Multi-leg Europe trip – best way to book airfare? (cruise, Paris, Amsterdam)

[don6170]

We will be heading to Sweden in May to see a new granddaughter, then follow it up with a river cruise before heading back to North Carolina. The river cruise line can provide airfare with all transfers, but since we are going to Sweden first, we will be on our own to book airfare. I would appreciate any suggestions on best way to book this. I will need to book several one-way tickets.



1) RDU -> ARN (Stockholm). RDU does have a non-stop to London and Paris, but I think that is it. Is it easier to get from Paris to Stockholm vs leaving from a US hub like New York, etc. ?

2) ARN -> AMS. The boat leaves from Amsterdam, so we need to figure out how to get there from Stockholm. I know there are a lot of regional carriers in Europe, but don’t know which ones are good/bad to get from Stockholm to Amsterdam

3) LUX or CDG -> RDU. The boat lands in Luxembourg. I don’t think we will be able to get back to Paris in time for the non-stop back to RDU, so we need to look at the best option for returning home.

Thanks for any input. I have been Europe once, but that was 10+ years ago.

[IonRedline08]

Best way is to book a Multi City Trip via Google Flights

I'd book an RDU (or CLT maybe?) to ARn and the return probably from CDG Paris back home.

You can book intra Europe flights for cheap, so, don't include those in the MultiCity part. Im not sure who flys from Sweden, but I've had really good luck with KLM and Air France and Lufthansa

[BOBNCHI]

Go to Google Flights and select Multi City trip. Enter the dates and airports to get prices.

[beachmouse]

Playing around with Matrix, if you want a single connection in either direction with RDU and LUX as starting points, it is indeed American connecting through London or SkyTeam connecting through Paris. The SkyTeam option is marketed and ticketed through Air France- for some reason, Delta doesn't want to sell you the return route even though the transatlantic legs are Delta airplanes both ways and the ticket is sold under an Air France codeshare agreement.

Upsides for the Delta/SkyTeam option- longest flights operated by Delta, which IMO runs a significantly better operation these days than American.

Downsides for the Paris option- since both Sweden and France are part of the Schengen free movement zone and you clear immigration at the first Schengen point of entry, you get the 'joy' of clearing immigration at CDG, which does not have many fans. The UK is not Schengen and I want to say there's a non-Schengen to non-Schengen transit connection option at LHR so you wouldn't have to deal with immigration until Stockholm, which is probably easier than doing the formalities at CDG.

The ARN-AMS leg can be done as a non-stop route on either SAS, Norwegian, or KLM for $50-$100 (and probably an additional bag charge) booked on its own and with decent lead time. Even though Norwegian is supposedly on better financial footing now, I'd take the SAS or KLM option with a travel time that works best for you and those dropping you off at the airport.

[projectmaximus]

Best way meaning what exactly? Best way to find the cheapest options? Best way to find the best value? The most convenient and safest options given your cruise connections? Best way to find the most options period? It does depend on what you're hoping to find.

Some random thoughts...Delta is having a "sale" on its award bookings on partner airlines between the US and Europe. It's only 15k miles for economy class one way. Definitely great value if you can find a city pair that works and you have the SkyMiles to spend.

AA has business fares for 84k miles roundtrip. If you can fly out of Charlotte there should be some good options.

Don't know about your particular city pairs, but flying around Europe tends to be far more affordable than the US.

[Chatteress]

Originally Posted by don6170

We will be heading to Sweden in May to see a new granddaughter, then follow it up with a river cruise before heading back to North Carolina. The river cruise line can provide airfare with all transfers, but since we are going to Sweden first, we will be on our own to book airfare. I would appreciate any suggestions on best way to book this. I will need to book several one-way tickets.



1) RDU -> ARN (Stockholm). RDU does have a non-stop to London and Paris, but I think that is it. Is it easier to get from Paris to Stockholm vs leaving from a US hub like New York, etc. ?

2) ARN -> AMS. The boat leaves from Amsterdam, so we need to figure out how to get there from Stockholm. I know there are a lot of regional carriers in Europe, but don’t know which ones are good/bad to get from Stockholm to Amsterdam

3) LUX or CDG -> RDU. The boat lands in Luxembourg. I don’t think we will be able to get back to Paris in time for the non-stop back to RDU, so we need to look at the best option for returning home.

Thanks for any input. I have been Europe once, but that was 10+ years ago.

I haven't read the entire thread so forgive me if this has been suggested. When booking on an airline's website, there's three options (one way, round trip and multi-city). It is cheaper to book using the multi-city feature versus several one way trips (I used this to book LAX to Tokyo and Osaka to LAX). Just be sure you enter the correct info and dates for each leg of travel.