Ryanair instead of trains between cities in Europe

There are other airlines besides Ryanair that fly between those cities--especially once you're on the continent.

Here's a good website that will give you an idea of which airlines fly between those cities:

Kayak.com

and

Cheap Flight Search Engine

Ryanair flies Boeing 737's.

You have no choice leaving Dublin except to fly or take a boat. Once on the continent, you could fly or take the train. It depends on how much time you have. I personally prefer to take the trains because I like looking at scenery.

With Ryanair, the thing you must pay the most attention to is their luggage allowances. They are strict about them, and overages will cost you dearly. As long as you are within their rules (including the check-in time) you won't have a problem with them. The flights I have been on have been on time, comfortable, and definitely affordable. I haven't flown to or from any of the cities you will be visiting, so I can't speak to how well ground transportation gets to those airports.

I think there are a number of other issues to consider. First, most -- not all -- discount airlines use some very out of the way airports. Which means you could be an hour or more just getting to the airport. Most discount airlines have sever restrictions on luggage, extra fees for checking, boarding passes, etc. And their schedules can be limited.

On the other hand, trains run from near city center and are frequently served by local public transit. Trains have no luggage restrictions or security checks. Trains are frequent, often several times an hour.

For those reason we prefer the trains unless the train ride is in the range of 6 hours or so when we might consider a plane. Remember a one hour plane flight could take five or six hours or more.

My theory is that traveling between cities by train that is under 8 hours is worth the time. Over 8 hours MIGHT justify flying. If it is over 10 hours I would rather fly then take the train as you are wasting a day of your trip by taking rail.

Remember you have to factor in travel to the airport, 2 hour early check in, delays and having to pickup you bags. This makes even a 1 hour flight at least a 4 hour endeavor at the end of the day.

We were able to fly from Prague to Venice (well Treviso and then a bus ride to Venice) for $125 Canadian with SkyEurope. It saved us a really long train ride and it was interesting flying over the Alps.

However, I wouldn't keep my hopes up that SkyEurope will be there in the next few months as they are bleeding out with all the economic issues like many of the budget airlines. Because of that, I would try my hardest to have a Plan B in case your budget airline leg of your trip suddenly disappears because they become insolvent. We lost our initial tickets to and from Europe because Zoom Airlines shut down!

Several Things to add

Remember that Ryanair's posted price is NOT what you will pay. That's the starting point, when you klick on the flight taxes will be added in

Furthermore you will pay for just about everything on Ryanair. You will pay to put your bag in the hold (even the 1st). You will pay for using your own credit card to pay for the flight.

Also Remember what truly truly goes into a flight in terms of time invested. Especially when dealing with a Ryanair that minimizes its cost by contracting with less connected airports.

Time to get to the airport leaving a safety net given the strict check in times of the airline, waiting for boarding, boarding, taxi, the flight itself, getting to the gate and getting off, immigration, baggage claim, getting to your next major city.

I agree with the posters above - If you are looking at under 6-7 hours train time, unless your getting a heck of a deal a train is a lot less stressful and just as efficient.

If you do decide to use Ryanair, you'll find a column on their website marked 'Airport transfers' and that's where you'll find out how to get from the airport to the city.
And like everyone else has said, read the conditions before you buy!

I completely agree with what people are saying. You really need to consider the extra time and hassle involved with flying. You might be able to go 450 miles per hour in the air, but you'll spend at least one hour on each end going nowhere fast.

For me, the worst thing about flying is the stress. I don't even have a fear of flying, it's just the whole airport experience - it stresses me out.

There is nothing better than walking a couple blocks from your hostel/hotel in the city and getting on the train. I usually only show up at the train station 15-20 minutes ahead of time, just to make sure I have the correct platform. You could probably cut this down to around 5 minutes if you like to live on the wild side. At any rate, train travel is - for me, at least - very stress free and relaxing.

That being said, I simply refuse to take long train trips during the day. It absolutely kills the amount of time that you have for experiencing Europe. Short trips are fantastic, but definitely anything over about 4 hours during the day is pushing it for me. If I have a somewhat long train ride like that, I would try to put it either at the end or the beginning of the day, so you can sleep part way.

Otherwise, the really great way to do it is by taking night trains. I like the list available here:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/euraide/overlist.htm

This is a very great way to travel and save time. If you are considering purchasing a rail pass anyway, this can be a good option. Paying for a couchette is basically the same as paying for a hostel (~20-25 Euros), and if you use a railpass with only a certain number of days, the day of arrival is the day that is used on your pass, so you can basically take a free day trip from your arrival city on that first day.

Regarding Ryanair, I flew with them only once, plane was ok - nothing too bad or too great. Keep in mind the out-of-the-way airports and hidden fees, however.

Geoff

Gail , flying is not a bad idea. I looked into a night train between Paris and Rome( didn't want to waste a day on train) ,, cost for train was over 300 euros each,, and it was a long night train.

I found Vueling, and flew with them for less then 100 euros,, a much better price. Only 1.5 hours, and flew straight from Charles de Gaulle to Rome Leonardo airport.

Look up serveral discount airlines, not just Ryanair. Do note which airports they use,, some do use the " good or better" airports, some do not. You will have to do a bit of research.

As for prices, sure they all start out cheap as dirt ,, like 20 euros , etc, but then with taxes etc they do add up,, BUT they still are often cheaper.

PACK LIGHT - all cheapo airlines charge for extra weight at a positively scary rate.. we did 26 days in Europe and mananged to pack light enough to incur no extra fees. Also, if given a choice to pay to check a bag ahead of time,, TAKE IT,, once you get to airport if you didn't take the option ahead they charge alot more. You can always decide not to check bag( if it is allowed carryon size) , but you will lose the fee( which is generally under 10 euros so no biggie)

We used Ryanair and because of this board knew what to expect and were very happy with our experience.