I want to go to Germany

[gt7301b]

I'd sign up for email alerts from your hometown. I really like the ones from airfarewatchdog.com.

Be flexible with your itinerary, sometimes it is cheaper to fly into London or Paris and then book a cheap flight on RyanAir to your final destination. (I know some folks don't like Ryanair, but I've flown them multiple times without any issues)

I'd look for flights in the early spring time, the weather will be nice and the tickets will be cheaper. Once you hit the middle of June - middle of August tickets go up a lot. Mr. GT is a teacher and we usually book our big trip for the first week he has off or the last.

[stever]

I have no airline recs since the last time I flew to Germany was in the nineties, but I LOVE Germany. Berlin is by far my favorite German city, I also liked Leipzig and Munich, and was kind of meh about Hamburg.

It depends on what you like, really. There's lots of outdoorsy tuff in Bavaria, the Castle Road(I think that's what it's called), small medieval towns along the Rheine...

Still, Berlin's my fave. I recommend drinking lots of beer and eating Currywurst. And schnitzel.

[alleinesein]

Check air berlin. They have been running a ton of deals lately. Are you set on Frankfurt or do you plan on visiting other parts of the country?

[icechalk]

Rhine River area is amazing - so beautiful, incredible castles

[bettyfinn]

Air Berlin has great prices as it is considered a discount carrier. Other than the insanely short leg room in coach, it did not feel any different than a regular carrier. If you want to go to a city, Berlin gets my vote. If you are looking to see the countryside, Bavaria is absolutely gorgeous and you can visit Munich and Salzburg, Austria as well. I also liked the Mosel Valley (closer to Frankfurt than Bavaria or Berlin) and the Romantic Road.

I agree with PP that May is a great time to visit. It may be a little chilly in the north and the higher elevations but ticket prices would be more reasonable. Winter would also have better prices but it gets really cold in Germany. However, if you do go in the winter, think about going just before Christmas and hitting up the awesome Christmas markets.

[lolo]

If you're flying into Frankfurt, I suggest spending a day in beautiful Heidelberg. Gorgeous old streets, cute shops, lovely views onto the river, fireworks over the castle...

[alleinesein]

Sept 16, 2013 21:01:36 GMT -5 milsaroo said:

Sept 15, 2013 22:47:44 GMT -5 bettyfinn said:

Air Berlin has great prices as it is considered a discount carrier. Other than the insanely short leg room in coach, 

Darn it. Air Berlin is officially out. DH is 6' 6" and already fairly uncomfortable on regular flights. Thanks for the other tips though! Especially traveling around Christmas time, if not May. 

I've got long legs and had no issues with the legroom on air berlin for international flights(my knees always hit the seat in front of meon US carriers).  It was pretty standard legroom on my flight from JFK to Dusseldorf.  All of my air berlin flights within Germany were less than an hour long.  I was able to pick my seat on every leg and the exit row was available as an option.

[chitownbelle]

Lufthansa is an amazing airline.

I feel as though Bavaria is a trip in itself, depending on how much time you will be spending in Germany. I have spent a lot of time in Germany due to being an exchange student in high school and visiting my friends there since.

If you have time for Munich, it is amazing and beautiful and just perfect in the summer. I went last year with my DH and spent 6 nights in Munich before traveling back north to Rhineland. We took 2 day trips: one to Zugspitze and one to Neuschwanstein. Dachau is also close by.

Berlin is historically amazing, but I haven't been there in 15 years. I've never spent time in Frankfurt, but ditto the Heidelburg recommendation. One of the oldest German cities, and lots of Americans there because of the military base.

If I were you, I'd fly into Munich, spend time there, do Neuschwanstein, and then rent a car and take the Romantic Road to Rotenburg, Baden Baden, etc etc.

[GilliC]

Condor flies into Frankfurt, and they're typically pretty cheap, but they don't serve Detroit. I think the closest airport is Toronto. :/

Honestly, I'd do a fare watch. Since Lufthansa has a direct flight from DTW to FRA, you can probably find a decent price at some point, and I ♥ Lufthansa.

Neuschwanstein was on my must-see list since I was a girl, so that was the highlight of my first trip to Germany. Next on my wishlist is:
gogermany.about.com/od/sightsandattractions/p/German_wine_road.htm
To the point that I tracked down an out-of-print copy of the previous edition of this:
www.amazon.com/Travellers-Wine-Guide-Germany-Guides/dp/1566568935/
Now that there's a new edition available, I will be buying it too.

[babsbunny]

I know you said cheapest... If you wanted to splurge, there are business class deals on most airlines over Thanksgiving (such as Tuesday-Tuesday) and Christmas too. Less than $2000 a ticket is considered a good deal.

[kateross]

Sept 16, 2013 21:45:42 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

Sept 16, 2013 21:01:36 GMT -5 milsaroo said:

Darn it. Air Berlin is officially out. DH is 6' 6" and already fairly uncomfortable on regular flights. Thanks for the other tips though! Especially traveling around Christmas time, if not May. 

I've got long legs and had no issues with the legroom on air berlin for international flights(my knees always hit the seat in front of meon US carriers).  It was pretty standard legroom on my flight from JFK to Dusseldorf.  All of my air berlin flights within Germany were less than an hour long.  I was able to pick my seat on every leg and the exit row was available as an option.

DH is 6'3 and he never had issues with Air Berlin either.  And if DH has any issues with plane seat legroom, he would make it known. 

[GilliC]

Sept 18, 2013 21:39:26 GMT -5 babsbunny said:

I know you said cheapest... If you wanted to splurge, there are business class deals on most airlines over Thanksgiving (such as Tuesday-Tuesday) and Christmas too. Less than $2000 a ticket is considered a good deal.

The one thing I don't like about Lufthansa is their business class service. I flew business class (with miles) from Seattle to Frankfurt last December, and it was pretty disappointing. They served the business class meals off a cart, rather than taking orders and serving them individually. It's not a big deal, but having a served meal is a nice touch and makes it feel a lot more personalized and less airplaney. And even United manages a served meal on some of their domestic business class flights, so having a cart coming around with pre-plated dinners seemed a bit gauche.

The big issue for me was the seats. Thankfully they're starting a transition to lie-flat seats, but right now a lot of the jets, including the one I was on, still have the angled lie-flat seats. I hated this thing. It reminded me of a tilted medical treatment table, because it's a flat surface tilted at an angle, so I spent the whole night feeling like I was going to slide off it unless I strapped myself down with the seatbelt and moved the footrest way up to give me a sense of support at the bottom. I slept better in the old recliner seats United used to have on their 757s.

I would never recommend those angled flat seats to anyone, so if you do look at business class tickets, make sure it's an aircraft that's already transitioned to the lie-flat seats. ...which are amazing.  I've only gotten to fly a lie-flat seat on some 3-hour flights, but I love them.
www.seatguru.com/airlines/Lufthansa/fleetinfo.php

[bettyfinn]

Sept 18, 2013 22:39:50 GMT -5 kateross said:

Sept 16, 2013 21:45:42 GMT -5 alleinesein said:

I've got long legs and had no issues with the legroom on air berlin for international flights(my knees always hit the seat in front of meon US carriers).  It was pretty standard legroom on my flight from JFK to Dusseldorf.  All of my air berlin flights within Germany were less than an hour long.  I was able to pick my seat on every leg and the exit row was available as an option.

DH is 6'3 and he never had issues with Air Berlin either.  And if DH has any issues with plane seat legroom, he would make it known. 

I'm only 5'3" and the lack of legroom bothered me.  I'm so used to having lots of legroom so this was quite noticeable.  It would make sense for someone taller not to consider it any worse than other airlines.

[steph196]

Sept 20, 2013 13:24:29 GMT -5 bettyfinn said:

Sept 18, 2013 22:39:50 GMT -5 kateross said:

DH is 6'3 and he never had issues with Air Berlin either.  And if DH has any issues with plane seat legroom, he would make it known. 

I'm only 5'3" and the lack of legroom bothered me.  I'm so used to having lots of legroom so this was quite noticeable.  It would make sense for someone taller not to consider it any worse than other airlines.

We just got back on Sunday from Germany, and the legroom was a major downfall on Air Berlin. We had the same legroom on an 11 hour international flight as we have on a 2 hour domestic flight. I would definitely try to find an airline with a little extra legroom. I am 5'6" and my husband is 6'1"...we both felt extremely squished.

[allibally]

Tickets in March when I was looking were just under $800 when I was looking a few days ago. From Chicago.

[allibally]

And at a time when I wanted the cheapest ticket and I didn't care. I flew Air India to Frankfurt direct from Chicago. My experience was good and the leg room was better than other flights I've taken.