flying to Frankfurt to spend time in Paris
 

Hi I am going to Paris on vacation in August, but we're flying to Frankfurt because its much cheaper then to fly streight to Paris from New York. We're very flexible as to what to visit:
Frankfurt-Paris or Frankfurt-Luxembourg-Paris or Frankfurt-Brussels-Paris.

Any suggestions? Please, help.

You want to mostly visit Paris - I'd fly in/out Paris, even if the airfare is a bit higher.

Flying into Germany you have the extra expense of getting to Paris and back. When you add in the extra travel $$/€€ - flying to Paris is probably cheaper. Or, if you want to see a bit of Germany too, the fly open jaw into Paris and home from Frankfurt (or vice versa)

How long is your entire trip?

I think flying to Frankfurt in the circumstances is a colossal waste of time unless you are saving hundreds of dollars. You need to consider your limited vacation time and the cost of intermediate transportation when you do something like that. It usually isn't worth the savings when you consider the hassle.

However, if you have already purchased your ticket, it is probably too late to do anything about it. I would stop in Alsace and then continue on to Paris. Renting a car might be a good idea because you could stop along the way. I find that relying exclusively on public transport is too limiting unless you just want to get from place to place as quickly as possible.

The fastest way to get from Frankfurt to Paris or Brussels or Paris is by plane. There is not much to see in Luxembourg compared to the other destinations you mentioned.

According to the Deutsche Bahn website, you can go from Frankfurt to Paris in four hours with the TGV for 69€. Order the tickets three months in advance.

If you add in the cost of the train to get to and from Paris, and the extra time to do that, are you really saving any money? You will need to be back in Frankfurt the night before your flight and that will mean a hotel stay not doing much except costing money.

If you made the trip two days shorter, saved the cost of the train from Frankfurt to Paris and back and that one night at a hotel, would there be a real difference in cost and would you have actually lost any sight seeing time? I doubt it.

When you use up your first day in Europe getting to the place you really want to be and the last day and night getting back to your return airport, you have wasted both time and money. May not be the bargain you are thinking.

Check out XLFrance. They usually have direct flights from JFK to Paris and to Marseilles at very good prices.

HI E,

It is cheaper to fly into Frankfurt and then home from Paris then it is to fly RT to Paris?

OR are you flying RT Frankfurt.

In the latter case you have the cost of train travel plus spending your last nite in Frankfurt - about 200E.

How much are you saving on the airfare?

((I))

I don't know which days you are looking at. On random days I looked up in August, on Delta for example, JFK-FRA-JFK is about $300 cheaper than JFK-CDG-JFK. However, it costs at least $100*2 = $200 to do the trip by train, not to mention the trip is 4 hours each way.

Look further at when you are arriving in each city. If on Delta, you will be in Paris around 8am if you fly straight to CDG, while if you go via FRA, it looks like you will be in Paris around 5pm. In another word, you are getting 9 hours less on the arrival day. Adding to this, as Sassafrass mentioned, you will have to leave Paris the afternoon before for return flight. So with the assumptions I made, you will be saving about $100, but you will getting a less of a trip, by about one day.

You will be getting more time in Paris while saving even more by doing JFK-CDG-JFK while cutting one night from your trip at the tail end (which you would have used to stay in Frankfurt.)

Hi thanks so much for your answers. The problem is that I already purchased tickets from New York-Frankfurt and Frankfurt-New York. I didn't want to fly XL Airways because i read terrible reviews on line about this company.
My tickets are non-refundable. I purchased tickets at $925 flying Delta, compare to tickets directly to Paris which would cost me $1500. Considering its 3 of us it would add up.
I am planning trip now with no experience. Please, help me to do
plan my trip. I want to go to Paris, but otherwise I am flexible.

I am flying from New York on 8/3 ans Flying from Frankfurt back on 8/12

Thanks. Hope you can help me

El

I would take a train from Frankfurt to Paris and return. You can leave from the Frankfurt airport and arrive in Paris in about 5 hours.

You'll arrive late in the afternoon on August 4 and return to Frankfurt on August 11 and spend the night in Frankfurt. You can take the train from town to the airport very easily.

That gives you 6 days to explore Paris. I would not add any place else to the itinerary as you can easily fill months with sightseeing in Paris.

I think you should explore a bit of germany and alsace-france before heading to paris. With the budget constraints you note (and i am totally w u there) i would maximize each trip to europe as much as possible - especially since u will be in frankfurt already. Rent a car at the airport and drive then stay in baden baden - hikes to black forest- or Strasbourg (w trips to colmar and other wine villages) for 2 nites depending on your interests. You can then take a train from strasbourg to paris (less than 2.5hrs)
I personally am planning a similar trip. It started with germany and alsace plans but now looking at taking a train to paris to take into account my teens' intense love for this city (and flying out from paris vs frankfurt was bit cheaper too!)

I don't think you have much time in Paris the way the trip is set up. You probably have 7.5 days in Paris as oppose to 9 days had you flown direct to Paris. You are paying less for a shorter trip, not a big surprise.

Look closely when you are arriving in FRA. Look at the train routes. Routes with Thalys trains go through Brussels, ones with TGV go through Strasbourg, while other trains go to neither. Strasbourg can be added easily into your trip with no additional detours. Whether to do it on the way or on the way back depends on the timing of your flight. If you are arriving early enough in FRA and if going straight to Strasbourg would put you ahead of hotel check-in time in Strasbourg, I would go straight to Paris to use that waiting time into travel time. If you are arriving too late into FRA, going to Strasbourg after landing might make more sense.

7.5 days is not much, so you might not want to add any stay outside Paris, except for an obligatory night in Frankfurt for the return flight. You can take day tours to Versailles, Fontainbleau, Chantilly, Chartres, Loire Valley, and on and on.

I am not sure if you have checked the cost of staying overnight in Frankfurt. You seems have lucked out as there seems to be nothing big going on in Frankfurt on August 11. Frankfurt is one of the city where the accommodation price skyrockets if there is something going on. I always check the accommodation price in Frankfurt before buying flights as any airfare savings using FRA could have been wiped out by staying in Frankfurt on a busy night.

You could also potentially fly at least one way from Frankfurt to Paris, depending on your flight schedule. Try Kayak to price out tickets. Air France tickets may be expensive as one ways; depends when you buy and how busy the flights are.

If you end up going to Strasbourg take the train there, don't drive. The drop off fees for picking up in Germany and dropping off in France are generally exorbitant.

I'm surprised you are flying Delta to Frankfurt, that is pretty odd as that is a big United hub. And $1500 is high for that route in AUgust as I've checked, even for major carriers, maybe you chose some date that is higher or someting, who knows (Air France and Delta should be cheapest to Paris and probably United to Frankfurt but they go to Paris, also). well, what's done is done.

Of course you can fly Lufthansa or Air France between the two cities but that won't be cheap. Vueling doesn't go direct between the two, either.

I think taking the train from Frankfurt to Strasbourg isn't a bad idea, spend a couple days, and then Strasbourg to Paris is easy and quick by train.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR ALL YOUR HELP.
MY TICKETS NOT REFUNDABLE. WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TI FLY TO fRANKFURT. WHAT IS THE EASIEST AND INEXPENSIVE WAY TO GET TO PARIS.

THANKS

See the 3rd answer.

Please stop shouting.

The easiest way is to take a train. You will need to check pricing to find the least expensive way. Several people have given you suggestions on airlines to check for tickets between Frankfurt and Paris. It's now up to you to do the checking.

Here's the train web site.

http://www.bahn.de/i/view/USA/en/index.shtml

If you go to the Air France website, they have "mini-fares" that are only $68 each way FRA-PAR (yes, US dollars). Be sure to allow LOTS of time between your international flights, because if you miss your connection you are not protected, as these will be separate tickets: http://www.airfrance.us/cgi-bin/AF/U...icket-plane.do

3 adults, 2nd class, leave FRA airport 12:53 change in Mannheim, arrive Paris East 16:50

leave Paris East, 2nd class, 13:10, arrive FRA airport 17:16

Round trip fare for all 3 adults is 414 € total. Both trains are on a Sunday 1 week apart.

Have a good trip...