 2024 Summer Olympics has Paris prices after May skyrocketing. However, Paris is currently offering a very substantial “Springtime in Paris Special” that is guaranteed to beat published 2023 prices by nearly 25%.
          Looking back, 2023 has been a largely positive year for international travel, despite the highly-publicized heat waves, wildfires, and overcrowding that have affected several Mediterranean destinations. These same destinations should provide comfortable climates, fewer crowds, and sincere welcomes from late-September until the summer returns in June, 2024. France, Italy and Portugal, especially, among Home At First destinations, are at their temperate, welcoming best during the autumn and spring months. If 2023’s press reports put you off travel to southern Europe from June through August, watch for future special for spring and fall travel to these destinations at their prime visiting times.
          Opportunities come and go. Here at Home At First, we endeavor to spot great opportunities for making your travel dreams come true. All this while providing major savings you can put to use at home and for subsequent travel. Stay informed. Your next great travel experience may come to you as a result of a Home At First Travel Bargain Alert. Sign up for these e-mail alerts, and don’t miss future opportunities of your lifetime.
          And, as always, if you are thinking of traveling overseas in 2023 or 2024, 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. If there are sale fares available, we will propose your trip using the lowest fare available.
          Importantly, traveling well and saving money start with a phone call or email to Home At First.

— Ron Fahnestock, Editor

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