The biggest bargains in Europe aren’t found by buying a Eurailpass — that is old news left over from the ’60s and ’70s. Today, the biggest savings come with European low-cost air travel. Here’s where to find these bargains.
Airlines like Ryanair, Easy Jet, Vueling, Germanwings, Wizz Air and more offer savings that put long distance rail travel to shame. Imagine zipping from Venice to Madrid for only about $75, or from London to Rome for about $35-$60. Many times, connecting flights on major carriers are priced to compete with the low-cost air travel competition.
These are amazing airfares that are available today via online travel agents (OTA) and bargain airlines that crisscross Europe. For most Americans, these airlines and OTAs are a mystery and the bargains are hard to find. Plus, many Americans feel they are risky to book.
US travelers planning a vacation using Expedia.com or Priceline.com can’t see these low-cost air travel bargain flights. For example, a search of flights between Palermo and Rome or to Venice shows only Alitalia and Iberia/Vueling flights. It misses EasyJet, Ryanair, Air Malta, Volotea, etc.
There are some caveats to European low-cost air travel. Make sure the airport your airline serves works for you and be aware of its location in relation to the city noted in the itinerary. Ryanair flies to “Venice, Italy,” but the flights actually land in Treviso, about an hour from Venice, served by a bus to Venice. Another example is Ryanair’s flight to Milano, which lands in Bergamo. Again, this airport is connected to the city center by bus. Plus, it may be more convenient for some travelers who are heading south or east from Milan.
Searches need to be made on websites that include European low-cost air travel carriers. Here, all sites are not created equal and all do not include all airlines. Much like in the USA, no single online travel agency website includes all possible flights. Make sure to check at least three of these sites and compare prices.
Skyscanner.com
This is my go-to site for European travel. It includes most of the flights by low-cost carriers. Plus, it includes different airfares offered by various travel agencies in Europe. Skyscanner results also show various combinations of airlines that will result in lower airfares.
Momondo.com
This website includes many of the low-cost carriers, but not all. It has a nice function that shows a listing at the top of the search for “Lowest Cost, Quickest flight, and Best Flight (Lowest cost flight together with Quickest).”
Ryanair and EasyJet
Just like in the USA when checking for lowest airfares, every traveler should go to southwest.com; in Europe make sure to check out Ryanair.com and EasyJet.com. There are bargains galore.
Other European low-cost air travel airlines to consider:
Aegean Airlines
AtlasGlobal
easyJet
Germanwings
Helvetic Airways
Norwegian Air International
Norwegian Air Shuttle
Pegasus Airlines
Ryanair
Smart Wings
Transavia Airlines
Turkish Airlines
Volotea
Vueling Airlines
Wizz Air
Note: Most of these airline websites include rental car options as well as hotel offerings. Make sure to do a complete search to get the best prices. For lodging, include searches with Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway. For European rental cars, I work exclusively with AutoEurope.com — their service is the best in the world for US travelers to Europe.
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
