r/Flights • u/EnjR1832 • 1d ago
Booking/Itinerary/Ticketing About to book a bit of an ambitious trip, looking for advice on travelling through Europe.
Leaving from NL (YYT) taking advantage of the very cheap Westjet round trips to Gatwick, Dublin and Paris. I would like to see all 3 countries, but will settle for at least England and France. I figured out the cheapest option for the trans-atlantic legs is to fly in and out of Gatwick, but it is only a few bucks extra to fly to/from Paris as well. I was considering flying into Gatwick and out of Paris, or vice versa. Dates roughly May 26-June 10.
I want to make this a big trip while also being very cost-conscious. It's myself, F and my mother- active, adventurous people. We are interested in pet/house-sitting as a manner of accommodation and are not opposed to hostels either. Will probably treat ourselves to one nice hotel along the way, planning to sleep on transit as well.
I'd like to see Germany, Italy and Spain as well. I was told a Eurail pass is likely what I should get, but wondering how cheap flights would be between these countries. Planning on staying for 12-14 days.
Any advice is greatly appreciated!
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u/tfm992 19h ago
For the flights, Ryanair operate Gatwick-Dublin, to get to Paris, you may find it cheaper to try to get a cheap 2 way Eurostar ticket from St Pancras and fly back into Stansted (Tottenham Hale then Victoria to Kings Cross), as Ryanair fly to Beauvais only. Eurostar can be cheaper than Easyjet (who do fly to CDG) at times.
Wizz fly from Paris Orly to Italy (check routes) and Italy to Spain, if you're finishing in Malaga there is a Wizz service back to Gatwick that can be cheap at times. For 2 people using the ticket more than two flights (4 segments total), you'll be cheaper with the Discount Club, especially taking bags. Check everything carefully as bags can cost more than the flights.
With 12-14 days though, I'd try to keep it simple with only 3 cities.
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u/teadiumvitae237 3h ago
If you're planning on sleeping on transit anyway, you could also check out Flixbus for trips within Europe, they're often the cheapest option and I (plus a lot of broke af friends of mine) find them much more comfortable than e.g. trains (except actual sleeper trains) for overnight trips on which you want to save on accommodation costs by getting a night's sleep on transit. I've done bus Flixbus-trips from mainland Europe to London (the bus will get on the ferry from Calais to Dover) and found those particularly gnarly, but for any trip between e.g. Germany (my location) and its neighbouring countries, I'd check out Flixbus first.
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u/mikew99x 1d ago
Will this be your first visit to Europe? A lot of first-time visitors like to plan a lot more cities that is reasonable with the time that they have. With 12-14 days, you can comfortably visit 3-4 cities, so keep that guideline in mind.
Flying into one city and back from another is a great way to avoid backtracking. Be sure to price it out both ways; often it's cheaper to arrive in the U.K. and depart from Europe.