Flying in Europe now not only much faster but cheaper

These days “budget European travel” includes point-to-point flights within Europe.

When I started traveling, no one spending their own money bought one-way air tickets within Europe. It was prohibitively expensive.

Nowadays, before buying any long-distance train or bus ticket, I look into flying, and routinely, it’s cheaper to fly than to make the trip on the ground, especially when you consider all the advantages of flying.

Because you can make hops just about anywhere on the Continent for roughly $100 a flight, people think about itineraries differently.

Rather than think “where can I drive to” or “where will the train take me conveniently,” you can now think “where will my travel dreams take me” and lace together a far-flung trip that ranges from Norway to Portugal to Sicily, if you please.

Now inter-European flights are cheap and rail passes are complicated with lots of limits and extra fees.

I generally structure a trip these days with the same multiple-city flights and connect everything in between with a series of car rentals, point-to-point rail tickets and cheap one-way flights.

Ryanair and easyJet serve many destinations across the continent. Meanwhile, dozens of smaller, niche airlines stick to a more focused flight plan. For instance, Condor and German Wings are headquartered in Germany while Wizz Air centers on Eastern Europe.

Budget airlines typically offer flights for about $50 to $250, but you can find some remarkable, it-must-be-a-typo deals if your timing is right.

For example, Ryanair flies from London to dozens of European cities, sometimes for less than $30. To get the lowest fares, book long in advance, as the cheapest seats sell out fast.

To look for flights, start with a search on Skyscanner, which provides a fast way to determine which airlines serve the route you’re eyeing.

Other good search engines are Kayak, Dohop and Momondo. You can also do an online search for “cheap flights” plus the cities you’re interested in flying to and from. Once you determine which carrier covers the trip, go to that airline’s website and book the flight there.

Be suspicious of the initial fare that’s quoted, as additional fees await with every click of the mouse. Prepare to get dinged for paying with a credit card (even though there’s no cash option), reserving a seat, checking in and printing your boarding pass at the airport (instead of online), priority boarding and carrying an infant on board.

As in the United States, baggage fees can add up. Many low-cost airlines use smaller dimensions for carry-on, forcing more passengers to check baggage for a fee.

Sometimes it costs extra if your bag is over a certain weight limit. One discount airline I flew had a mere 10-kilo (22-pound) carry-on limit. Thanks to my mantra, “pack light,” mine weighed in at an exact 10 kilos.

Budget-airline tickets are usually nonrefundable and nonchangeable. Many airlines take only online bookings, so it can be hard to find someone to talk to if problems arise.

When booking a budget flight, note which airport it flies into. Ryanair’s flights to “Frankfurt” actually take you to Hahn, 75 miles away. Be sure to factor in the additional time and costs of getting from a faraway airport to downtown.

Then again, just getting close to your destination can be a benefit. For instance, if you’re headed for Florence, but there’s no direct cheap flight, you can look for one that goes to Pisa, which is 1½ hours away by train (many flight-search websites have a “nearby airports” option).

You’ll pay for the train ticket from Pisa to Florence, but you’ll get to see the Leaning Tower.

Rick Steves (www.ricksteves.com) writes European travel guidebooks and hosts travel shows on public television and public radio. Email rick@ricksteves.com, or write to him c/o P.O. Box 2009, Edmonds, WA 98020.