Flying to Europe

[Spencer]

+1 for British Airways. Flight was delayed getting into Heathrow, with a connector I was about to miss to Zurich. Last flight of the day.

They had folks waiting to escort us to the Zurich flight, and held it up for a few minutes while we boarded. Service!

 

Iberia, and the whole of the Spanish airline industry, can suck my wang. Laziest and rudest bunch of mf'ers I've ever had to deal with.

[mrwicked]

agreed iberia sucks.

we ended up taking united to italy (booked via transferring miles to aeroplan) and it was great.

 

where in italy are you going? 

Edited January 15, 2016 by mrwicked

[Stradling]

Rome, Florence and Venice. We are going for two weeks, so I will be going to these cities and then from there exploring other parts. Rome, to me, is the most fascinating city I have ever been too. I love the history of it all.

[mrwicked]

Rome, Florence and Venice. We are going for two weeks, so I will be going to these cities and then from there exploring other parts. Rome, to me, is the most fascinating city I have ever been too. I love the history of it all.

 

That's perfect! 

Man I also highly recommend spending a night or two in wine country in Chianti in Tuscany.

We stayed in a hotel in a little town called Radda in Chianti, and had one of the best meals of my entire life (bistecca fiorentina). We become good friend with the owner/chef of this little but well known place and they just blew us away with their food and hospitality.

You can go there between Firenze and Rome, you just need to rent a car to get there. Then drop the car off and take a train down to Rome.

Also a day trip to Siena, the old gothic town, is highly recommended. 

But driving around the Tuscan countryside with your new bride drinking amazing wine and "exploring" the vineyards is one of the best things in life man.

We were just out there and did Venice, Firenze, Tuscany and Rome so if you want any tips let me know.

Edited January 15, 2016 by mrwicked

[red321]

If anyone has tips on Barcelona, Marseille, Province...or areas in between I'd love to hear them as well!

[Tank]

Rome, Florence and Venice. We are going for two weeks, so I will be going to these cities and then from there exploring other parts. Rome, to me, is the most fascinating city I have ever been too. I love the history of it all.

 

would it appreciate it greatly if you could bring back a piece of the colisseum for me. i prefer marble. and please don't get caught. thanks.

[Homebrewer]

HB you have a lot of knowledge in this area. Do you have a website recommendation that might rate these types of things?

____________________________________________________________________________________

Not really, Strad..I pretty much know what I want and usually go to individual airlines websites to look for flights. I travel on my own when I travel, I pack light and keep my schedules loose. I look for decent priced seats at close to peak hours, and hope for overbooks. DB (denied boarding) is my middle name. 1 denied boarding can extend my trip for a week or two. I was traveling that way, when I ended up an airline employee, and after taking an early retirement, with infinitely more knowledge, I went right back to my old ways. Knowing what you are entitled too, and what you can hold out for, as compensation for giving up a seat, can greatly enhance one's abilities to travel in relative style without breaking the bank.

Obviously, my style of travel isn't for everyone.

I never book non-refundable fares.

Unless I was traveling with a companion, I haven't checked a bag in 40 years.

But... I've stayed in Michelin Star rated hotels I NEVER would have stayed in if I wasn't being comped. I've taken side trips to out of the way places I never would have seen or even known about before arriving at a destination and schmoozing with locals and long time tourists.

Sorry...this is getting long and not helping your search..

But my advice for travelers is to keep things as loose and open as possible. Over-planning can cause people to miss the best parts.

[NJHalo]

I forget that you guys have to fly across the country first, before crossing the Atlantic. Yikes. I can understand why seat comfort is a big issue.

From here, most flights to Europe are early evening. Our trick is to eat a big meal right before leaving, pop a Xanax, get on the plane, and wake up the next morning in Europe.

Last time I researched it, Virgin Atlantic had some great packages including airfare and hotels. Costco travel had good prices as well.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

I have only flown British Airways on commuter flights (between Cardiff and Paris), and I was impressed with the service. If I get the chance to go back to the UK, I will fly BA or Virgin.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Vegas Halo Fan

[mrwicked]

I forget that you guys have to fly across the country first, before crossing the Atlantic. Yikes. I can understand why seat comfort is a big issue.

From here, most flights to Europe are early evening. Our trick is to eat a big meal right before leaving, pop a Xanax, get on the plane, and wake up the next morning in Europe.

Last time I researched it, Virgin Atlantic had some great packages including airfare and hotels. Costco travel had good prices as well.

 

yeah.

for italy we had to do SFO -> Newark -> Italy.

so gotta get that 5 or 6 hour flight out of the way first, then rock the atlantic.

[Slegnaac]

I know this is a little late, but for future trips you might want to check out http://flyertalk.com

Loads of information from people who have done it before.

[ten ocho recon scout]

has anyone checked out the new WOW airline?

it's run out of iceland, but they are doing crazy stuff like $199 SFO to iceland.

we might go bop around iceland and then from there its easy to move around europe or explore scandinavia.

I've always wanted to stay in the ice hotel in sweden.

yeah, wow is legit. Basically euro prices here in the US. Super cheap to get there from Boston, like 99 bucks

[ten ocho recon scout]

My tip strad, just to consider, fly norwegian air to coppenhagen. Its dirt cheap...like 300 bucks round trip next month from LAX

Once there, grab a hopper flight to italy for probably 80 bucks. Smaller plane, but the flight will only be 2 hours or so

[red321]

Our trip to Barcelona and Province is coming up. Anyone have tips for phone/data?

[mrwicked]

For ATT the morning you leave just use the app, and say add an international plan.

The day you're back cancel it.

They prorate the cost to just the days you had it.

Super easy.

Or I will sometimes just bury my phone in my bag for emergencies only. You can always use wifi when absolutely necessary and make it more of an adventure.

[ten ocho recon scout]

Whatsapp is a good app for texting back home

[red321]

Red, the reason I asked about the carrier was, like El Wicko said, is that some carriers now (finally) have international plans that you can have full data , cheap calls and free texting at LTE or 3G ( depending on the company) for like an extra $10/ month. He says ATT does it. So does Verizon now.

Before I had a T-Mobile back up number to get their crappy but free international data.

I used the Verizon plan in Europe last month and it worked great and my last bill was $10 more. Progress!

 

We have ATT&T...and yes, they do it...but it's really nothing more than a cash grab on their part. Something like $50 and you get 300mb of data.

 

I'd almost rather not have the free texting so the kids leave us the hell alone.

[mrwicked]

i think for AT&T you're not going to get a mountain of data, but plenty enough to be able to use your phone if necessary (like maps if you're lost or need to check train schedules).

then use free wifi at cafes.

I've been doing it on the app since i lived in paris for a month two years ago - so it's been available since at least then.

super easy to do.

again i like to avoid phones completely other than as a camera, makes it more fun.

 

or you use whatsapp for texting, and get a pre-paid euro SIM card. that works too.

[Tank]

i think for AT&T you're not going to get a mountain of data, but plenty enough to be able to use your phone if necessary (like maps if you're lost or need to check train schedules).

then use free wifi at cafes.

I've been doing it on the app since i lived in paris for a month two years ago - so it's been available since at least then.

super easy to do.

again i like to avoid phones completely other than as a camera, makes it more fun.

 

or you use whatsapp for texting, and get a pre-paid euro SIM card. that works too.

 

interesting and useful. thanks.

 

 

 

btw, how long have been a mole for isis?

[mrwicked]

interesting and useful. thanks.

 

 

 

btw, how long have been a mole for isis?

 

just a couple weeks.

still filling out the health care and direct deposit paperwork.

Edited May 2, 2016 by mrwicked

[Tank]

just a couple weeks.

still filling out the health care and direct deposit paperwork.

You might want to put an extra lock on the secret room in your apartment that has all the photos and maps and sticky notes on the wall.

Good luck.

[Guest]

Our trip to Barcelona and Province is coming up. Anyone have tips for phone/data?

Just get a pay as you go phone from Orange (the phone company). It's pretty easy to set up, and was quite cheap when I was last there.

[Redondo]

Anyone use Viber?

 

It only works when both parties have wifi, but it's free. My boss uses it when he goes out of the country. His last trip to Australia it worked real well.

[red321]

For those of you who have traveled by train.

We can upgrade to first class train tickets from second class, about $25 per trip per person...so instead of $370 it would be $460. Trip is about 4 hours each way. Worth it? Would be on SCNF/TVG.

[red321]

So, if we don't want to hang out with dirty hippy backpacker/Sander supporters we should pay the extra $90