Some of music’s biggest superstars, including Taylor Swift and Olivia Rodrigo, have announced international tours for 2024. And based on a recent report, many of their fans are open to flying abroad to see them.
It’s called “gig tripping,” and it’s one of the top trends in Skyscanner’s Travel Trends 2024 Report. Nearly half (44%) of U.S. travelers said they’d fly short haul to see their favorite artists live, and 18% said they’d fly long haul.
People are even more willing to do this if it helps with those often expensive concert tickets. A whopping 60% said they’d consider traveling to a gig or festival in a different country if it helps them save money.
It makes sense why gig tripping is taking off. Travel and live music are popular, especially among young adults. With gig tripping, you get to do both, catching a favorite artist and having a fun vacation. Saving money in the process is the cherry on top. If you’re interested in trying this kind of travel this year, here are the most affordable places to go, and ways to save on your travel and concert costs.
The most affordable cities for concerts
Skyscanner’s report included the top destinations with the most gigs for under $25, according to data from ticketing platform DICE. If you’re open about which artists you see in concert, consider going to one of these hotspots:
- Leeds, United Kingdom
- Bordeaux, France
- Rome, Italy
- Milan, Italy
- Paris, France
- London, United Kingdom
- Seattle, Washington
- Manchester, United Kingdom
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Nashville, Tennessee
- Toronto, Canada
- Los Angeles, California
- Hamburg, Germany
- Barcelona, Spain
- Chicago, Illinois
Whether you want to go on an international vacation or stay closer to home, there are plenty of cities with affordable concerts. These are good options to catch live music without too much of a hit to your finances.
How to save on gig tripping
Gig tripping might seem expensive. Between a flight, hotel, food, and other expenses, travel costs can add up quickly, and even more so if you’re going abroad. Concert tickets for popular artists aren’t exactly cheap, either.
If you want to see a specific artist, start planning and making reservations as early as possible. With travel bookings and concert tickets, prices often go up the longer you wait. You have a better chance of finding deals if you give yourself plenty of time to look. For flights, the “prime booking window” to get low prices is 1.5 to 5.5 months in advance, according to CheapAir.com.
Along with starting your search early, another way to cut your travel costs is to start using travel credit cards. These earn points you can use for travel expenses, like your airfare and hotel stay. Many people, myself included, save thousands of dollars each year on travel thanks to credit card points.
Saving on concerts is trickier, especially when tickets are in high demand. But there are a few strategies to get the tickets you want without overpaying:
- Sign up for presales: These give you better odds of finding tickets at face value. Presale access varies depending on the artist and concert, but you can normally sign up through the artist’s website or the ticket platform.
- Check if any of your credit cards include access to presale offers: American Express, Capital One, and Citi all have entertainment portals where their cardholders can access presales for select concerts. If you have any good credit cards for concert tickets, you may be able to get access to a presale that way.
- Compare prices through multiple ticket platforms: With many concerts, tickets will be available on several sites. Ticketmaster, StubHub, and VividSeats are a few of the most popular options. There’s no best place to get concert tickets — you need to compare listings on multiple platforms to see which is offering the lowest prices on the seats you want.
While gig tripping takes a little more planning, seeing a great concert can add to the travel experience. And sometimes ticket prices are lower overseas, so with any luck, you could see a favorite artist for less than what it would cost at home.
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