In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
You've expressed exactly what I was thinking, although as it was so late I was very brief. I'm in the same corner of Italy, to the North of you, as I wanted to be in the mountains and chose here over the Dolomites for the sort of reasons you mentioned. The trip I booked was Torino-Stansted, and I just wish the train could get anywhere near that price.
The last two trips back by car I've managed one way each time in one hit (to/from the Thames Valley). This has avoided the expense of a cheap, souless hotel and surprisingly expensive French restaurants, but I'm wondering whether the equation is changing with the cost of petrol increasing. Difficult to stick at 56mph on empty French roads though!
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
There are if anything too many airports in Italy. With all the smaller ones competing with each other to see who can bribe the airlines into using them. Anything that cuts down on that competition would be a good thing IMHO.
On getting to a holiday home. If you fly into Rome you can get quite a few places in a reasonable drive or train ride. If they ever get the high speed trains going even easier.
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
it'll be interesting to see what gets dropped first - the price of a barrel of crude oil or Ryanair's guarantee for "no fuel surcharges, ever".
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
Perhaps now would be a good time to start learning how to sail?
And pump up the tyres on the bike...
:idea:
In reply to A newbie all over again! by Annec
I use a caravan forum, where people complain about pitch prices going up, we are talking ten to twenty pounds a night max.
They also debate what new caravan and towcars they should buy. 15k being normal for a caravan and 20k plus for a towcar.!Then then debate the price of fuel,and how its driving them away from vanning!
They don't mind laying out 30 or 40k for outfits but moan about the price of sites and fuel!!!
I like to put things into perspective[for my own sake you understand] and i only have to think back a decade and see how prices have slid dramatically for flying or in my own case feries. and think back two decades to think of my parents,and what they earned. half or less of what is classified a decent working wage,yet having to pay over £200 each to go to Italy back then.
I soon realise how good i have it,and i don't for one moment think i am in the minority either.
i think 'budget' prices will 'ease upwards' over the foreseeable future, with Easyjet and Ryanair mopping up when others cease trading.
So, I believe that it will get increasingly expensive to fly out, and possibly impossible to some areas as services 'fold'. Hopefully, people have a fall back travel method.
i always find it surprising that some people will buy a place where budget airlines have started flying to, without really sorting out the "what if they stop flying/put the price up" question.
I deliberately bought my [holiday] home in an area that was served by 3 major airports [Milan Malpensa, Turin and Bergman] with two other 'fall backs' [Geneva and Milan Linate]. It is also easily reached by rail [overnight from Paris] and can be easily driven to with an overnight stop [or direct in 11 hours from Calais]
Was I being cautious, sensible or just anally retentive? [Gio - that's a rhetorical question].