Order of visit to Amsterdam, Luxembourg, and Munich

[bigbear99]

Originally Posted by LoveAlbuquerque

I've found it not easy to find a non-stop flight across the pond, since most airlines get to their home country for a stopover.

I want to have a layover at Dublin airport on my way back, because Baileys liquor-filled chocolates are on sale at the airport. The so-called Bailey chocolates you get from Amazon don't taste the same. However, I may have to skip Dublin if the cost outweighs benefit.

search engines I use all have a choice of non-stop and limited number of stops. you might look for it.

I often start my flight searches with Kayak, mostly from force of habit from the days when they were independent and better. Probably not true anymore, sadly.

[MG120]

Originally Posted by LoveAlbuquerque

The multi-city search seems the way to go. I use IAD to AMS, AMS to Berlin, and Berlin to IAD, the lowest fare is a little over $1k, only $100+ more than the fare for a one-way ticket from IAD to AMS, or from Berlin to IAD. The savings are impressive.

If I use Aer Lingus, it would cost more than $1200 in total, which is fine. However, the downside is more than 7 hours of flight time from AMS to Berlin, because it goes west to Dublin before heading east to Berlin. Perhaps I can drop the second leg (AMS to Berlin) from my multi-city search, and book it separately, if I decide to go with Aer Lingus

I just did a Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Bruges, Munich, Koln, Dunkirk trip. We did it over 8 days. We drove and it was wonderful being able to see something besides cities.

Europe is considerably smaller than the US and you can break it up so that you don't drive more than 4 hours each day between these locations. Flying from spot to spot seems such a waste to me, but to each his own.

I thought Luxembourg, as a country, while small, was stunningly beautiful, with a rich history.

If you don't want to drive, Europe has the best train system in the world. You can get anywhere, relatively quickly, for not a lot of money. Especially between the bigger cities. And again, the train lets you see the countryside, the true flavor of Europe.

I would second the suggestion on Berlin over Munich. And if you go Berlin, then the drive/train times are dramatically reduced. Have fun.

[Aredhel]

Originally Posted by LoveAlbuquerque

I'll fly from AMS to Berlin.

You might also want to price the train. Deutsche Bahn is showing nonstops from Amsterdam to Berlin with a total travel time of about 5 hours; that may be a cheaper option than a one-way plane ticket or adding the flight as a leg on a multi-city ticket. Do some comparing of all your options before you book anything!

[LoveAlbuquerque]

Originally Posted by Aredhel

You might also want to price the train. Deutsche Bahn is showing nonstops from Amsterdam to Berlin with a total travel time of about 5 hours; that may be a cheaper option than a one-way plane ticket or adding the flight as a leg on a multi-city ticket. Do some comparing of all your options before you book anything!

When I search for flights, it always asks me to bundle flight with hotels for a deal. However, I've never been able to take advantage of such deals, as I would need a lot of time to research the hotels regarding their locations, proximity to train stations, and reviews.

As a result, I always book flights first and then focus on hotels. Any tips on how to get bundle deals (flights + hotels)? Do I have to book flights and hotels all at the same time?

[Aredhel]

Unfortunately I find flight + hotel deals generally are more trouble than they are worth (especially when doing a multi-city trip such as yours; they probably work better when the destination is a single city).