- We spent weeks in Europe and saw the Eras Tour twice for about what we paid to see her in the US.
- Choosing a less-popular city and using credit-card points helped keep our costs low.
- I wish we'd booked our hotel before prices skyrocketed, but I was glad we planned a whole trip.
The world has never seen anything quite like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour.
Since embarking on the high-grossing tour, Swift has showcased her talents and proved her performances can boost economies and change travel patterns.
After a short break, Swift is set to resume the tour on Friday.
Although we don't have tickets for upcoming shows, my two children and I were among the thousands of Americans who traveled abroad to see Swift over the summer.
We were able to spend three weeks in Europe and see the Eras Tour in Poland twice for just a little more than what it cost for my daughter and me to see Swift in the US last year.
I had a great time traveling abroad for live music and would do it again. Here's what we did right and would recommend, plus one mistake we'd avoid next time.
Choosing dates in a more affordable country helped us keep travel costs low
If you're planning to travel for music, consider attending concerts in countries with lower prices across the board.
Oftentimes, these places are underrated and cheaper to explore. For example, we saw Swift in Warsaw, Poland, instead of the super-popular Paris or London.
In Warsaw, our tickets for the first show were $150 each (purchased in advance) and, for the second, $50 each at the box office (purchased while in Warsaw). Meanwhile, our two nosebleeds seats to an Eras show in Philadelphia had cost a jaw-dropping $4,000.
There was plenty to see and do in Poland, plus prices for things like food and accommodations were lower there than in other more popular European travel destinations.
Sometimes it's easier to buy tickets for destinations that seem to be less popular, too.
We loved turning traveling for the concert into a whole trip
Poland had been on my list of places to visit for a long time.
Although the Eras Tour is what eventually got me there, the concert ended up being just one part of an incredible trip full of great food, history, and culture.
After all, I wasn't going to fly halfway around the world and not do some exploring. We ended up spending three weeks in Europe.
If you can, add a couple of days to your trip so you can learn a little about the country you are visiting.
I regret not booking our hotels and flights sooner
To help lower our travel costs, I used credit-card points and travel rewards for plane tickets and some of our hotels.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to use points for our hotel in Poland as I'd planned and I ended up having to book closer to our trip.
By then, many hotel prices in the area had drastically risen. Some hotels in Warsaw reportedly increased prices by 154% for bookings during Swift's tour dates.
By only booking a few months before the tour dates, I wound up overpaying for our accommodations — it was an expensive lesson.
If you're traveling for a concert, chances are other fans have the same idea. So, book your hotels and flights as soon as you get your tickets.
We made sure to look up local concert rules
Even throughout the US, venues have different rules around tickets and what you're allowed to bring to a show.
At Swift's Warsaw shows, each ticket was personalized with a name and IDs were checked at the gate. This was unlike any show I'd been to in the US.
Plus, at that venue, bags had to be small and could only have two compartments. If I hadn't looked up the rules in advance, I may have missed the concert or been forced to leave my bag outside.
Meeting other fans and connecting with fellow concertgoers ahead of time made our trip better
One of the best parts of our trip was connecting with other fans and meeting Swifties from all over the world while in Europe.
I also joined a social-media group for Swifties in Warsaw before our trip and got valuable information about where to eat near the stadium, underrated must-see sights in Poland, and the best way to get back to our hotel after the show.