How much $$ to fly to Germany?

[CheshireVal]

I'm halfway thinking about going to Germany for a few weeks next summer. I have no idea what to budget for plane tickets, though. Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this? How much to tickets to Germany average?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

You can plug in tentative dates into the major air carriers and on travelocity to get an idea as well. Maybe even sign up for e-mails.

 

[golfgal]

I have seen tickets to Europe for as low as about $250 rt. I would sign up for fare alert from Travelocity or some similar site to watch for good fairs. Often Northwest has tickets to Europe "on sale" so I would sign up for their email too. I would say that anything in the $300 range would be good. It is too early to get a good deal on them now, however.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I guess it depends on a lot of factors, like when you're going, airline preference, class of service, how far in advance you book, etc.

 

[CheshireVal]

Thanks for the suggestions.

I'm thinking about submitting a proposal for a "personal renewal" trip at work, and I'm trying to figure out how much to ask for. It's hard trying to figure out so far in advance how much it might cost!

 

[leahannpen]

Summer is "peak" season, so I'd budget more, rather than less. The $250 roundtrip someone mentioned won't happen during summer's peak season. I'd figure around $800 if I were you. Plug your dates into Expedia and see what you get. Good luck!

 

[ElizaB39]

We have paid $800 per ticket each of the last two times we have flown, 2004 and 2002. HOwever, we always fly the last week of Oktoberfest so that has an impact. We go for DHs work and it just happens to coincide with the Fest so that is the price we pay.

 

[caitycaity]

we paid about $900 each rt to paris last year. i was watching fares for over 6 months and that's the lowest they ever went.

 

[chelle3807]

Last time I went it was $801 round trip.

 

[CheshireVal]

Yikes! I can't believe it's so expensive! I paid $850 when I went to Australia, and that's on the other side of the world!

 

[wnissen]

Your profile says you live in Atlanta, so probably you can get less than $800. Summer is the peak time for US folks traveling to Europe, but also for Europeans to vacation here, so flights are often very expensive. However, if you go in April or October, the weather will be more pleasant, and flights will be a lot cheaper, probably in the $500 range. Remember, most places don't have air conditioning. If you get lucky, sometimes the real off-season stuff (say, February) can be as cheap as $300 including taxes, but you've got to be fast, and usually willing to travel not on the weekend. Hope you get to go!

Walt

 

[Conversationist]

Best time to go to Europe is early September. Weather is still warm but costs are down 30 percent from mid summer. There are fewer visitors also, so less crowded.

Atlanta to Frankfurt is about $600 in September, $900 in July.

Most of Germany is a bit dull unless you are in the Alps in Southern Germany. Munich is nice. Frankfurt and Berlin offers little to the tourist. I liked Austria better.

 

[Viking]

I can only tell you the aifares the other way around
For Frankfurt - Orlando return in economy we usually pay around €600 ($720) per person as we are on a a fixed schedule due to our trip usually ending with a Disney Cruise. This friday we'll fly Frankfurt - Boston for €470 per person ($560).
Coworkers of mine will fly in October to New York for €430 ($520), and later this week a German supermarket-chain will sell 12,000 return-tickets Düsseldorf-NYC for €199 ($240).
Average price is about €400 ($480) for a flight Germany - East Coast return.

If you have any specific questions about Germany or need tips, feel free to contact me anytime (Link in my signature).
But one advice for next summer: The Soccer World Championships take place in Germany 06/09 til 07/09/06 and there won't be any good deals for that time. We're expecting millions of additional guests.

 

[Viking]

Best time to go to Europe is early September. Weather is still warm but costs are down 30 percent from mid summer. There are fewer visitors also, so less crowded.

Atlanta to Frankfurt is about $600 in September, $900 in July.

Most of Germany is a bit dull unless you are in the Alps in Southern Germany. Munich is nice. Frankfurt and Berlin offers little to the tourist. I liked Austria better.

You most probably hadn't anybody to show you the right spots or you wouldn't utter such superficial rubbish
All my American friends loved Frankfurt and in Berlin you can spend weeks without getting bored.

 

[CheshireVal]

Hmmmm I'm a teacher so I'm kind of limited to summer, unless I try for spring break (but that only gives me a week!)

I definitely want to tour around a bit-- my family is from Bremerhaven, on the North Sea (my dad grew up there) so I'm very curious to head up north and explore my roots!

This is all very speculative-- it may not work out that I can go-- but thanks so much for all the advice!

 

[Viking]

Most flights come into Frankfurt, but there is an ICE-station in the airport. ICE is a highspeed-train travelling at up to 200mph, which will bring you to Bremerhaven in about 4 hours, but for a week it's not worth to do the long flight across the Big Pond - unless you limit yourself to one city and its surroundings. You being interested in the North I would recommmend Hamburg then. Frankfurt is comparatively small and you only need about two days to see the major sights (Although you could spend weeks in our museums). Berlin would be my pick, although I like Hamburg and Munich very much, too. Flights within Germany are very affordable and most airports (Except Munich INTL) are very close to downton - usually just a 20minute train or bus ride.

 

[CheshireVal]

There are so many cities I'd like to visit-- that's why I'd like to be able to go for at least two weeks, if not longer.

I don't think I'd want to spend more than a day or two in Bremerhaven-- doesn't seem like there's a whole lot to do there. But I'd like to visit Bremen and Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich. Then again, I've heard Cologne is nice, too....

... it's so hard trying to pick out what to see!

 

[Viking]

Frankfurt- Cologne 1 hour, Cologne-Bremen 3 1/2 hours, Bremen - Hamburg 1 1/2 hours, Hamburg-Berlin 3 hours, Berlin-Munich 4 hours, Munich-Frankfurt 3 hours. That would be a good roundtrip. All times are for train-rides.
This way you would do a clockwise loop through Germany. Two weeks would be sufficient to see the major points of interest in those cities. You could either stay at bed and breakfast type inns or small privately operated hotels, or use one hotel-chain for the trip, which would qualify you for one of their bonus programs. I could even give you recommendations for Munich and Berlin. DW and I do one European city for a week each year (05: Vienna, 04: London, 03: Berlin, 02: PAris, 01: Munich), but it's easier for us as both of us have 6 weeks+ of vacation time per year