Khyati_Desai

Hello,
My husband and I live in Washington DC and are looking to travel to Europe this summer for 4 weeks (mid June-mid July) and plan to cover parts of Greece, Italy, France, Switzerland, Netherlands and maybe Germany and Belgium. We are lost as to where to begin in terms of booking a flight. Here are some specific questions we have:

1. Should we book a roundtrip ticket from DC to one of the European cities? or
2. Should we book a multi destination ticket?
3. Is airline travel within Europe cheaper than booking a mutli city trip fro DC?
4. Are there cities within the countries mentioned above that are typically cheaper to fly in and out of?
5. Do you have suggestions on which country to start and end with?

I apologize for all of the questions but appreciate your help!

thanks!

Khyati

soogies

How fun!

For starters, I'd probably be looking at booking an open jaw flight - into one city and fly home from another.

ALso, I'd check www.whichbudget.com to help you get an idea of what cheap airlines fly where in Europe. You'll get some clues as to where to go, prices, airports, etc. - meaning the "smaller" airports that the budget airlines fly into - in answer to your question #4. I find the off the beaten path destinations very interesting too and not just the biggies like Paris, London, etc.

My kids did this during their study abroads (they each lived in Europe for about six months). They would choose a destination based on cost and easy access. Of course, if you're not on a budget, you don't have to worry as much. But if you are flexible as to what cities, and want to save money, this would be my way to plan.

If, however, you have MUST see destinations, then by all means GO and figure in the costs. But if you are not married to a destination you can save some money.

Example: Daughter went from Bordeaux (where she was living) to Dublin to Stockholm to Krakow and it was less than 100 euros round trip. Daughter's friend went RT Nottingham (EMA) to Rome for over 200 euros.

In Germany, look at Frankfurt Hahn airport for cheap flights. In the Netherlands check out Eindhoven. Paris, France look at Beauvais or Orly. Other France would be Bordeaux, Lyon. In Italy look at Bologna, Milan.

greg

I recommend you come up with different scenarios and look at the itinerary as a whole package. If you look at a component at a time, such as airfare, you might come out well in that particular area, but can fail to come up with an effective itinerary as a whole.

Come up with different entry points, how you can connect your destinations, and how you end up your trip. How do they compare to your interest, cost, and risks (i.e. weather, crowds, missing boat/trains, etc.) After a round of this, you get a better idea of what kind of itinerary works better than the others. You keep working on air, ground transportation, places to stay, until you come up with an itinerary you are comfortable with.

"Typically" cheap cities are of no interest if on a specific itinerary, it fails to deliver "specific" benefits.

Putting together even one itinerary gives you a better idea of what doesn't work out.

soogies

As greg says, it will take some trial and error to find the right combination of destinations.

""Typically" cheap cities are of no interest if on a specific itinerary, it fails to deliver "specific" benefits."

- This may true if the city has absolutely no interest to you, but it may also serve as a point to a cheaper destination that you really like. That's how my daughter ended up going through Dublin and spending one night. While Dublin is not a bad location, it was just not on her wish list at that time, while Krakow was. However, going through Dublin was actually cheaper than going Bordeaux-Krakow.

Approach_Guides

Hi Khyati_Desai,
We used airtreks.com to book complicated flights around Europe (and beyond). They were able to find flight prices much lower than we could find on our own. Ask for Nico -- he is super helpful.