Airfare to Copenhagen - Update

Ever since we booked the cruise from Copenhagen we have been checking out flights and watching fares.

If you haven't read my first blog about booking flights to Europe read it first by clicking here.  

Today we found the best deal and the best routing.

Our main issue was our flight to Copenhagen.  Our options from Halifax were

Option One:  Halifax to Toronto (2 hour layover) then flight to Copenhagen getting in at 910 am.  Nervous about the two hour layover as often you have to change terminals and this would not give us enough time. Also the arrival time of 9:10 was difficult as what do we do with bags and exhaustion until we can check in.  

Option Two: Halifax to Munich (6 hour layover) then flight to Copenhagen getting in at 5 pm. The long flight was a better airplane type.  Yes there is a long layover but it really ends up being only 2 hours longer than option one.  We clear immigration into the EU in Munich.  Also arriving at 5pm allows us to check in to accommodations right away.  

Both options were about the same price. 

We ended up going with Option Two!  And a similar flight for our return home but a shorter layover.  

And we found it for a good price of $1,046 Canadian each.  Note that Princess' easy air service was $1,100 US!  Which was shocking and made the decision to book our own flights an easy one.

I guess the point of  this blog is to say, get a great travel agent who will do all this kind of work for you.  Or if you do your own flight bookings, search numerous options and track costs (often as easy as getting the site to email you daily the current price of the flight you are watching).  Weigh out what is right for YOU.  What I like is not going to be what you like. And enjoy.

We are arriving in Denmark and will have four nights to explore the city!

Now off to narrow down accommodations.  Some of the best parts of travelling is the researching.

Airbnb Booking Tips

As many of you know I am a huge fan of Airbnb.  I do have certain criteria when booking an Airbnb.  We have been searching Airbnb for a few vacations and booked a nice place for our stay in Santiago, Chile.

If you have never used Airbnb, first off just go to their site and register.  If you use this link you can register and you will save a bit of money the first time you do book.

• I start with putting in my dates and then selecting what filters I need.  For us, an entire until is the only thing we book (note you can book a room in someone's home, but that is not for us). 

• We then request certain criteria (often varies depending on vacation), wifi, washing machine (especially if there for a while), parking and for this trip we needed self check in.

• I then start going through all the properties. Usually by glancing at pictures I can quickly weed out some.  If the pictures look like the place is not clean, trust me it won't be better once you get there.  I also look for inviting shots.  If a good host doesn't take the time to make the scene inviting and hospitable chances are they won't be any different in person.

• I also check the location.  I am not a huge fan of being right in the middle of all the action.  I am not 25 anymore.  I enjoy being close to sites, restaurants, bars, shops but I don't want to be on top of them.  For Santiago we really wanted to be close to a Metro stop (they have amazing Public Transit).  

• Read the reviews, but take the worst and best with a grain of salt.  Instead take an overview and if mainly positive then it is good.  I always look for things that say what is nearby and how far to certain areas, like downtown.  Also looking for comments about noise levels around the place.   To tell you the truth I do the same thing if booking a hotel as well.  It should be noted that only the people who actually booked and stayed there can write reviews. 

• I also take a glance at the fees that will be incurred. Airbnb charges a fee (nominal) and then the host usually charges a cleaning fee.  If it is crazy I drop it.  I have found that if I need accommodations for two nights or less (although if fees are nominal I will book for a two night stay) it is better to go with a hotel.  Three or more nights it is often a much better deal to go with Airbnb.

• If the location meets all my requirements I then save it to a folder on the Airbnb App for Santiago.  Then my honey can go through them and he either weeds more out or narrows it down more.  Once we discuss and both agree we book it.

• A newer feature on the site is that you do not have to pay for the entire stay upfront.  Often you pay 50% and the remaining amount gets charged about two weeks prior.  Also most spots offer you a refund and if closer to the date of departure a nominal fee.  But always confirm these in the booking details prior.  (my booking offers 100% refund until night prior, then a charge for first night and service fee).

What is nice about Santiago is the places to stay are so inexpensive.  Here is a link to our apartment we are renting for a week and it is under $40 US a night!  Total cost for 8 nights is $475.

Our very long flight gets in at 9:30 am and check in was not until 3:00 pm.  So I contacted host prior to reserving to say we would pay for the night prior to our arrival so we can arrive and self check in once we arrive.

Even has a pool on the rooftop

Can some Airbnb not be a good - oh yeah I am sure.  But I have used the services about 15 times now and have to say only one spot was not to our liking at all.  And truly it might of just been an issue with us because so many others loved it and did not even comment about what we did not like.  Should be noted that we have stayed in a lot of hotels too and we have had our share of bad ones, and I mean really bad ones.  Sudbury comes to mind.  Read all about it here.  And we have had more than this one too.  My point is that Hotel/BnB or Airbnb you have bad ones, but a lot more good ones.

The only time I would never book an Airbnb is if I was travelling on my own.  As a woman I prefer the comfort and safety of a hotel.  

I am also looking at sports for our Copenhagen stay.  But something is different here.  I would say 95% of the spaces seem to be people's current home.  Like they rent it out and stay elsewhere.  All the pictures have just way too many personal items - pictures, toys, knickknacks.  I am use to renting places where it is used only for short term rentals.  Even though I have no real issue with staying at someone's home while they are away I just don't like it.

Of course Copenhagen is crazy expensive to stay, tour, eat and drink at.  So we thought staying in a cheaper spot and making at least our breakfast every day would be more economical.  

But I did search through another site booking.com and found that they had some short term rental apartments as well as hotels.  

Still have not booked anything but looking.  

 

Researching Northern Europe - Must Have

So if you know me the main thing I love about travelling is the research.

If you are cruising to Europe you must get Rick Steve's cruise travel books.  He has two books.  One for Northern Europe Cruise Ports and the other is Mediterranean Ports of Call.

I used the Mediterranean book extensively on each of our Mediterranean cruises.  I now have the Northern Europe book on order from Amazon.

Also make sure to check out YouTube and Rick Steve's page for his shows on Northern Europe.  Here is a link to a valuable show to learn about the entire area covered in one lecture.   

I will also go through Rick's App and download tours and interviews from his podcast about the ports we will visit.

Airfare to Copenhagen

Wow airfare is expensive to Northern Europe.  

First thing we checked out was Princess Air.  We have always had good experiences with Princess Air and the price has always been very competitive.  Unfortunately this time it is not.  Not sure why, but the price was at least 30% more than what I was finding on line.

We looked at a few options.

First option - Round trip direct to Copenhagen.  

Second option - One way direct (meaning one booking) to Copenhagen.

Third option - One way with a cheaper flight to a major hub (London, Dublin or Frankfurt were options from Halifax) and then a cheap separate booked flight to Copenhagen.

Armed with my note pad I started surfing and checking prices.  I did look in an incognito window so that my browser did not follow and trace the continual flight checks.

So results.

First option - Prices were the highest and the routing was not that great.

Second option - Not bad prices, and better flight options.  Also with booking with one booking number so if there is an issue with connecting to 2nd flight we are covered.  Also only have to pay bag fees once.  

Third option - Very good price to London or Dublin, and even Frankfurt (under $400 Cdn).  Then a cheap flight to Copenhagen (around $100).  But we would have to ensure we have a long enough layover to clear customs, get bags, and re check in for second flight and clear security.  Also if there is an issue with connecting to second flight we could be in trouble.  Also we would have to pay bag fees for each flight.  

In the end I think we will go with the second option for a bit higher price (around $600 Cdn.) but more security and no extra fees for bags.

We will book as two one way flights as again it is much cheaper than booking the return flight.

Key in the end is to look at all options and find out what is right for you.

Northern Europe Booked

Last year we started to discuss what areas of the world we still wanted to visit.  Also this year is our 25th Wedding Anniversary and two weeks later is my 55th birthday (I know!  I don't feel it).

One cruise we were really looking at was the Voyage of the Vikings cruise that Holland America offers.  Just check out this amazing itinerary.

Unfortunately it was very expensive and since it is cruise that is only offered once a year, it is very popular.  Which means it is very pricey.  We thought we could just wait and see if the price drops as our friends did this and got a great deal.  

But in the mean time we had also been thinking about Northern Europe. Especially since Princess has asked me twice to be Destination Expert for this itinerary but turned it down since I did not know the ports.  

But it is not meant to be.  Will have to be another year.

Then the other day I was checking out the great sale that Princess is offering. 

So we booked the Sky Princess on a back to back.  This will mean we are sailing for both our anniversary and for my birthday.  Plus it will give us more time to explore and do more research for upcoming presentations.

With this sale you get free WiFi, free gratuities, and free drink package. We made sure to weigh out the price without the perks and the difference was only $350 each leg, each person.  So when we deducted the cost of the gratuities ($14.50 per day x 11 = $170.50), meaning the cost of the drinks package is only $179.50 or $16 a day.  Heck that is easy to justify.  Not to mention the free WiFi (although we get our WiFi - limited - with elite status). 

Our trip starts in Copenhagen. We will head there early and stay in an Airbnb and explore.

Next step is to look at air fares.