I will be in Munich visiting family for 10 days mid August. Will be traveling from Munich to Prague, then to Vienna, then to Budapest then back to Munich. Spending 2 days in each city. I am having trouble finding budget flights. Lufthansa is expensive!!! Any ideas on budget airlines or how to go about booking unexpensive flights? Thanks.
Jane, For the trip from Munich to Prague, you could also travel by Bus or Train. For example, there's a direct Bus departing at 07:50, arriving Prague at 12:29 (time 4H:39M). I doubt that travel by air would be any faster. It's at least 30-minutes to the airport in Munich, check-in, security and waiting times and then another 30-60 minutes de-planing, collecting your luggage at the other end and getting into Prague from the airport. Regarding your other trips: > Prague to Vienna - there are direct trains with a travel time of 4H:40M (again, I'm not sure air would be a good option given the relatively short travel time). > Vienna to Budapest - the rail trip is as short as 2H:53M. > Budapest to Munich - this is one route where travel by air would be a faster option, as the rail trip is about 7-8 hours. Although it's not exactly "budget", the best option appears to be Air Berlin which offers flights with a layover in Berlin (flight time 3H:15M). The current price indicated for travel in mid-August is US$221.50. Norwegian Air may have direct flights, but will probably be more expensive. Happy travels!
Some budget airlines fly out of Memmingen airport, sometimes called "Munich West". Don't make the mistake of thinking because it says "Munich" it's anywhere near Munich. You could be almost to Prague by train or Bahn bus in the time (2h45m) it takes to get to Memmingen airport.
IMO, taking the train from Budapest to Munich is also a good option, even though it's a longer ride than your other ones. You can take a direct daytime Railjet in just over 7 hours and get a discount fare as low as €39.00. Or you can take the direct EuroNight train and get discount fares for all types of sleeping accommodations. Book either train NOW on the German Rail site.