Hi !
we (2 adults and 2 teens) are planing a 32-38 days trip in Central Europe this summer. From Montreal we have 3 flights option
1) Montreal- Venice And Venice Montreal 4327$. We would take the train from and to Venice. And one day or two in Venice is not so bad ! Train cost around 110 euro (so 220 euro)

2) Montreal-Vienna and Venice-Montreal 5212$ One train and arrival direct in Vienna

3) Montreal-Vienna and Vienna-Montreal 6152$....it's a costly option ! But still the least expensive to and from Central Europe direct.
Thanks !

And if anybody here got promo code for Air Canada I will be please to have it !

All of those fares look quite reasonable. Any would work -- but option 2 IMO would be the most practical and cheapest in the long run. Open jaw like that is usually more convenient and saves money (as long as both the arrival and departure cities are places you want to visit).

Sorry - can't help with the promo code

Did you try Montreal-Venice and Vienna-Montreal? Many of the *A flights out of Venice are early, early morning, so many folks recommend flying into Venice and out somewhere else. Is the flight from Vienna direct or is there a change of planes at a hub city such as Munich or Zurich? If so, you might want to visit the hub city by train and return home from there.

yes I have try it and it's 300$ more for the whole family. Flight from Venice to Montreal leaves at 12pm so it's not a problem for us.

Is this for all four people in US dollars or Canadian?

Also where are all the places you want to go? Have you ever been to Venice?

it’s in canadian$ (should have said that earlier maybe !).

yes we have been to Venice twice. We don’t feel the need to go back, but we have nothing against it !

still have to make a precise itinerary, but Vienna (and Wachau valley), Slovakia, Southern Poland, Budapest and western Hungary.

Considering where you wish to visit, I'd go with go with option #2. It's about 500 CAD more than #1 when you add in the train, but puts you much closer to your target destinations saving time and hassle.

>> Train cost around 110 euro (so 220 euro)
Don't you mean 440 euro for four? Oh, maybe you mean 110 each way for four? If you don't know your itinerary yet, then how do you know the train fare from/to Venice?

>> It’s in canadian$ (should have said that earlier maybe !).
Not really. It i all relative and a matter of proportional difference as long as the $ being quoted are all the same currency (all CAD or USD or AUD).. The value in knowing your currency is relevant to converting the train fares you gave in euros (again iDK how you know the fares). You need to convert those rail fares to $ to get total air+rail cost of your international trip. The rail you mentioned is an extension of your international (intercontinental really) trip, like connecting flights only much less convenient.

The absolute difference between 1 and 2 is 885. Option 2 has added value because you get to start your trip with a nonstop flight to a city (Vienna) that you actually want to visit. Is that extra value worth the extra cost to you. At $221 for one person, it would be worth it to me. It cuts out the cost in time and money of getting to Venice for the flight home.

>> And one day or two in Venice is not so bad
Ok, but it comes at the cost of spending that day or two at a place you actually want to visit.

Option 3 is 940 more than option 2. That is a chunk. Getting from someplace on your tentative itinerary to Venice is going to cost you a day on the train or a positioning flight. But if your itinerary ends in Budapest or Bratislava then you could travel from there to a Vienna airport hotel for the night. Depending on flight departure time you could go from one of those places to VIE on departure day.

Anyway, I suspect that there are, or will be, better options than Venice. Need to figure out the cost in additional travel time. Krakow to Venice is over 13 hours, so maybe better to fly. Venice to Montreal leaves at noon, ok, but if it is a 6-hour connection somewhere then maybe Venice is not a good departure city.

>> Train cost around 110 euro (so 220 euro)
should be:
Train cost around 163 cad (so 326 cad)

Venice does look like the lowest priced option compared to Vienna, Budapest, and Krakow. The departure date and length of trip could make a big difference.

Assuming you were not limiting your search to Air Canada, the actual cost comparisons might not be valid because of differences between fare conditions. particularly about luggage allowance.

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of course departure date change the price. The earliest we can go in june 28. The trip must be between that date and August 16.

we are not limiting ourselves to Air Canada, and we always take the most basic fare since we always travel with carry on only.

and we know the price of the train because it’s the price we see when we look for Vienna-Venice (which we would do)

Consider Munich and Prague instead of Venice - unlike Venice, they both are near where you wish to go.

Munich and Vienna are your nonstop options. Venice and Prague are your cheaper options, both cost about the same, both require a connection.

Suggestion: Fly nonstop one-way into Munich, follow the Danube through the Wachau region to Vienna (via detours to Salzburg and Neuschwanstein?), do the rest of your itinerary, and fly home from Prague, again on one-way tickets. Or try to book this YUL-MUC/PRG-YUL as an open-jaw and see if you save.

Happy trails.

Thanks for the idea. You can trust me that I’ve checked all the options and combinations in central Europe. Going to and from a mix of Munich, Prague, Vienna, Krakow and Budapest cost the same: between 1500 and 1600$ per person.

Since we already been to Munich, Salzburg and Prague I see no reason to pay more than Venice to go there since we will have to take the train to go where we want to go.

The reasons to pay more than Venice are because 1) you have been there twice, 2) it is not really where you want to go, and 3) it is far from where you want to go (7h 40m or longer train Venice to Vienna)

>> 1) Montreal- Venice And Venice Montreal 4327$
Train cost around 163 cad (so 326 cad)

Does the cad 4327 include the train cost?

Prices have change since my post. Venice-Venice would now cost 4400 + Train So around 4800$ Total.

4400 + 4x326 = 5,704

that's 1100 + 326 per person times 4

you don't need to spend 1304 in train fare plus 15 hours to get from.to Venice.

I would spend that 1304 and a bit more on Option 3. Better yet an open jaw using VIE, BUD, KRK with no backtracking or positioning train rides.

no, 326 it’s the total cost for the whole family for a two train ride: Venice to Vienna and Vienna to Venice. One ride between Venice and Vienna is around 160$ for the 4 of us.