Travelling to Europe This Summer? Jump on This!

[On the Road]

My 15-YO daughter wants to visit Germany this summer. I like to encourage her interest in travel, but I almost told her no because air fares are astronomical.

I've spent a lot of time on various search engines, and even the bucket shops are twice what they were two years ago.

But I did find these fares: $598 plus taxes round trip to Frankfurt on Lufthansa in June. Apparently you need two people and have to travel early enough in the summer. But it may be enough to make the difference.

All Cheap Fares

Try playing around with different destinations and combinations. The site retains the dates and destinations on the left column, which makes it much easier to use than most of the others. Sometimes a small change makes a big difference.

Now all I have to do is figure out how to save money on the ground. Good thing we'll be staying with relatives part of the time.

[RethugAssKicker]

1. Check out

discount European Airlines... like EasyJet.
This is for travel when in Europe (not from US to Europe)

Unbelievable prices, such as 20.00 Euro from London to Prague.

do a google on "discount European Airline".. It'll shock you.

[chickenscratching]

2. its so shocking

that's what i used (and ryanaire), and it was overwhelmingly ridiculous how cheap it was!
spain to london i paid 15 euro.
:wtf:???
welcome to DU!

[On the Road]

3. I Saw Some of Those

Also checked out Ryan Air and Span Air, which had some great offers about 5-6 years ago. Prices were all over $1,000US. It's frustrating that it's all on the continent. I'd rather travel by train in Europe, anyway.

Seriously, do you know of any European discount airlines that go to the US?

[Kellanved]

4. well

The weak dollar doesn't make it easier.
Check Delta and Continental, they have special offers for the new NYC <-> Berlin connections (and let's face it: there isn't much to see in German other than Berlin ;-) .

But I have to say : $600 isn't that expensive. I have never paid less than €350 for the trip.

Some airlines have special fares for students, be sure to check agencies specialized in youth travel.

:hi:

[On the Road]

5. Delta and Continental are High

Delta was over $1100US per person. Continental was better at $985US including taxes. Still it's a big gap. Paying in Euros is a big savings these days.

I'd love to see Berlin and was considering it, but I think we'll do Bavaria and the Schwartzwald this time.

[Kellanved]

7. yeah

I still have trouble understanding why Lufthansa canceled all direct Berlin <-> Washington flights (actually I do understand their reasons pretty well, but I believe their reasoning to be faulty).

There is always the chance of catching a last minute offer, but I have to admit: with the Euro as it is, it seems to be a bad time to travel to Europe. BTW: it is not a big advantage to pay in Euros - most carriers, especially the European ones, still do use parity for the ticket prices.

[Goathead]

6. Sweet! Thanks for the tip! n/t

[On the Road]

8. Glad to Pass it On

The only better way to get tickets is to speak the local language and go to a bucket shop in an ethnic neighborhood. My girfriend got some amazing tickets to Asia over the winter that way -- $1000 for a five-leg journey to go to a conference, visit her family, and take a short holiday too.

It also works to Latin America. If there's a Spanish-speaking neighborhood nearby, some of those little storefronts have great deals. Doesn't really work for Germany AFAIK.

Or -- pick up a free paper in Spanish, Chinese, or whatever -- they usually have travel agent listings to the home country that beat most internet fares.

Internet bucket shops are the next best thing most of the time. This year is just off the charts. $600 seems to be as good as it gets.

[Aiptasia]

9. cheaptickets.com and also check out british air fares to heathrow

I flew in to Heathrow last August for $179 round trip on a British Air flight. I had to book it in February but I got the deal through cheaptickets.com.

From there, $75 a flight from Heathrow over to Schiphol airport in The Netherlands and train rides to everywhere I needed/wanted to go!

[On the Road]

10. You Know, I Hadn't Thought of That

Tickets to England *are* a lot cheaper. It's probably better to buy a transatlantic flight to Heathrow and a RyanAir (or other cut-rate) flight from there to the continent.

I will investigate those before putting any money down.

For comparison, I was looking at an open-jawed flight TO London and BACK from Madrid for about $750. Including a third leg from London to Madrid caused the price to shoot up to $1250, which is insane considering the cheap European flights. And this was from a very competitive internet bucket shop.