I have a rare opportunity to spend some extra time in Europe (or beyond) and am thinking about both where to go and then how to get home. I would welcome your advice.
Summer Europe Travel: Where Should I Go Next? How Should I Get Home? I Need Your Advice.
You may have noticed that my blogging has been a bit light in terms of content over the last couple of weeks. I’ve been in Germany and immensely enjoyed my time here. Summers in Germany are so pleasant and it has been relaxing to take things at a slower pace and recharge before what will be a very busy remainder of the year in Los Angeles (and wherever my travels take me).
I’m with my family and we do not have a ticket home yet. And frankly, the award space is wide open coming from the USA to Europe, but quite limited flying from Europe to the USA, especially when four seats are needed.
As we wrap up our time in Germany, we still have some time and therefore I am considering both what to do next and how we will get home.
Just as you cannot squeeze water out of a rock, I cannot create saver award space that is not there. My wife has to get home next week to get back to her job (nurse), but the kids and I can stay if necessary until we get a deal home.
For Heidi, I am waiting for last-minute award space but will pull the trigger on a higher-priced award on American or United just to get her home if necessary.
Then comes the question of what Claire Marie (3), Augustine (6), and I should do if I cannot get four seats back. I’m not willing to spend double or triple the miles just to get home earlier: there is no need when the kids are out of school and I can perform my work here almost as efficiently as at home.
I was thinking about where I could go next (Heidi will join us for part of the time) and am considering the following:
- Scotland – Heidi and I have never been to Scotland and I’d love to review Schloss Roxburghe outside of Edinburgh (a Hyatt-affiliated property that looks amazing).
- Bulgaria – I once spent a day in Ruse, Bulgaria on a weekend trip to Bucharest, Romania over a decade ago, but have never been to the capital city, nor has Heidi. There’s a nice-looking Hyatt Regency there.
- Malta – I love Malta and would love to take my wife and kids here. It’s warm (not my type of weather), but I’m sure Heidi would love the architecture and the kids would love the pools at the Hyatt Regency.
- Berlin – Heidi has never been to the capital city of her own country! I love Berlin and would love to spend some time there.
- Egypt – I realize August is not the most pleasant month in Egypt, but Augustine often expresses a desire to see the pyramids and visit the Egyptian Museum and there are fairly cheap premium cabin airline tickets departing from Cairo.
- Serbia – Belgrade is a great city and we could fly home on Air Serbia.
I’m open to other destinations as well and would welcome your thoughts.
Then in terms of getting home, I’m thinking the following:
- The last-minute saver space will likely open on Star Alliance: it is Lufthansa, SWISS, SAS, or United space that opens up at the last-minute.
- I’m open to business class or economy class – I am less concerned about a lie-flat seat on a daytime flight.
- Ideally, I would fly nonstop from Europe to Los Angeles.
- I’d love to fly a new product back if I fly a Star Alliance carrier, particularly in economy class, like Austrian or SAS.
- Aeroplan shows a lot of Air Serbia award space, but it is phantom.
- I have not seen any inexpensive last-minute space open on Air France or KLM, which offers very cheap award flights, though you must generally book in advance.
- Delta, Finnair, AerLingus, or Iberia are all products I would like to review in economy class as well.
- Though boring in terms of review (since I have written so many already), I have plenty of PlusPoints and am always happy to fly United Airlines and upgrade the entire family.
Anything I am missing? I’m not willing to fly via the Middle East (not that I have seen any space). While I may be able to handle a daytime flight in coach, I cannot handle an ultra-longhaul fight like Doha or Dubai to LA in economy class (well, literally I could but there is no need to put myself or my family through that).
Thanks all for your tips – while it is not clear how I will get home, I know the next week is going to be a lot of fun…wherever we end up going.
My vote is Egypt! Nothing better to get Augustine creative mind started before school than to see the pyramids. It will be hot, but there are plenty of ways to keep cool with the Grand Museum, pool, etc.
Not only will it be hot but you’ll have the sights to yourself. I would recommend Egypt too. There’s ACs and hats in the world and shorts and tees too. And cheap 5 star hotels.
Egypt, though hot and not my favorite place, does solve two areas…Augustine gets his dream spot and there are a lot more options for award space or even a cheap one way. I recently got an LH Business class one way from Tunis to IAD for later this month that was $1000k via MUC. North Africa just has so many more cheap options right now.
Cairo…Stuart and I spent a week there one night.
Alas, why not one of my favorite places.
Would love to see a story by you (without exact details if they should remain private) on how you get all these miles.
Love the stories of your adventures but gaining the amount of miles you are discussing using involves serious spending or some interesting maneuvering that would be helpful to your readers.
My vote is to visit Vienna, especially with your German fluency. From there you may be able to get award seats on Swiss via Zurich or Lufthansa via either Frankfurt or Munich. SAS occasionally has seats via Copenhagen.
I vote Berlin. It’s so “typisch Deutsch” that she’s probably been all over the world but not to her country’s capital. The Lidner on Ku’damm is a steal at 3500 Hyatt points/night/
Why do you want to travel around Europe? California has lots of really nice places to visit. Just come straight home.
Berlin for sure. Easy close to home if needed and it is an amazing and vibrant city.
Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m really quite shocked you like Berlin. It’s totally anti-establishment. Very avant grade. And it’s about as leftist a city you could find anywhere in the world. I mean, you can buy Rosa Luxembourg tee-shirts everywhere lol.
Even me, a helpless moderate, finds it a bit much at times. Interesting city, but not my favorite place.
No problem at all. I get your point. When I visit places I go to visit them. I am not planning to live there. I can go to Moscow and Havana and still say the place is beautiful, etc… Berlin has life, great bars, restaurants, easy to walk so I think it is worth spending a few days there.
Cairo. Mena House at the pyramids in Giza. Your day can be broken up easily for tours / poolside / naps/ and back out again , to avoid the worst heat and Cairo traffic. Plenty of secure space for the kids to play. Prices and availability look good. And get a straw hat to avoid the brutal sun.
Split, Croatia. It’s an awesome mix of ancient, Soviet, and new. The waterfront is incredible, with shops and cafes built around Diocletian’s palace from the fourth century. You can take a day and go to Plitvice Lakes. The kids will love it.
could you fly norse atlantic oslo-lax or gatwick-lax? I’ve seen a lot of cheap fares on them recently and that could be a cool airline to review, and with european lccs it shouldn’t be too bad a hop from the listed destinations, which all sound cool.
in terms of destination, scotland (that hyatt in the borders looks awesome) then taking the lner train to london or malta would both be cool summer destinations
I’d check Aer Lingus DUB-LAX.
Not exactly sure when you need to travel but September 6 has 5 seats available in Y, and 3 on the 7th for example.
16,251 Avios per person plus $225 in taxes
I agree. The cheapest way to get back to nyc would be through avios of some kind…air lingus, British airways, Iberia, then the family can stay overnight in a hotel/airBnb and organize whatever flight back to LA.
A lot of folks are saying Egypt feels unsafe and I don’t think a 3 year will care , similar to the Grand Canyon…usually kids don’t care because they don’t care about history yet.
But whichever European city they choose, I would fly to Madrid, do an “Hola” stopover before flying back to nyc. Then stay the night in nyc and fly the rest of the way to LAX the Br r day on their preferred airline.
Ah, August, in southern Europe…Egypt, or Malta…what a great idea! To quote a doctor:
Are you out of your Vulcan mind?!!
Your family is going to really love you for dragging them to someplace where daytime highs regularly crack 100° (forecast is 107° in Cairo tomorrow), and has super high humidity, too. Brilliant plan, what could possibly go wrong?
Hint: Start saving up for the divorce attorney and a lifetime of therapy for those kids.
Agree. Egypt isn’t the easiest of places to travel with a family either
What about iceland. We had an awesome stopover there on the way to London last summer. Amazing with the late sun. We flew economy overnight and it was very pleasant. Good food, nice staff, good seats in economy plus.
Def wouldn’t splurge for biz on the daytime flight.
I don’t think I would be able to hack an economy flight from Europe to LAX on my own, let alone with two kids. I have seen some reasonable (just under a thousand Euros) one-way business class fares on Aeroméxico from BCN (I was looking to go to MEX, but I suppose that you can either bag a free connection to Baja California or purchase a cheap economy ticket to LAX). If I had to fly in Y, I would look to break the trip up either on FI via KEF or with some really short transatlantic sector (e.g. LHR-YHZ is less than 7 hours) and connecting in the other side of the pond.
I seem to recall that the kids enjoy train travel, so I would suggest that you consider taking them to Czechia and/or Slovakia, there’s definitely stuff to see, prices are still quite reasonable, and even Prague is unlikely to be full of tourists this time of the year as everyone is heading to the beach.
Forgot to add that one-way prices across the Atlantic are still insane with most airlines, if you do buy a revenue ticket in Y, make it a return/open jaw (returning from BOS or NYC should be the cheapest option) either as a speculative flight back or with the intention of throwing the return portion away.
I wouldn’t fly home via Serbia, Air Serbia was one of hte worst flights I have ever took and well the airport was stupidly depressing.
If you do fly home via Serbia, they only take cash on inter europe flights.
I’m voting Bulgaria! What about Helsinki!!! You can fly direct HEL to LAX, Helsinki is a great family friendly city!! Day trip to Tallin ?? School shopping at Stockmann, plus foreigners get 10% off their purchases plus VAT!
I vote Berlin with Egypt as a 2nd choice. Malta seems interesting but another time.
Scotland
I just left Scotland. It’s one of the only countries I have visited twice, I love it so much. That said, it is not the place to find some summer deal, but you must know that. You’re looking at a GBP with a high value, UK departure tax, and few direct flights, so much longer transit times–and that also includes to the Hyatt there, which is going to be a car rental or a longer car hire or multiple transit rides (worth it for all, but really taking a lot of time and money you could use to shower Augustine with his dream Pyramid trip later–or now if you want. I HATE heat and went a couple years ago in May; it was hot but not the nightmare I expected). I travel solo, so lots of transit time is not a big deal for me, but probably not the best in this situation.
Honestly, I’d consider anywhere that’s close and easy that’s on your list, given the circumstances. Heidi has not seen Berlin? GO! Or Bulgaria. Both would be ideal now. Too many unknowns and crowded skies. Also, if you want to review AY economy, on this end, your bags will be weighed, so if you took a lot, you will pay. In J, you probably will slide by (I did), but prepare or wear a lot of stuff in a lot of pockets and put things in your computer bag.
Edinburgh , Berlin, or Belgrade.
Berlin! She has to see it, it is endlessly fascinating, as you know. A state unto itself, we were told by many Berliners that it “is not a part of Germany.” This has both good and bad connotations: nothing really runs on time, but it is incredibly diverse and culturally rich.
While you could see Egypt on the cheap this time of year, I will say that trying to keep two young kids cooperative on all-day tours in triple digit heat isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.
Scotland is lovely and highly recommended, though it’s a bit hard to get to, and the UK departure tax is a significant annoyance when trying to fly home from there. How about tagging on a few days to Finland at the end and getting home from there? If Helsinki is too crowded, hop on the train and go to Rovaniemi, or even points north if you can get a car. There’s lots of family friendly stuff to do in Lapland even in summer, and you can all dip your toes in the Arctic Ocean with a short drive to Norway.
I’ve always wanted to go to Scotland! It looks beautiful and there’s so much to do and see there. I’m gonna put that as my first choice, hands down. The highlands are beautiful but even in Edinburgh you’ll find plenty to do. Award space from there to the west coast might be a bit limited but an LNER ride down to London and there should be plenty of award space from there. Sure it’s not ideal that way but it’s do-able.
Second place: Berlin. I loved my time in Berlin. I was only there for two days but saw a lot of the city. Great food, and sooooo much history. It’s also super easy to get around. That said, Berlin isn’t for everyone. The city was destroyed in World War II so the architecture is very utilitarian. Also, half the city was under a Soviet puppet regime so you’ll see a lot of commie-blocks in the eastern half. It’s also a relatively dirty and industrial city (though not as bad as NY or LA imo). Some people in this comment section also take issue with the politics of the city. I tend to agree, but I’d say for tourists who are just visiting, a city’s politics is neither here, nor there, so I wouldn’t place too much weight on this.
Third is tied for Cairo and Belgrade. Cairo would have a clear edge here but I’m not a fan of triple-digit temps. Eastern Europe is also criminally underrated, so id say both are worth checking out.
Safe travels, and I hope you guys have a blast wherever you decide to go!
“Augustine (6) often expresses a desire to see the pyramids and visit the Egyptian Museum”
Oh bollocks, he does not!
Are you kidding? He just dragged us to the British Museum in London before Germany.
I quite like Bulgaria. Sofia is cheap and uncomplicated. Also a great country for a road trip. Getting a car and driving around the countryside, or to Plovdiv, or to the Hyatt resort on the coast is an option.
Egypt is a totalitarian and anti-gay regime and I vowed to myself to not visit those countries and support their economy.
Well they’re the largest recipient of US military aid, so if you pay taxes in a NATO country you’re contributing quite a bit.
I have only limited influence on tax spending but I do have all the influence on my own spending. I also check each product if it is ‘Made in China’ and try to buy from a slightly less terrible regime, if possible. I do check other places than ‘Amazon’ and try to buy from those. Imperfect and low impact but on a personal level we can and should make conscious decisions or at least try.
I respect that.
Cairo because you can still fly out of ZRH.
United out of GVA seems wide open these days price wise, could be an option if you wind up having to pay cash.
My advice is twofold: try Sofia in Bulgaria (fascinating city also with great food and wine) and stay clear of Berlin (it is not typical for Germany and is one of the most dysfunctional places in the western world)
Bulgaria is great but it’s not really about Sofia the capital city. It’s about visiting the Rila monastery (amazing) which can be done as a day trip from Sofia. But then you want to venture further afield. Veliko Tarnovo and Plovdiv are the really cool interesting cities to visit.
Support that sentiment. It’s an easy country to get around with an auto (generally) and diverse. This time of year I’d head for the mountains.
As a Globalist, I booked my wife a room for two nights at the Hyatt Regency in Bulgaria last August before we were to meet in Germany. She videos me asking what I did… she was provided the Presidential Suite as an upgrade, replete with a balcony across two sides of the building, three bedrooms, multiple baths and a full kitchen.
When we stayed in November, it was a ho hum suite with the superb club lounge.
Good luck.
I’d vote for Scotland. Especially if you’ve never been there.
Yep , Scotland .
I was just in Malta and didn’t enjoy it too much. The old town of Valletta is nice and so is the blue lagoon off Comino. But that’s about it. The rest is kind of shabby and uninteresting. True there are nice luxury hotels. But why go there for that when you can be in so many nicer places.
Lithuania. Old Town Vilnius, a UNESCO site; depending on time allocated, could go see Trakai and / or The Hill Of Crosses.
In Vilnius right now – been many times and still love it as much as the first visit.
Cheers.
The entire Baltic region is beautiful in summer.Trakai is a fairytale castle set on an island reached by a wooden walkway,magical.Once spent midsomar on Aland.But with kids why not further north to Rovaniemi and Lappland.Learn about fascinating sami culture,see Santa’s homestead,etc.The nordics are very kid friendly,and used to be prices fell in summer for hotels.Norse Atlantic seems a good inexpensive return option as well.
It’s August. If you want to review Finnair, this is the time of year I’d want to be in Helsinki. I’d rather be in their 26 degrees today than in Cairo’s 40 degrees.
if you have Alaska miles, you can fly FRA-LAX on Condor, 55k for business. prem econ and econ are also available.
Just to throw a curve ball in there – Icelandair often has some pretty decent one way cash fares from Germany to USA and you can get a free stopover in Reykjavik.
I suggest Bratislava, Slovakia. It was a pleasant add-on to a recent trip to Central Europe. Fascinating history, affordable, good restaurants, walkable and an easy train ride to Budapest, Vienna and Prague.