We are two seniors trying to develop a sane travel itinerary for this trip coming up in May 2026. Maybe people could share how they arrived, what airlines, what connecting cities, ect. Any and all information would be greatly appreciated!
Posted by
Bellingham, WA
1392 posts
Posted by
Used to be Steilacoom, now it’s Las Vegas
2469 posts
Friends on the same tour departing from Seattle went on Condor to/from Frankfurt and used a regional carrier for the flight from Frankfurt to Ljubljana and out of Dubrovnik.
We’re no longer Seattle, but we did codeshares with British Airways/American. Even though it was cheaper, it was a bigger hassle. We flew Las Vegas to Phoenix to Heathrow to Ljubljana over. The upside was we had no trouble falling asleep by the time we got to Ljubljana. We added days in Paris at the end, so those flights were different.
If we did it again, we might have flown to Venice, stayed a couple of days and then taken the Go-Opti shuttle to Ljubljana. We were impressed with Go-Opti.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
9616 posts
I was originally booked on Lufthansa Seattle to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Ljubljana through United. The day I was supposed to leave, Lufthansa went on strike and flight was cancelled. United rerouted me Seattle to San Francisco (United), San Francisco to Munich (United), Munich to Ljubljana (Air Dolomiti). I arrived within two hours of my original scheduled time, just took a little longer route. Started earlier in the day than original flight. I'll mention that my trip-it app advised me of the flight cancellation long before I heard anything from United. It was this advance notice from trip-it that allowed me enough time to make the necessary changes.
I was very pleased with my connection through Munich. First of all, it was amazingly quick and efficient. Secondly, the view flying over the Alps on Air Dolomiti was amazing. No matter how you plan, there are always instances where travel disruptions will occur. Key to any route/airline you choose is to remain flexible and patient.
I used GoOpti on arrival and they delivered me right to the door of the hotel which was very much appreciated after the travel day I had.
Posted by
Peterborough, ON, Canada
1779 posts
If you land in Venice, you can take Go Opti from the door of the Venice airport to the door of the hotel (what we did). It was cheaper and more convenient than a connecting flight to Ljubljana. A very relaxing way to arrive.
Posted by
Lynnwood WA
141 posts
I like to use this https://matrix.itasoftware.com/ to get an overall view of my options for flights. I use the time bar option so I can see the timing and length of any connections. You can't buy tickets here (I generally go directly to the chosen airline) but this gives me a good view of what's available.
On another note maybe put your question Tips and Trip Reports - Rick Steve Tours where a lot of Q&A happens about specific tours.