Easy Europe airport to arrive in

For me personally, I love flying the non-stop flight from Denver (my home airport) to Munich and making any European connection from there. The airport is on the smaller side and very well signed, organized and easy to maneuver. I don't know where you live but you might see if your airport has a similar flight?

Dublin is my vote. Munich was mellow as well.

We often use Aer Lingus which involves a layover in Dublin. Dublin is a relatively short hop from the US, and the airport is modern and easy to navigate. You can also go through US customs and immigration on the way home.

It also helps that the only nonstop to Europe from our home airport is Aer Lingus to Dublin.

It depends on where you're flying from and where you're going to be flying to.

And like the U.S., European airports are different. Some are easier than others to navigate.

I like Zurich because of the easy connection to the rail system.

Amsterdam's Schiphol airport is huge but very efficient. It's mostly under one roof, though it can be a long walk between gates. I find there are many flight options into/out of Amsterdam. I prefer Amsterdam to a lot of other European airports (e.g. Paris CDG, Rome).

I like Heathrow because I always fly BA international and interEuropean, so I am always just in terminal 5. Plus it has easy access to London. I think there is no correct answer as everyone is different. There might be one agreed worse airport...Charles DeGaulle/Paris...maybe.

Gardermoen, Oslo Norway is a pleasure. My favorite European airport.

Hmm. ...Maybe because we have flown in and out many times, CDG is a favorite (we know how to get on RER, and Paris is great.) Transiting through Amsterdam is also efficient. Will this be an actual destination, or just a connection ? In either case, build in enough extra time so you're not feeling stressed the minute you get off the plane.

My choices from Seattle are (if I want direct flight to Europe which I want) Heathrow, DeGaulle, Frankfurt, Amsterdam. Out of these Amsterdam is the best organized, Frankfurt is OK and avoid Heathrow and DeGaulle like devil cross. DeGaulle is the worst.

I agree it depends on where you are leaving from and where your destination is. If you are able to get a non-stop flight from your home airport or closest hub and are not trying to transit thru to catch another flight, then I don't think it matters.

My easiest hub is Salt Lake City and I prefer any of the Delta non-stops to London Heathrow, Paris CDG or Amsterdam. IF I were having to transit thru any of those airports to another destination in Europe I'd choose Amsterdam. As a novice European traveler I routed thru there on my first trip and it was very easy even when I didn't really know what I was doing.

I don't mind arriving at Heathrow or Paris CDG at all - the transportation options in to either London or Paris are pretty straightforward. I would NOT choose either of those airports if I had to catch an onward flight.

Our preference from Seattle is Schiphol. We fly Delta and appreciate the flight times. Schiphol is well organized. Our experiences have been flawless & easy-going. This works well for us.

Another vote for Dublin.

No problems in navigating the arrival airport, landing there non-stop from either SFO or OAK, I'm not stressed, exhausted, fatigued, jet lagged, and so on, whether it's Frankfurt, London LHR or Gatwick or Paris CDG.

The most convenient and easiest in getting to the location of the hotel, B&B is Gatwick. CDG is also very convenient, ie, following the signs to the RER B to take to Paris Nord, as is Frankfurt.

The airport I like the very best regarding all the totally subject factors is London LHR.

I think this is a misguided question.

I'm guessing that you've never been to Europe before, maybe never been out of the USA. In any case, I'd suggest you start de-stressing and relaxing now and stop worrying about a non-issue.

Go where you want to go. Don't be spooked by worries over "stressful" airports, and for goodness sake, don't let that determine your travel plans! I bet the airport in Dubuque, Iowa is a pretty low-stress, relaxed place. But I wouldn't let fears of chaos at any airport make me adjust my travel plans to skip Paris, Prague or Peoria in favor of Dubuque (no offense intended to any Dubuquers out there, I'm sure it has its charms like anyplace else).

European airports are not difficult or stressful places (most generally make US airports look awful by comparison). Admittedly, there are a few that are big and crowded (Heathrow, Frankfurt, etc.) but you shouldn't let irrational fear of any of them alter your travel plans.

If you're worried about this (worried enough to post a question like this), I think you need to re-calibrate your list of things to worry about...

David got it very well. First choose where you want to go. Then if you can fly there nonstop even if it's some of "bad" airports. In my case I usually fly to Prague. There is no nonstop flight from Seattle to Prague. So I have to change either in US airport which has direct flight to Prague (recently as I remember it was JFK and Atlanta) but that takes usually much longer time (look at the globe) or fly to Europe and change there. My choices (with one stop) as I already mentioned before are Amsterdam, Frankfurt, London, Paris. Assuming that the prices are similar, Amsterdam is my first choice, Frankfurt second. So I think we need to see OP question in this context and not that he is choosing his destination based on people friendly airports.

One thing to add.....any large airport with arriving flights from the US will have signs in English. And there will be workers who speak English.

Plan where you want to go rather than worrying about the arrival airport.

But if you want a very easy airport to manage for arrivals......Reykjavik.

ZURICH---fabulous shopping too.

For me the stress is not the airport itself, but having the time to do the things you need to do once you land (go through security, collect bags, transfer to another flight, make connections to hotel, catch shuttle, etc.). The key is to give yourself plenty of time - for example, don't book a vacation rental that requires you to meet the owner at 3 p.m. and pick a flight that lands at 2 p.m.; or buy non-refundable train tickets for a time that would be impossible to catch if your flight was delayed. You can't predict crowds, lines, or other hiccups at the arrival airport but you can prepare yourself. That includes using restroom on flight before you land, making sure you have snacks in your bag, being organized with paperwork and passports, plan your arrival route/transport ahead of time so you don't have to think about it too much while jet lagged.

The airport should not be the focus, it's a small part of dealing with travel. Your first destination will make a bigger difference and I suggest Amsterdam. Most everyone speaks English, it is easy to get to the city from the airport and you are close (three hour train ride) to many other cities AND it's a wonderful place to visit. Amsterdam is a good place to start a European vacation because it's easy.

Well, no, it is not a "misguided question" as David said. I got many helpful answers here, for what I was looking for. So thank you to the many posters here who shared their own opinions on airports.

I find I like this forum because, usually, there are no responses that are judgmental, just people trying to help with what the poster is looking for.

Thanks for all the info on airports.

so which one did you pick from the lists that people gave?

I like any airport with good public transportation. In the U.S., that's why Chicago O'Hare is my favorite airport. It's easy to get on the train to head downtown. Amsterdam is nice because of the easy public transportation. Additionally, the locals are generally super friendly and English speaking, which is nice for someone arriving on an overnight flight. On my most recent trip to Europe, we arrived in Vienna and found that to be an easy airport to catch the train into the city.

Sometimes the most stress-free thing to do is to take a taxi! Every time I go to Paris I take a taxi and I simply write down the name and address of the hotel I'm staying at to give to the driver so there is no communication problem.

I'm guessing David hasn't "experienced" Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania.

Love the city, love the country, love the people............awful, stressful, dirty, crummy airport.
A very poor ambassador for a fascinating country.

Before I used Munich MUC for the first time for a return flight to SFO, I had read in some travel magazine that MUC was in its view one of the top ten(?) airports in the world. MUC was then unknown to me. After using MUC in 2013, I can see the validity for that claim.

I look for the organisation of the airport, how hard or easy it is to get around, confusing or not, its baggage claim area, eateries, etc

If you have arrived at an airport a couple of times, it's easy to navigate, no problems with Frankfurt FRA or Paris CDG, pretty much easy to get around after being finished with everything and heading for the RER or other public transport to take into the city.

Smaller airports (i.e. not the large hubs like Heathrow, Schiphol or Frankfurt) is usually not a bad idea if you live close to an airport that offers direct flights to one of them. Dublin, Oslo and Reykjavík has been mentioned already, but I would like to add Copenhagen. Pretty small, and with very easy transfer from one end to the other. And a good selection of flights to other parts of Europe if you are not going to Scandinavia.

I'm guessing David hasn't "experienced" Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania.
Love the city, love the country, love the people............awful, stressful, dirty, crummy airport.

What did you find so bad about it? We got stuck there for over 5 hours due to a flight delay but I don't recall it being much different to many other airports, nothing particularly bad stands out in my recollection.

Prague airport threw me. Having security after the duty free/bars/restaurants and immediately prior to departure. It catches many people out who become complacent and think they have enough time for another drink and then reaching large queues at security. There's also the security aspect as it's impossible to know whether the bottle of gin or whatever was bought in duty free or whether it has been brought in from outside and therefore could contain anything.

I'm guessing David hasn't "experienced" Henri Coandă International Airport in Bucharest, Romania.

I have not. But I stand by my point ("judgmental" or not): it seems highly misguided to me to alter your itinerary and travel plans over worries that the arrival airport might be too stressful or complicated for you.

Airports are airports. None are particularly difficult to get out of. Some might be larger or smaller than others, some might be a bit more or less efficient or passenger-friendly, but those are (or should be) such trivial differences that most travelers would be hard-pressed to even notice. If someone is really worried enough about the stress and difficulty of getting out of your arrival airport (to the point where they would choose another destination) I think there might be more meaningful things to worry about (or other issues).

If I wanted to visit Romania (and I'd love to), I would not shy away from flying in to Bucharest because it's airport wasn't quite as nice as the one in Singapore. Just sayin'.

Good luck to the OP wherever they decide to go.