It all started when it became obvious that it was going to cost $577 to rent a car for a six-hour drive from Frankfurt to Prague.
Like most Americans, I was stuck in the 20th century when it came to European travel. I had always navigated the continent by trains or automobiles, completely dismissing the third option in the travel trifecta: planes.
Sure, I had heard of the European budget airlines that charge as little as $25 to fly from London to Marseille or Dublin to Brussels. I figured they were a myth, or that there was a catch – I’d have to fly in the middle of the night or without any luggage. Besides, why mess around with airport security when it’s so easy – and cheap – to rent a car or travel by train in Europe?
That was the plan when my friend Lauren and I suddenly found ourselves the beneficiaries of free round-trip airfare to Frankfurt, courtesy of a client who was not only willing to fly us out for a meeting, but who didn’t care when we booked our return flight. It seemed the perfect opportunity for a European vacation, except for the fact that we didn’t have much time or money.
No problem, we thought. We’ll solve both of those snags by limiting our trip to areas near Frankfurt. We got out our maps. Prague is less than an inch away from Frankfurt, I told Lauren excitedly. We could rent a car, drive to Prague, take a little detour to Vienna (half an inch!) and then take the train through Italy.
But we discovered that some companies that rent cars in Europe – espe-
cially Eastern Europe – aren’t keen on one-way, cross-country trips, and charge big drop-off fees. After a long Internet search, the best quote I could find was $577 from Hertz for a one-day, one-way trip between Frankfurt and Prague.
Undaunted, Lauren and I decided to buy Eurail passes and relive our college backpacking trips through Europe, except with less ouzo and more shoes. But a 15-day, 18-country pass was $605, and it would take us forever to get where we wanted to go.
So we turned to the budget airlines. Using their easy-to-navigate websites, we booked and paid for our entire trip online before leaving the United States. We ended up with the best – and least expensive – trip to Europe either of us has ever had.
Here’s how we did it.
Day 1: Frankfurt to Venice: Ryanair, $156
We chose Venice because it was the most interesting place we could fly to from Frankfurt. And that’s the first thing we learned about navigating the budget airlines:
Tip No. 1: You might not get to where you want to go. The two biggest European budget airlines, easyJet and Ryanair, are headquartered in England and Ireland, so many of their routes originate from those countries. You have fewer options if you want to fly between cities on the continent. Flycheapo.com is an excellent resource for checking routes of all the 49 European budget airlines – chances are at least one plane is going to fly where you want.
Because we had never flown the budget airlines, we took seriously their recommendation that we check in two hours in advance, which meant we were up literally before dawn to catch a bus from Heidelberg for our 11:40 a.m. flight from Frankfurt. It turned out to be a smart move because …
Tip No. 2: Seating is first come, first served. Ryanair and easyJet issue numbered boarding passes when you check in, but it can still be a mad dash when the gates open.
Our check-in was easy. All we needed was our itinerary receipt and passport. On some other legs of our trip, we didn’t even need the receipt.
Tip No. 3: If you’re late, you skate. Ryanair’s check-in desks close 40 minutes before flight time; easyJet closes half an hour before departure. They’re serious about this. If you’re late, you’re stuck with a nonrefundable ticket.
Day 3: Venice to Barcelona: Ryanair, $163
We had nine options for flights out of Venice, and Barcelona looked like the most fun. But it was also the most expensive leg of our trip because we only had enough money for two nights’ hotel in pricey Venice, so we couldn’t build any flexibility into our schedule. We also were only able to book the airfare three weeks in advance. This cost us because …
Tip No. 4: Prices vary depending on which day you travel. We flew to Barcelona on a Sunday, which was about $20 cheaper than Saturday, but $80 more expensive than Monday. But there seems to be no discernable pattern as to which days fares plummet and vault, although time does matter: Generally, the more inconvenient the departure time, the cheaper the price.
Be sure to check surrounding-day fares (both easyJet and Ryanair let you do this easily online). Also, watch for special offers. One important note: Fares rise as you get closer to your flying date. Try to book tickets at least four weeks in advance.
This was the first check-in where we dealt with the luggage weight limits imposed by most European budget airlines.
Tip No. 5: This is not Imelda Marcos’ plane. Both Ryanair and easyJet limit checked bags to 44 pounds per person. Excess weight fees can be as much as $14 per pound. This was Lauren’s biggest nightmare because her suitcase weighs 10 pounds unpacked. Couple that with her love of heavy guidebooks, and she spent a lot of time creatively packing and weighing her suitcase on the bathroom scale before she left home. Still, it weighed 46 pounds when we checked in, necessitating a frantic shifting of Frommer’s and Fodor’s into my lighter suitcase, much to the amusement of the seasoned travelers in line behind us.
There are ways around the weight restrictions, however. EasyJet doesn’t limit the weight of your carry-on, so pack all your heavy stuff in that. Ryanair has a 22-pound carry-on limit.
Lauren’s extra guidebooks came in handy when we discovered we were landing in Girona, a town about 70 miles from Barcelona. This is a nasty Ryanair trick. Unlike easyJet, in big cities Ryanair seldom flies into a city-center airport. Buses meet your flight so the travel arrangements are hassle-free, but they cost another $10-plus each way and add extra time onto your trip.
We stayed in Girona rather than take an 8 p.m. bus to Barcelona. This proved to be a great bonus – Girona is a beautiful medieval city where many top Tour de France bike racers live and practice.
Tip No. 6: Don’t expect to stock up on duty-free items at Ryanair airports. We’re talking five gates, tops. You’re lucky if you can find lunch. But both Ryanair and easyJet have in-air vending of food, drinks and duty-free goods.
Day 7: Barcelona to Bilbao: Iberia, $110
I felt oh-so Jackie O when I decided to jet set for the day into the northern Spanish city of Bilbao to see the famous Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum. Lauren had already flown to London, so I envisioned a solo overnight train trip. But when I tried to book the train three weeks in advance, it was sold out. So I opted for Iberia, a Spanish airline that offers budget fares.
Day 7: Bilbao to London: easyJet, $63
My first foray on easyJet, mainly because it was the only budget airline I could find that flew the Bilbao-London route. It was disconcerting to try a new airline, but in the end Lauren and I liked easyJet better than Ryanair.
Unlike easyJet, Ryanair has stripped-down planes without seat pockets or tray tables. Think of easyJet as the Southwest Airlines of Europe and Ryanair as the Eastern Bloc Express. But that doesn’t mean it’s unsafe: According to the airline, in its 20-year history, Ryanair has never had a major injury to passengers or flight crew. The BBC reports easyJet also has a flawless safety record.
Days 10-14: London to Amsterdam to London: easyJet, $115
Lauren opted to stay in London while I flew to Amsterdam. We booked our return flight to the States out of London rather than Frankfurt because most budget airlines fly into London many times a day.
Tip No. 7: It might be best to go out of your way. When booking flights, sometimes it can be cheaper to fly through London.
When we charted our whirlwind air tour of Europe, we realized that one canceled flight or lost bag could cause our entire itinerary to crash. But the budget airlines came through for us. In the end, I visited five countries in two weeks for $607, only $2 more than a Eurail pass and much faster than my old landlubber mode of travel.
INSIDER’S GUIDE
The largest low-cost
European airlines, by volume:
Ryanair, ryanair.com. Irish, 346 routes/21 countries
easyJet, easyjet.com. English, 267 routes/21 countries
Air Berlin, airberlin.com. German, 356 routes/14 countries
flybe, flybe.com. English, 99 routes/6 countries
Germanwings, germanwings.com. German, 98 routes/21 countries
Hapag-Lloyd Express, hlx.com. German, 83 routes/11 countries
Norwegian Air Shuttle, norweg ian.no. Norwegian, 77 routes /21 countries
Thomsonfly, thomsonfly.com. English, 73 routes/9 countries
Sterling, sterlingticket.com. Danish, 71 routes/16 countries
Sky Europe, skyeurope.com. Slovakian, 70 routes/19 countries
Wizz Air, wizzair.com. Central European, 60 routes/18 countries
Source: flycheapo.com
Sample one-way itineraries (booked one month in advance):
LONDON TO PARIS
Plane: easyJet, $76, 1 hour, 15 minutes
Train: raileurope.com, $150, 2 hours, 50 minutes
Car: Not available (One-way rentals are not allowed out of the United Kingdom, according to autoeurope.com and Hertz)
VENICE TO ROME
Plane: Ryanair, $27, 1 hour, 5 minutes
Train: raileurope.com, $58, 4 hours, 33 minutes
Car: autoeurope.com, $127.66, about 5 hours
