Last Minute Flights/Journeys/Hotels

[Dave2002]

I've flown with Ryanair twice and, though the flights haven't been what I'd call pleasant, I've not had the horrendous experience some people speak of. Not flown with them for over ten years, though. Have things changed (apart from the cabin regulations)?

Ryanair can be a total pain, and some of the bad press it gets is deserved. However, it does have good aircraft I believe, and if it has a route to somewhere you want to go, then it is actually reasonable enough. Nowadays you have to check the details with airlines like EasyJet and Ryanair. If you take large bags - or maybe even small ones - the charges can mount up. Sometimes, if you collect air miles it’s easier to go with British Airways, as the included baggage allowance is much greater, and it can cost as much to go with a “low cost” airline, but if you’re only going for a few days and don’t need a lot of stuff with you, then flights with Ryanair and the like can be fine. Ryanair is good specifically for the route to Leipzig which I mentioned before.

Re flights being pleasant, I’d say on the whole that few are, just that some are less pleasant than others. Ryanair isn’t the worst that I’ve flown on in the last few years.

https://flights.ryanair.com/en-gb/flights-to-leipzig Of course that doesn’t help if Stansted isn’t a good option for you. It’s the only airport Ryanair offer with a really big range of destinations, though you can go to Marrakesh, Athens and Barcelona from Luton.

[Conchis]

Off to Berlin in December but want to travel to Dresden.

Anyone any tips about taking trains for Berlin Hbh to Dresden? Journey time seems to be under two hours.

[french frank]

Off to Berlin in December but want to travel to Dresden.

Anyone any tips about taking trains for Berlin Hbh to Dresden? Journey time seems to be under two hours.

Direct train, no changes seems to be 2hrs 9mins. Others you have to change and that can be 3 hours, with one change.

Does seem to be one faster one, 13.11 takes 1 hr 56mins, but there aren't that many direct trains, no change.

15.19 gets in at 17.07, that's 1hr 48 mins. So it will depend what time you're aiming to travel.

[Dave2002]

Direct train, no changes seems to be 2hrs 9mins. Others you have to change and that can be 3 hours, with one change.

Does seem to be one faster one, 13.11 takes 1 hr 56mins, but there aren't that many direct trains, no change.

Oddly also some of the slower ones cost more. Unless you really want to travel on ICE trains it's worth checking the prices, and they can differ from one train to another.

Not sure if there's any benefit in booking returns, or advance booking - whether there are any discounts for day returns etc. Perhaps someone else who knows more about German trains can help.

As I recall it's helpful to know the train number in Germany - something which we don't really bother with in the UK.

Good luck.

https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/dn?protocol=https:

[Richard Barrett]

Fares on Deutsche Bahn vary quite a lot between different routes and times of day but apart from that the system is infinitely simpler than travelling by train in the UK. Berlin Hbf is a bit of a maze so do leave a few more minutes than you think is necessary to find and reach your platform!

[Conchis]

Thanks for the suggestions all, which have been very helpful.

Can anyone recommend a decent and not too out of the way place to stay in Dresden?

[french frank]

Can anyone recommend a decent and not too out of the way place to stay in Dresden?

No But during the summer I did find using booking.com very useful, booking on my phone as I moved on. I look for where the station is, and then choose a hotel just opposite it (as long as the station isn't out of the way). I stuck to 3-star hotels:

https://www.google.com/maps/search/Dresden+hotels/@51.0494384,13.730499,16z

But, of course, if anyone has a personal recommendation, go with that


Add: I was in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, but I did find a Best Western Hotel satisfactory when I stayed there, so I tended to look for them wherever I went. They're a franchise, but BW are quite fussy about their 'brand' and like to know if their hotels aren't up to their expected standard.

[Conchis]

Hotel booked!

Last piece of the jigsaw: I'm wondering whether to book opera/concert seats in advance, or to try my luck for day seats? Does the Semperoper have such a policy, or is it all booked in advance?

[Dave2002]

I don't know about Dresden, but for Munich and Leipzig I found that booking in advance was a good idea. Obviously depends what you want to try to see, but you run the risk of flying to a city you don't know well, and then not being able to get in to something you'd really like. For other cities maybe risk it - but you're not going to them for the current trip. I found in Riga (Latvia) it was possible to just turn up on the night and get a very cheap ticket to the opera - though that was more than 10 years ago. Germany is more expensive, I think. Maybe others can give you more specific advice re Dresden.

This site does indicate the number of tickets currently available for various events - https://www.semperoper.de/en/whats-on/calendar.html

[french frank]

I'm wondering whether to book opera/concert seats in advance, or to try my luck for day seats? Does the Semperoper have such a policy, or is it all booked in advance?

Don't know about Germany. For Budapest I booked directly with the opera house - just chose what I wanted to pay. For Wrocław, I booked (Monuiszko's Halka) when I arrived and cautiously enquired whether they had anything for … [£20]. I was told that for that I could have the whole opera house.