ckwald

I have several connection options for booking my flights from Philadelphia to Dubrovnik, and I want to avoid Frankfurt Airport. I've heard that Heathrow is now a zoo and Gatwick isn't much better. Does anyone recommend Dublin? What's it like?

JudyC

I went through Dublin airport last month, it is much much smaller, certainly easier to go around, if you could find good connections.

alanRow

Heathrow is the busiest international airport in the world, Gatwick the busiest single runway airport in the world

Dublin is a small regional airport that just happens to have long haul flights. Use it if you can

flanneruk

The airport is only one issue.

There are no non-stop flights from Heathrow to Dubrovnik, so what'll happen is that you're going to have to go via somewhere else AS WELL.

There are flights from Philadelphia to Dublin only after October this year, and then only on a few days a week

Though US Airways does fly to Gatwick from Philadelphia, you then have to change terminals to get the BA flight to Dubrovnik. This, of itself is painless: but you might possibly have to retrieve bags, go through immigration and recheck in (BA's policy on handling bags from other airlines is the most uncooperative on the planet - though check with the airline). You'll CERTAINLY have to do this if you use a non-BA airline for the onward flight to Dubrovnik.

If you can get a simple flight from Philadelphia that involves just one plane change at Frankfurt, it might well beat all of these for convenience.

All airports are zoos. Dublin at 5 pm is just as zoo-like as anywhere, except that its departure lounges are even more cramped than Heathrow's or Gatwick's. Check the times, prices and details of all the options (including the convenience of the journey back) rather than relying on some "I hate Gatwick" (or in my case "I hate Dublin&quot one-off experience.

Always mistrust simple generalisations when travelling

flanneruk

While I'm at it:

I've no idea whether how balanced this article is:

http://www.usatoday.com/travel/colum...s-europe_N.htm

It is after all taken from that "newspaper" that takes all the fun out by colouring in the pictures in for you.

But both the Gatwick and Dublin options require you to use the US Airways - and then change onto another airline. If severe lateness is as certain as the McNews article implies, this may be very, very unstraightforward (Dubrovnik doesn't have hourly shuttles from smaller airports like Dublin. In fact it doesn't even have a flight every day)

If there's a real all-Lufthansa alternative via Frankfurt, I'd forget any prejudices you might have about the place.

ckwald

Thanks all for your helpful replies.

flanneruk: the last time I made the Philadelphia-Dubrovnik trip it was on Lufthansa. Flights were fine, but the airport & its arrogant, unhelpful ground personnel left me literally enraged-- and I don't enrage easily!

I've got plenty of time to arrange this next trip, and I am leaning toward USAir direct into Dublin & BA to Dubrovnik. The return is through Rome, with an 18 hour overnight layover, which is beautifully timed for an early evening tour & dinner in Rome, a good night's sleep and a late morning take-off for Phila.