Hello!

I am a 23 year old Canadian travelling with my Mom to Europe in May - it's her first time out of North America and it has always been her dream to see Europe. So far I have booked the flights to and from Canada (960 CAD each round trip).

This is our itinerary:
May 11: arrive in London Heathrow at 12:05
May 16: London to Berlin
May 20: Berlin to Santorini
May 25: Santorini to Rome
...train to Florence within here...
June 1: Depart from Rome at 15:15

I personally have been to Italy, but not London, Berlin or Santorini.

I am now booking the internal flights. So far I have found a flight from London to Berlin via Ryanair for 50 CAD. However I have noticed that this flies from Stansted and lands in Schonefeld. Then I was planning on using Aegean Airlines - 300 CAD to Santorini and 150 CAD from Santorini to Rome. These fly in and out of Tegel airport in Berlin.

So my question is - would it be a nuisance to fly via Ryanair to these smaller airports (especially when thinking of hotel location, etc), or is public transportation great enough in Berlin and London to easily get around to and from both airports no matter where our hotel is? Do those sound like decent flight options?

Thank you so much for your help! Any other suggestions regarding my itinerary, or in general are very welcome!

Most of the lower fare airlines fly out of secondary airports and you're right, it tends to be somewhat less convenient, not always, but sometimes. Sometimes the flights are also at less convenient times and I've been in the situation of needing to be at the smaller airport before the public transport options can get me there in the morning. It is, on occasion, more trouble than it's worth, for instance if you must move to an airport hotel for an early flight. So these are the sorts of things you need to weight when you go for a cheap flight.

Also, when you're comparing, don't forget all the add-ons such as checked baggage charges and a charge for a boarding pass if you can't print it yourself (That was new to me when I heard about it). Go all the way to the payment page to see what the real cost will be, rather than assume the first price is what you'll pay.

The Ryanair flight would leave London at 13:40, and would depart from Berlin at 11:00, so I don't think arriving to the smaller airports by public transportation would be an issue (if time is the sole issue?) It looks like it is 30 CAD to check one bag.

Schoenefeld has easier access to public transportation (S-Bahn and U-Bahn via shuttle) than Tempelhof.

Correction: not Tempelhof but Tegel.

Check the weight and size restrictions as they are VERY strict and your bags will be weighed and sized at check in to ensure you comply. The allowable weight and size are almost certainly less, maybe quite a but less, than your overseas flight and cdn luggage and the extra charges to deal with this at the airport are very high!

Cant comment on those particular airports,, but can reassure you that I have used Ryanair , and had no problems. Yes,, I paid extra for my bag.. but I didn't pay for extra privildges like pre boarding etc..

Check other airlines and see if they use airports you like.. I have used Easyjet, Vueling and Tuifly too.. all fine as long as you READ carefully when booking and follow the rules.

When I flew into Stanstead I had no problems reaching central London using public transportation I took a train but there are buses as well. I've not used Ryan Air to fly in or out of Germany, but whatever airport you are flying to in Rome it is easy to get from there to the main part of Rome.

Using Ryan Air I repurchased the option for checking a bag. But you will want to pack light, even if you do check a bag, if you are depending on using trains to get to London airport or into Rome. You will encounter stairs.

I often fly Ryanair in and out of Stansted, as they have cheap flights from our local airport in Italy. I used to take the train, which goes to London Liverpool Street station, but now I usually take the bus, which goes to Victoria Coach station. It's a little more convenient to where I usually stay, and it runs more often than the train.

I've never had my baggage weighed or measured by Ryanair at Stansted (or at any of their other airports); they just eyeball it. I make sure my bags are within the weight limits, just in case. I usually have only cabin luggage.

As of last year, they have increased the amount of cabin baggage you can take. You can now have one suitcase that is of certain dimensions and that weighs less than 9 kg, as well as one personal item. They have signs in the airport saying that in addition to your cabin luggage you can carry aboard a shopping bag, obviously trying to encourage airport shopping, but in fact it can be anything that size or smaller.

As for the actual dimensions of the suitcase, I usually carry a bag that is shorter but wider than the given dimensions, and it's allowed on board. Sometimes the cabin luggage space fills up, and they make you gate check bags that are within the allowed dimensions; they don't charge for this.

Tegel is actually IN Berlin, and it's just a bus ride from the city centre, even if it has no train service.
http://www.berlin-airport.de/en/trav...ains/index.php

If you check a bag you place it on the scale when you pass it to the check in agent - this is the same for every airline so I don't see how you would have avoided it. My bag has been weighed at check in for every flight I have ever taken regardless of carrier.

Maybe you are referring to hand luggage?

Yes, I was talking about the hand luggage. I rarely take checked bags on Ryanair, because we mostly use it for short trips. Anyway, their checked luggage weight limit is well over what we would ever take.

That makes sense!

I just point out the checked luggage because people from North America on a longer trip may have bigger and heavier checked luggage that is allowable on their overseas flights but will be over the cheaper airline limits here on Europe...

The weight limit for Ryanair is 10kg, not 9kg. There are other budget airlines with a 9kg allowance though, so you may have to go with that as the lowest common denominator.

Ryanair do allow a second smaller bag or laptop case too now, which is great, but there is a size limit on this too, so don't be labouring under the illusion you will be able to take absolutely any tote or shopping bag that takes your fancy - it must be 35 x 20 x 20 cm or less.

I noticed at our local airport (AOI) that Ryanair had a somewhat larger hand luggage measuring guide than the old one (which was still there next to it). Maybe they used to have a 9kg limit and raised the limit when they raised the dimensions?

At both Ancona and Stansted (and also at Charleroi, where we flew once with Ryanair), I see people carrying on cabin luggage that I'm sure is over the limits, and no one has ever challenged them.

Thank you everyone! I talked with my Mom and we ended up choosing a British Airway flight to and fro the major aiports that was more expensive but had a more reasonable price for baggage.

I think you've done the right thing, alex. While BA is not my favorite, Ryanair is by far my least favorite airline. Your overall experience should be better as a result.

Good choice