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WNY to Europe?
Hi all, I never have much time to stop over here anymore, but my husband and I are trying to research a trip to Europe and don't know where to start. We're a little overwhelmed at the moment. I thought I'd ask here since airfare can vary so much from place to place when you are talking with people located throughout the country.
We're thinking Rome or Greece... most of the flights I looked into had us flying through London, so then we got to thinking that maybe we should split the time between London and Rome. We'd be going for ~9 days total.
Is there anyone that can tell me how much we can expect to pay for airfare out of Buf/Roc/Syr? Looked like the cheapest I could find was ~$950-1050 pp, round trip. Might we be able to find cheaper than that?
Should mention that we're hoping to go in the May/June timeframe.
Any help is appreciated!
Re: WNY to Europe?
It all depends on what interests you. I'm not much of a typical city tourist. I like to get out into the local culture and I like historical buildings and ruins. I also like to explore different cuisine.
I can't help with prices since it's been a while since I went. However, if you like having everything planned out for you, you could check into some packages. Sometimes they include airfare that is cheaper than on your own. I would recommend talking to a travel agent just to start your research.
I've been to Greece and London. I flew direct from NYC direct to Athens, but it was on a Greek airline. London wouldn't be at the top of my list for foreign destinations, but that might have been the tours we took. We called them the ABC tours - Another Bloomin' Cathedral. It is a large city like NYC or Toronto. If you go there be sure to take some time to get out of London into the country. That will make you feel like you're visiting a foreign country more.
Greece was great since I really like the historical/ruins aspect. However, once again, I recommend you get out of Athens and take at least a short Greek Isle cruise. By far the islands were my favorite part. Santorini is stunning and quaint, Crete has some cool stuff. For ruins, nothing beats Ephesus in Turkey. Our cruise stopped there and it has a complete city of ruins. Athens, once again, is pretty much a large city much like others.
Haven't been to Rome, but based on my sister's trip there, I would put it and Greece at the top of my list.
Another option is the Eurail. My sister traveled all over Europe by flying into a major city then taking the train all around central Europe. You can sometimes find a cheaper airfare by flying into a less tourist city then taking the train wherever you want to go.
We flew out of SYR in June for our honeymoon. We took Jet Blue to JFK and then flew direct to Athens. I think it was ~$1k/person with all the taxes, fees, etc. It was SO nice having a direct flight. Having been to Europe a few times, I have missed connections in cities where I don't speak the language and gotten myself quite worked up. That being said, if you stay in London, you won't have to worry about that as much.
We only stayed 3 days in Athens and spent the rest of the time in Santorini. Like PP post said, Athens is neat but it's a bit tourisy. Santorini however, was the most beautiful place I have ever been. I have some good recs for places to stay, eat, etc if you end up on the island.
Another idea to consider, if you go to London, it's only a short train ride through the chunnel to make it to Paris. I adore Paris and think it is a must stop spot for everyone at least once (visiting Versailles was a dream!).
HTH, let me know if you have any specific questions I can help with.
I can understand that your overwhelmed, Europe has a lot of history and there's so much to do. When dh and I planned our first trip, it was a no brainer for us to pick Italy, then save other countries/cities for another time. We were in Italy for 2 weeks and just saw the highlights of every place we went too.
If you went to Rome, you could easily travel to other cities/towns, via the EuroRail (train, it's fast and affordable), Naples, Sorrento, Florence, etc... We took the train from Bologna to Rome, took us 1.5-2 hours I think and 98 euros for two ppl, driving would have taken about 4 hours or so.
I did a quick search on kayak, I didn't find any different pricing. I would look again after the New Year and travel on the 'cheap' days (tues-thurs).
http://www.kayak.com/r/Td3zhR
ETA: I think we paid around $900 to 1kpp to fly from ROC to ROM in the middle of October last year.
Thanks, everyone. Sounds like $1k pp is pretty standard. Looks like we just have some more research/decisions to make! I've actually be to Europe before--I went to Spain and France with a group in high school--so I've done Granada, Seville, Madrid, Paris, and Nice. I'd love to go back some day, and my husband has never been, but I am really wanting to go somewhere we've both never been before!
Keb... Santorini is my DREAM trip. I want to go there so badly. I would love more information about your trip and recommendations. You can PM me or e-mail me at heatherkj11 at yahoo dot com.
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Europe during the summer/peak season is going to run about $1k/person for the flight. If you're set on June, go for it, but everywhere you go is going to be more expensive (including hotels) and more filled with tourists, so just be aware.
My favorite time to visit Europe (I lived in Scotland for ten years, and still try to get back every few years) is April. Scotland is gorgeous in the spring, and warmer places on the mainland like you mentioned will be even better then as well. Flights in April will be starting to go up, but depending on when you go, you can usually get something around $600/person for the flight, sometimes cheaper.
Have fun!!
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We are not dead-set on June at all... but we are hoping to be able to wait until at least end of January or early February to book anything. DH has experienced some changes at his job and we just want to make sure that things are looking stable before we make the plunge and spend so much on a vacation. Other issue is vacation time for DH, he has to accrue enough for him to use.
When I looked into flights for April (and even March), I did not see any price difference in the airfare.
So we just figured we'd go in May or June since it didn't seem to make any difference financially.
You have all definitely given us things to think about, so I appreciate all of your input!
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I'd suggest you sign up for the travelzoo newsletter via email. They offer some DEEPLY discounted flights and you don't find these offers on Kayak, expedia, etc. The website is www.travelzoo.com
That's where I found $500 tickets to Alaska, and my sister flew to Ireland and Prague for under $500 last year. It's hit or miss- but they do update you every week with their top 20 offers, and you can search too.
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