Anytime Airport Shuttle

Archive for the ‘Travel Tips’ Category

Air travel is no longer considered a luxury only available for the wealthy and is now almost essential to our way of life. Instead of driving hundreds of miles to visit friends and family, attend a business meeting, or enjoy a vacation hotspot, a flight can whittle your travel time to a couple of hours instead of a couple of days. Also, more and more individuals are seeking to explore all corners of the world where car travel is prohibited. Although air travel is a great deal less expensive today than in days past, everyone is always looking the best deals available. If you are in the market to find cheap airfare, consider your options before you buy the first ticket available.

In days past, the only way to buy an airline ticket was to either visit your local travel agent or purchase the ticket directly from the airline. The introduction of the World Wide Web rocked the airline industry, as well as the job stability of the travel agent, as individuals were able to book their own flights. Today, there are countless websites devoted to finding the cheapest flights possible, including favorites like Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline. Additionally, all airlines have websites devoted to their fares and deals, which may beat the fares offered at the alternative sites.

When it comes to finding cheap airfare, consider the options, including time of travel, destination, origination, airport selection, and travel dates. If you have the luxury of a flexible schedule, consider traveling during the off season. Typically, flights around holidays, early spring when schools are on spring break, and the summer are more expensive than the other times. A good rule of thumb is that air travel is cheaper when children are in school. Often, airlines offer sales and special rates that end in late May and begin again at the end of August.

However, not everyone has the luxury of flying in these off seasons, so the next variable is the destination and origination. Depending on your location, you may want to look at several different airports in your area. Since different airlines use different airports as their hubs or regional operating areas, the airport of origination plays a large part in the final fee you pay. The same theory goes with the destination. Choose larger airports instead of smaller ones, since adding a commuter flight to your bill can greatly inflate the price.

Finally, look to the specific dates of travel. For most destinations, the prices for flights on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday are less expensive than those leaving on the other days of the week. Also, ensuring you spend at least one weekend at the destination—known as a Saturday layover—can bring the price of the ticket down dramatically. Most websites offer flexible searches, which allow you to focus on the price of the ticket instead of the schedule of the flight.

When it comes to purchasing the actual ticket, using an Internet-based company is usually the best way to go. If you are in need of a rental car or hotel room, consider purchasing a package. Unlike traditional tours, packages include only hotels, rental cars, or both along with an airline flight, making it perfect for individuals who still want to travel on their own but save money in the process. Also, when searching for flights or packages, look to the airline’s websites in addition to the afore-mentioned websites. In many instances, purchasing a flight directly off an airline’s website can be cheaper. Additionally, many airlines run frequent flyer bonuses with online purchases, so you can earn the maximum miles for your flight.

One great way to get the cheapest airfare is to enroll in frequent flyer programs. Even if you do not intend to fly a great deal, these programs include other ways to earn, including popular online purposes, hotel stays, and car rentals. Furthermore, most airlines have associated credit cards that allow you to earn miles with each and every purchase.

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Restaurants and Bars – You do not get water for free, you have to pay for it. If you order water you will get carbonated water. In most restaurants you can request tap water and they may or may not charge you but it is most likely straight from the sink. In some American fast food restaurants, (i.e. McDonalds) you must pay for ketchup as well. Be aware that the menus at most fast food restaurants in Germany are not exactly the same. You may also notice that a sandwich that you recognize from back home may taste a little different or it could be smaller. When you enter a restaurant you will not be seated, just walk right in and pick the table of your choice!- the tip should be much smaller than you would give in the States (this is because the waiters/waitresses get paid more than in the states) A tip of two or three EUR would be considered a good tip for very good service.

Supermarkets – If you shop for groceries in Germany you will notice the supermarkets have all of their large rolling carts outside in a designated area and they are locked to one another. In order to utilize a cart you must place one EUR in the cart itself, you will see the slot on the handle. Upon leaving the supermarket you latch the cart back to the other carts and pull the device out where you placed the coin, now you can retrieve your coin. When you have all of the groceries you want, proceed to the check-out counter. You will have to purchase plastic bags to put the groceries in or you can take one in yourself. If you decide to purchase one they are usually visible at the counter and normally only cost a few cents. If there is a long line do not put all of your groceries in the bag, put them back into the cart and bag them away from the line.

Closing hours – On Sunday everything is closed except for some restaurants, bars, gas stations and shops at the main train station and bigger airports. Some bigger stores are realizing that they can make much more money if they open on Sunday so they are doing just that, but I would not rely on it. During the week shops in bigger cities close at 8 PM at the latest. You may see shops in smaller cities closing even earlier.

Public Phones – Public phones are very rare in Germany. If you find one you will notice that they only take telephone cards. You can buy a telephone card in different shops like “T-Punkt”, “Telekom”, “Post”, and “Vodafone” or you can go to an Internet cafe.

Miscellaneous – “Bad” in front of a towns name does not mean that the people or the city is bad for example, “Bad Homburg”. Bad in front of a towns name normally means that the town is designated as a healthy location normally with very clean air and water.