phieaglefan

Hi all,

I just can't decide so I have come to ask for advice. Any and all is appreciated. But first, a disclaimer. I posted this identical question in the Air Travel forum, but I wasn't sure how much of a response I would get. Apologies if that breaks any rules.

We are a couple aged 50 traveling in mid-January from a city in Germany to an area in Spain. We will travel with one smaller carryon each plus one 20-21" roller suitcase. (For reference, we will not check anything for our international flights) Here's the comparison:

Ryanair - I figured on the 20kg checked luggage allowance for each of us, online check in and credit card admin fee. Flight comes to about $75 pp. The flight is non-stop and will get us on the ground 3 hours earlier. Total flight time is about 3:00.

Air Berlin - Flight is $105 pp and makes a one hour stop at PMI. Total flight time is about 4:50.

I am tempted to take the Ryanair flight, but I have never flown them and have concerns about luggage and possible cancellation. The price of the Ryanair flight has gone down by a few Euros in the past week or so.

By the way, the actual arrival cities are different, but for the purposes of this discussion, I would like to leave those issues out of the mix.

The money, obviously, is not a big issue. It's the flight time. This flight will come directly in the middle of a very short Europe trip - we have 4 nights in Germany prior to the flight and 4 nights in Spain after the flight.

So what would you do?
Thanks again,
H

lincasanova

I have flown them with not too many problems except making sure my carry-on was under weight and undersized. They do check size at counter and before boarding. Also, if you are not an EU citizen, at lest in Spain, you need to have your boarding pass verified at the ticket window against your passport, and then they stamp the boarding pass. If you forget this step, you will be denied boarding at the gate and most likely miss your flight as you run out back to ticket window and wait for the stamp.

They did not ask me to do that once at Frankfurt Hahn, but it is done most other places. Unfortunately, everybody doesn't remember to do it.

If Air Berlin is a partner with an airline you fly with, maybe the points would make it worth your while. But in most cases I would take the cheaper flight if luggage were no issue.

However, depending on where you are talking about flying into.. it could make a big difference since Ryanair sometimes goes to very out of the way airports, which is a deciding factor for some.

jamikins

I have travelled with Ryanair when the price is right and the airports are right. For a 3 hour flight its fine if you follow the rules for luggage weight etc. But for me the biggest issue would be the airport because sometimes Ryanair flies into airports that are a pain to get to city centre (Barcelona and Stockholm come to mind I think) so that would be the deciding factor to me. No point in taking the quicker flight time only to spend 1.5 hours on a bus to get to the city centre...

phieaglefan

Thanks for your replies.

Lin-thanks for the heads up on having the passport check/boarding pass verification. Those are just the types of issues that worry me.

Both of you mentioned the arrival airport. I should know better than to try to sneak one over on you brilliant Fodorites. Since the Spain part of the trip is an 'add on' to a family visit in Germany, I would simply have changed my itinerary based on the arrival airport.

The Air Berlin flight goes into Seville. The Ryanair flight goes into Malaga. We fly back out of Granada four nights later.

Initially, I was not excited about the prospect of visiting Seville, mainly because we prefer smaller towns. But the more I read about Seville, the more I lean toward that option. The other advantage of flying into Seville is that we would likely be able to avoid renting a car. Malaga's public transportation options seem a tad more restrictive and a car might be more necessary.

Thanks again for your input!!
H

Aramis

Seville versus Malaga? Ask Fodorites to vote on that choice.

Keep reading and you will keep leaning.

Seville may have a higher population than Malaga but the areas you will actually visit are central, very "contained" and make it feel like a much smaller place.

Not only will you be able to get by without a car, you will think yourself a blessed genius for not having rented one. It all gets back to the "contained" and compact nature of the old city.

phieaglefan

Aramis, in my defense, the plan would not be to stay in Malaga, but rather pick up a car to visit Ronda, perhaps Nerja, or even Jerez (to see the horses). But that seems like a lot of running around for 4 nights.

I keep telling myself that Rome is a big city, but I adored the old center and never felt like I was in a huge place. I imagine Seville will be similar in that regard, am I correct?

Thanks,
H

Aramis

Absolutely - I was shocked when I looked up the populations before responding to your post. I still cannot believe that Seville's population is 700,000.

If I could make a suggestion - have you considered renting a car when you leave Seville and driving to Granada, stopping in Ronda (if staying overnight isn't in your plans)? It is a great drive through the Sierra De Ronda.

I can recommend Aurigacrown car hire. We just used them for a Granada - Seville 9 day trip. Rented when we left Granada, drove to Cordoba, then Seville, where we parked the car (planned it that way - it was still way cheap and we anted the flexibility for the return trip through Ronda back to Granada. I considered a one way trip when planning - the drop charge was only 20 Euros.

phieaglefan

Aramis,

Thanks for the confirmation on perceived vs. actual feel of the size of Seville. The Santa Cruz area sounds like it's up our alley.

Actually, I hadn't considered driving through Ronda on the way to Granada. I will keep it in the back of my mind, but our trip is SO short. I wish it were longer.

For what it's worth, I bought the tickets this morning from Munich to Seville. Our very short itinerary so far will look like this:
Tue: Arrive Seville 4:30 PM
Wed: Seville
Thu: Daytrip via train to Jerez (we have recently become horse owners and are enthralled with them - also the reason we're traveling in January - most days are too cold to ride)
Fri: Train from Seville to Granada - probably early so we can see the Alhambra
Sat: Flight home to the States at 9:45 AM

Taking your suggestion of renting the car, seeing Ronda would replace seeing the Alhambra. Hmmm. Again, most Fodorites might choose the Alhambra, I might choose Rhonda.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!
H

kimhe

Sevilla is the undisputable queen of the Andalusian cities, but wonderful Málaga city itself is highly underrated and also very well worth a visit.

Fabulous sights (a Roman theater, the Moorish Alcazaba (much older than both Alhambra in Granada and Real Alcázar in Sevilla), the grand Cathedral, Picasso's birth-place, the Picasso museum etc. etc. right in the city center), narrow and winding streets, great tapas bars, restaurants, cafés, shopping, diverse cultural scene and genuine Andalusian atmosphere. I could never have enough of Málaga and keep coming back, even only for a day or two, as often as possible. http://www.andalucia.com/cities/malaga/
http://www.andalucia.com/magazine/en...ed2/malaga.htm

The Málaga Alcazaba: http://www.google.no/search?q=M%C3%A...w=1067&bih=679

Málaga does in no way feel bigger than Sevilla (and the population is also some 200 000 less). And you are close to much smaller cities with different kind of charm such as Ronda and Nerja. I know Nerja very well, so if you go here I'm just happy to provide all kinds of info, for example about great local places with the freshest fish and seafood possible.

kimhe

... saw now that you have made up your mind, Sevilla it is! As said, the queen of perhaps not only the Andalusian, but even all Spanish cities. Málaga city by the coast, with the beautiful inland mountain regions, will wait until next time.

In Sevilla you might experience genuine flamenco at Casa de la Memória in the midst of the Santa Cruz district. Popular with tourists, but some of the greatest artists on the current scene perform here on a regular basis. It would most probably give you a glimpse of how wonderful this art can be. http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio...Andalucia.html

Perhaps wind down in the Arab bath house Aire de Sevilla, also in the Santa Cruz district. A friend of mine went five times in a week...: http://www.airedesevilla.com/

And be sure to visit areas outside the beautiful but very touristy Santa Cruz district. More local feel atmosphere and more interesting restaurants and tapas bars both in the Arenal area and in Triana on the other side of the city river Guadalquivir. Both are like villages within the city.
Triana: http://www.andalucia.com/cities/seville/triana.htm
Arenal: http://www.sevillaonline.es/english/...tre/arenal.htm

Here are some great tapas bar/restaurant suggestions by district. Azahar lives in Sevilla and knows what she's talking about: http://azahar-sevilla.com/sevilletapas/

Comprehensive and up to date info about Sevilla: http://www.exploreseville.com/

Aramis

Eagle Fan (you have my sympathy)

That is a tight schedule - the driving probably does not make sense. You will need to catch the first train to Granada to have a chance to visit the Alhambra by 11:00, and that is if you don't go to your hotel first. There is another option - you could visit Jerez on Wednesday and take the 18:10 train to Granada Thursday - that allows you to see Alhambra anytime available Friday.

Daily train times;

Train / Route Departure Arrival Duration
13920 MD 07.10 10.18 3 h. 08 min.
13922 MD 11.50 14.52 3 h. 02 min.
13924 MD 16.00 19.10 3 h. 10 min.
13926 MD 18.00 21.09 3 h. 09 min.

Check the reservation windows for the Nasrid Palace entry (separate ticket) as you book a specific time and that will dictate when you should visit the rest of Alhambra (before/after/surrounding).

Don't fret - The Alhambra is spectacular, and you'll be probably be back to Andalucia after this quick taste

phieaglefan

Kimhe,

I have read several of your very informative posts. Based on my research, I believe that this will not be my last trip to Spain.

Aramis, thanks for the condolences on my team. Some years, I'd never dream of traveling mid-January!

The plan for Jerez on Thursday was based on the performance schedule. There are other types of visits on other days, like viewing the facilities and practice sessions, so we'll have to see about that.

Another possibility -that might make sense- would be to leave Granada & the Alhambra for another trip and spend most of the last day in Sevilla, arriving in Granada in time to sleep and fly out.

Thanks for being my sounding board!!
H

I may just have to plan another trip soon to accommodate additional destinations!

nick_travels

I don't really like Ryanair. Airports are often really far from the city you want to go to and because of that you will pay more for reaching the city than for your flights!
Maybe you can check reviews of what other travelers are saying about these airlines, try: http://www.airlikes.com/airlines-rev...yanair-reviews
I've never flown with Air Berlin, so I can't compare.

lincasanova

many times ryanair DOES fly to the main airports. just have to check each and every one and you decide if the savings is worth it to you.

easytraveler

I'm really worried about your luggage.

Many of these budget airlines allow only ONE piece of carryon - a purse, a computer bag counts as ONE piece of luggage. A backpack and a 22" counts as TWO pieces of luggage.

On a superficial check, it appears that Air Berlin allows only one piece of carryon, unless you are flying business class:

http://www.airline-luggage-regulatio...php?airid=129&..

Can you somehow combine your luggage so that you will have only one piece of luggage apiece that comes within the limitations? Once on board, you can pull your purse, etc. out of the one piece carryon - as far as I know, the luggage restrictions apply only on boarding but not when you're already on board.

For the quality of the airline, check out the reviews on Skytrax.