Ready! Set!...a couple of questions before I go

If there is no delay 1 hour and 50 minutes is enough. Your checked bag will go all the way to Miami as long if it is the same airline (or cooperating one).

Just found a flight on the 7th that has a 2:15 layover. With only carry-on bags, my question remains will it be enough time inbound to Europe, since I don't know the security and customs routines in Frankfurt.

Last time we flew from Vienna to Atlanta with a change in Frankfurt we had about the same amount of time between legs. It was close because of the extra tight security in Frankfurt for flights heading to the US. Pay attention to what Ray said about having it booked as one flight rather than two flights. TC

kathleen,

" With only carry-on bags, my question remains will it be enough time inbound to Europe, since I don't know the security and customs routines in Frankfurt."

If Frankfurt is your first stop after leaving the U.S., you will have to go through Passport Control there. Normally that's very fast and efficient, but if there are a lot of flights arriving at the same time and you were one of the last to disembark from your flight, it could take awhile. You'll also have to go through security again prior to boarding your connecting flight. FRA is a huge airport, but it all seems to run very efficiently most of the time.

Regarding luggage on the way home, as the others have mentioned if you're flying a code share flight or those that have some kind of "inter-line agreement", your checked bags should go directly to your first stop in the U.S. (Miami?). If you're taking a connecting flight from there to Tallahassee you may have to retrieve them and then re-check for the ongoing flight (that's the way it works here, and I'm assuming the rules are the same).

Thanks all for helping me make a decision. I will be flying Lufthansa on all legs of the trip, so I feel fine about checking a bag. I am going to take the longer layovers to give me room if there are delays or bad weather. The savings in time will not be worth the cost of stress. Ken, we are renting a car to and from Tallahassee, a savings of $2,000 in airfare. Thanks, too, for letting me know what to expect at the airports so we can start and end our trip with confidence.

kathleen,

Thanks for the info about the car. I haven't been to Florida so have no idea how far apart Miami and Tallahassee are. I normally use connecting flights to get to my European departure point, but have never had one that expensive.

How many people are going on this trip to have $2000 in airfare from TLH to MIA?

Have you tried alternate airports like Fort Lauderdale? And do you really plan to drive 7 1/2-8 hours from MIA to TLH after a 10-12 hours of flights?

I also looked at flights from TLH-PRG and VIE-TLH and saw flights on Delta for a little over $1400. I personally think it's a little early to buy tickets but when you add all the costs of renting a car, hotel rooms, etc, are you saving that much going out of Miami over Tallahasee?

It's happening, we're going to Eastern Europe for three weeks in
September. We are flying to Prague out of Miami. Our return is Vienna
to Miami.

Please note that neither Prague nor Vienna are in Eastern Europe, and especially people in the countries which were behind the Iron Courtain are quite sensible about it and can get upset if you call them Eastern Europeans. This is Central Europe.

Yes, you are visiting central Europe. Enjoy.

My experience is Frankfurt airport is very functional. All signs are in German and English, so you shouldn't have any trouble with translation. I've never caught a connecting flight out of there though, I normally just walk to the train station in the airport and start from there.

I always carry on (and try to book direct flights). If I'm wrong about the process, I'm sure someone will speak up.

I believe you have to go through customs/immigration (passport control) at Frankfurt, which means you first retrieve your bags, get your passport stamped, then recheck your bags for your connection. I'm always through passport control quickly because I carry on only (you can still get stuck behind passengers from other flights) and there is no need to recheck bags for the connecting flight. Saving time related to rechecking is another advantage of carry on only.

Lufthansa, however, is strict with their 18 lbs. carry on limit. I like traveling light so it's not a problem for me. Buy a bag scale to test at home whether your carry on fits the limit so you won't worry when you're at the gate and they're weighing people's bags. If you can't keep your carry on within the limit, you will be required to check your bag. Many, if not most, Americans think it's impossible to travel carry on only, let alone keep their carry on to under 20 lbs (even when they check another bag). It's not impossible. Traveling light is so much more enjoyable, I find myself constantly trying to find ways to shed more weight (and bulk) from my bag.

Martin and Brad, I know that I am going to Central Europe and I debated on the designation in my post, but since I was using the RS forum, I chose to match my itinerary to my RS guidebooks. It will not be repeated. I have family in Fort Lauderdale so driving south is no hardship, hubby and I will stay for visits before and after. A reason I chose the Lufthansa schedule was that I would spend only one hour in a narrow body plane, most other one change schedules had 2-3 hour US legs in narrow planes. On the way over we will carry on our RS convertible bags under the 8k limit, no problem for pack light disciples, but I anticipate souvenirs will put us over that limit on the return, therefore the checked bag(s). Sounds like the retrieval of those checked bags before passport control will happen in Miami so there's no pressure with the time it takes once we're home. Thanks again for the input, and sorry about forgetting that you can't read my mind.

Frankfurt has become my favourite airport for connections--clean, efficiently run, excellent coffee and pastry shop whose name escapes me at the moment and a well-stocked bookstore. 4 hrs goes quickly with all the to-ing and fro-ing you have to do, and then all of a sudden it's time to board your next flight. Lufthansa has been my choice for airlines as well, used to be United but they've messed me up a couple of times now. Time spent in bed is always lovely, but I'd rather have the cushion of that extra hour for my flight connections.