We are flying from San Francisco to Athens at the end of August to catch an Adriatic cruise. Does anyone have experience changing planes in Munich? How much time do we need between flights and do we need to go through passport control at that point? Are there other European airports that would be better for transfers? Any advice is appreciated!

Munich is actually a decent stop on the way from SFO to ATH. United or Lufthansa most likely. Better than LHR or FRA or CDG. You will go through immigration in Munich.

If you are on one ticket and miss your connection you will be put on the next flight with seat availability. I would plan to reach Athens with plenty of time to connect to your cruise. Travel insurance is probably a good idea.

Depending on costs and timing LIS/ IST/ AMS/ZUR would be ok too but not necessarily any better then MUC

As mentioned most anywhere other than LHR, CDG or FRA - and I'd maybe add AMS to the 'no list'.

You are probably already doing this but just in case, definitely fly in at least one day prior to the cruise. Sure, they will put you on the next flight, but if the next 2 or 3 flights are full you'll be out of luck.

Your other post on the same topic also has some replies, including the suggestion to connect in the US (for example Detroit, Atlanta, Newark, or Washington) then fly non-stop to Athens

Best European airport for transfer

anyone flyling from from the west coast of Canada or the US to Greece is not just traveling, but embarking on a Quest ... a long, tiring tiring journey, with possible byways and hazards, requiring alertness and endurance! Be of good cheer - it is worth it...

Having said that, I go with j62. It's a bore to have to fly to East Coast, then change planes .... but at least you can be sure of arriving on schedule. Even if your plane takes off from NY, Atlanta, PHilly, DC, etc as much as an hour-plus late --due to crowded riunways ... 99% of time you will arrive in ATH right on the dot. Why? Because there is all that loooong stretch over the Atlantic where they can make up time.

Where your iffy delays would happen, are in Europe. If there are delays in a plane leaving Munich, Frankfort etc for Athens, there is no long 6 hour fllight over the ocean to make up time. And I agree with others who say Avoid FRankfurt and Heathrow if possible -- and absolutely the Transfer Hell Caplital.. ChasDG. .

Thank you1. I'll look at the best options for routing through the US. We will be travelling outbound late August so tryin to consider weather and also the best airport for NOT losing luggage. We have a day before getting on our cruise and fortunately the first day of the cruise is in Athens in the event of a luggage snafu...

Thanks again!

Have you thought of taking Swiss from SFO to Zurich and then onto Athens? I’ve flown to Athens on Swiss and it was fine.

If you are flying biz class, another advantage is the terrific Swiss long haul biz class lounge in terminal E, one of best lounges I’ve been to. It’s a great place to relax on the flight back.

PEople also say it's smart these days to have one of those computer-linked luggage tags (Track my Bag?) which can immediately let you know where the bag is in any event,

I agree that Munich (or Zurich) are better transfer airports than FRA, and there are options to fly to both. But my experience flying out of SFO in summer is that you should expect your departing flight to be delayed, especially on weekends and more especially United. Note also that in summer flights are full, so even if the airline is required to get you to your destination, don't assume that the "next" flight will have seats. We had an involuntary overnight. So my advice: Allow AT LEAST a 2.5 hour connection, 3 (or more) hours is safer. We missed a connection with 2:15 due to United's delay and almost missed the connection with 2:25 (but luggage didn't). United also will lie a about how long the delay out of SFO will be (we could have switched to a later flight before leaving SFO but they kept telling me the delay would only be 40 minutes so we'd make it; that was untrue).

Yes, have Apple Air tags. Only way I recovered my luggage when United delay caused it to misconnect in Zurich.

From SFO also consider AMS (KLM and United fly there). Avoid LHR and CDG. There are a few other nonstops but AMS, ZRH and MUC have more connecting flight options.

I am always a fan of the transatlantic flight being the last one, it is so nice after the long overnight trip, to just be there.

On a recent trip to Milan, we flew through Newark and gave ourselves plenty of ground time, which worked out well especially, because the flight to Newark was 90 minutes late. We had time to get something to eat, freshen up and catch up on our travel notes. Since it was a long day, we were tired on our flight to Milan and actually slept a few hours.

Of, course, pricing is always a consideration, but there are plenty of east coast options, and Atlanta and Chicago, so that does include a lot of airlines. Enjoy!

I think the choice of flights can be simple, or if you are like me more nuanced and complicated. I have probably flown out of SFO over 50 times on international routes and less domestically. It goes without saying that cost is a major factor. Time of departure would be a factor for me as there are different times a day when getting to SFO may be a problem. Obviously this depends on where you live. I should also note that getting through security domestically can be a lot more trying than going through the International terminal. Although I have flown to Europe connecting via domestic airports many times, I prefer connecting In Europe if I want to be somewhere on time. The reason is simple, If you are delayed and miss your flight say to ATH via MUC, there are probably something like 5-6 flights a day on that corridor. If you miss your connection in the US to someplace like ATH, there may not be another flight to ATH until the next day or you will have to take another flight somewhere else to connect to ATH. I always check what I can do if I miss my connection, even going as far as checking the Flightaware data on the historical times of arrival on the flights I plan to take. I do prefer 2-3 hours for connection wherever that may be. I would try to get to Athens about 24 hours before your cruise to be safe. In regards to lounges the senator lounges are usually a cut above the business lounges on LH group flights. Certainly the senator lounge in Zurich is nicer than the business lounge and available if you have star alliance Gold or above.