Airline Route suggestion for RiverCruise starting in Budapest

[jrowland]

Hi,

Just put down a deposit for a 2015 RiverCruise departing from Budapest.

I started my research looking at flight schedules currently available from the U.S. (east coast departure) to Budapest. Given airline routes, dates etc are not yet available for 2015, I wanted to get a idea on what might be the best route to take mainly trying to determine which European airports would be best for connection flights.

If you have flown into Budapest from the U.S., which connection(s) did you use and your opinion as ease to make connections, layover times, effeciency etc.

[TravelingLadyOhio]

We flew into Budapest last summer from Cincinnati via Paris, on Delta.

Went thru customs in Paris and had about 2 hr layover. Once we landed in Budapest, just gathered our luggage and our driver was waiting outside baggage claim. Very smooth and efficient.

[marco]

We've started a river cruise in Budapest and on another occasion, ended a river cruise in Budapest. For both, air was included as part of the trip. The one that started in Budapest was JFK/Frankfurt/Budapest all on Luftansa. On the one that ended in Budapest it was Budapest to Paris on Malev (or very close to that name, it's the Hungarian airline and Paris to JFK on AirFrance. Both were pretty effortless. But we went through customs in Budapest (going) and at JFK on the return. I didn't think you went through customs/immigration in any city along the way when you are "enroute" as you don't collect your luggage. At least we never have. To my best recollection there has always been one line for folks terminating the flight in "whatever" city and they are directed down one hallway and another for folks connecting onto flights to another country.

[jrowland]

Thanks Marco and TravelingLady Ohio for your replies. I have a couple of follow up questions. Do you think 2 hours is enough layover times for Paris or Frankfurt?. I've heard different stories about the Paris airport and just wondered how much layover time to schedule if I used that airport.

[marco]

Again...I'm confused about going through customs/immigration at a layover city when your final destination is another country. We never have. 2 hrs should be plenty of time, especially if you are continuing on the same airline. I responded to another thread about our experience when flying Budapest to Paris to NY. Our flight was delayed leaving Budapest. When we arrived in Paris a van met us on the tarmac, brought us to our connecting flight to NY and we barely got our seat belts fastened and we were taxiing down the runway! So....my experience with DeGaulle airport is minimal. We did do a French waterways river cruise and flew in and out of Paris, but as that was our final and departure city, that's a lot different then connecting through it.

[TravelingLadyOhio]

We had to exit the terminal in Paris - take a bus - and enter another terminal (including security) for our connecting flight into Budapest. Hence the reason for clearing customs in Paris first.

[jpalbny]

Short answer: 2h is long enough in either CDG or FRA, if all goes well. If delayed, or long lines, you may be scrambling to make your connection. It's not a simple process of walking from one gate to another...

 

Long answer: most of Europe shares a common border called the Schengen Zone; the participating countries are similar to (but not exactly the same as) the EU. Once you enter ANY one of the Schengen countries, you can move freely to any other Schengen country without passing through customs again. Similarly, you pass through passport control to board your flight that takes you out of the Schengen zone, not a flight within the Schengen zone.

 

Think of the Schengen zone as the USA, and the countries within Schengen as individual states. When you enter the USA at Atlanta, you enter the airport at an international terminal, pass through US customs, then proceed to the domestic terminal to continue on to your final US destination.

 

Similarly, if you're flying JFK-CDG-Budapest, you enter the Schengen zone in Paris. So you arrive in the NON-Schengen terminal at CDG, pass through European customs, and then proceed to a Schengen terminal where you get your Schengen-zone flight fro CDG-Budapest.

 

Issues: customs lines can be slow - not commonly in our experience but it does happen. You DO NOT have to pick up your luggage and carry it through customs and redeposit it (like the stupid US customs makes you do...). BUT, the slow part is most often changing terminals...

 

CDG and FRA are large, and the terminals are spaced far apart, especially in CDG. You VERY FREQUENTLY must go through security again when changing terminals. Between immigration, changing terminals, and security re-screening, this can chew up a good chunk of time.

 

In our experience, Schipol (Amsterdam) has been the most efficient place to change. We have found that we usually don't have to pass through security again, and the distance between terminals isn't as onerous. Unfortunately, the wine is better at the lounge in CDG...:p

 

If you have a tight connection, ask your FA if they have a "fast track" lane at immigration; many hubs do this so that you don't have to wait in the full line and waste time if your connection is tight. But it's not guaranteed!

 

 

Now, the reverse leaving Europe: at your last Schengen destination, you have to pass through passport control to enter the non-Schengen terminal, to get your overseas flight. Those lines can be painful, especially at CDG in our experience. We did this at FRA once as well and changing planes was a long process. So you'd check in at Budapest, take a Schengen flight to CDG, exit the Schengen terminal, go to the Non-Schengen terminal, line up at passport control, then go through security again. Often, you get screened (yet again) at your gate!

 

One trick - flying business class, or having Gold FF status (or higher) with an airline, is very helpful here. There is almost always a priority security lane for Biz class and / or Elite FFs. There is often a priority line at passport control - which is a godsend at CDG when trying to fight the masses and leave. It's a definite time saver.

 

So - European hub airports can make for slow connections. There are many who don't like changing in CDG for this reason, because it is probably the most inconvenient one to negotiate. It's an almost a certain guarantee of having to change terminals if you arrive there from the US, and change to a Schengen flight. We have done it numerous times without issues, but with the convenience of priority lines from Biz class.

 

Have a great trip!

[jacksonnh]

We fly to Europe a lot from Bos and always try to get a non stop direct if possible using Lufthansa. Any final destinations like Budapest that require a stop over, we try and book through Munich as it is an easy airport to navigate w/o the crowd hassle of CDG. Frankfurt use to be difficult but has gotten a lot better over the last few years. My second choice after Munich is connecting in Zurich on Swiss Air.

Make sure you give yourself plenty of time to change planes. If your flight from the U.S. is delayed, you may miss your tight connection. If you can, going in a day or two early can relieve much of the stress and Budapest is a great city to explore on your own. Best of luck to you.

[bobalink]

Just an idea...

 

We were on a river cruise that started in Budapest last summer.

 

We wanted to explore Vienna, so we flew from Los Angeles to Vienna, spent a few days there and then took the TRAIN to Budapest. Stayed in Budapest a few days before boarding the river cruise.

 

The cruise ended in Nuremberg, we took a bus to Prague, stayed there a few days, and flew from Prague to Los Angeles.

 

If there is another area in the region that you would like to spend time in, this may be an option for you. Traveling by train is super easy and we really enjoyed it!

[Hydrokitty]

I always fly Lufthansa from JFK and flight 401 gets to Frankfort around 5:30 a.m. and Budapest connection isn't until after 8 a.m. which gives me plenty of time to navigate the terminal from International arrival to domestic departure. You don't have to claim your luggage but you do have to go through a brief security check. Frankfort is a HUGE airport and domestic departures leave from the tarmac so you take a bus from the terminal to the plane.

[milling73]

We took the Danube Waltz this Sept from Budapest. We flew Delta non-stop from Detroit to Amsterdam, and then on to Budapest. Amsterdam is a smaller airport, and easy to navigate. We had a good connection time on to Budapest, with about a 2 hr layover, and arrived in Budapest around noon.

 

Paris is a maze..huge and confusing and being under construction didn't help. If you haven't been through or familiar with the airport, I would avoid it.

[Hydrokitty]

Short answer: 2h is long enough in either CDG or FRA, if all goes well. If delayed, or long lines, you may be scrambling to make your connection. It's not a simple process of walking from one gate to another...

 

Long answer: most of Europe shares a common border called the Schengen Zone; the participating countries are similar to (but not exactly the same as) the EU. Once you enter ANY one of the Schengen countries, you can move freely to any other Schengen country without passing through customs again. Similarly, you pass through passport control to board your flight that takes you out of the Schengen zone, not a flight within the Schengen zone.

 

Think of the Schengen zone as the USA, and the countries within Schengen as individual states. When you enter the USA at Atlanta, you enter the airport at an international terminal, pass through US customs, then proceed to the domestic terminal to continue on to your final US destination.

 

Similarly, if you're flying JFK-CDG-Budapest, you enter the Schengen zone in Paris. So you arrive in the NON-Schengen terminal at CDG, pass through European customs, and then proceed to a Schengen terminal where you get your Schengen-zone flight fro CDG-Budapest.

 

Issues: customs lines can be slow - not commonly in our experience but it does happen. You DO NOT have to pick up your luggage and carry it through customs and redeposit it (like the stupid US customs makes you do...). BUT, the slow part is most often changing terminals...

 

CDG and FRA are large, and the terminals are spaced far apart, especially in CDG. You VERY FREQUENTLY must go through security again when changing terminals. Between immigration, changing terminals, and security re-screening, this can chew up a good chunk of time.

 

In our experience, Schipol (Amsterdam) has been the most efficient place to change. We have found that we usually don't have to pass through security again, and the distance between terminals isn't as onerous. Unfortunately, the wine is better at the lounge in CDG...:p

 

If you have a tight connection, ask your FA if they have a "fast track" lane at immigration; many hubs do this so that you don't have to wait in the full line and waste time if your connection is tight. But it's not guaranteed!

 

 

Now, the reverse leaving Europe: at your last Schengen destination, you have to pass through passport control to enter the non-Schengen terminal, to get your overseas flight. Those lines can be painful, especially at CDG in our experience. We did this at FRA once as well and changing planes was a long process. So you'd check in at Budapest, take a Schengen flight to CDG, exit the Schengen terminal, go to the Non-Schengen terminal, line up at passport control, then go through security again. Often, you get screened (yet again) at your gate!

 

One trick - flying business class, or having Gold FF status (or higher) with an airline, is very helpful here. There is almost always a priority security lane for Biz class and / or Elite FFs. There is often a priority line at passport control - which is a godsend at CDG when trying to fight the masses and leave. It's a definite time saver.

 

So - European hub airports can make for slow connections. There are many who don't like changing in CDG for this reason, because it is probably the most inconvenient one to negotiate. It's an almost a certain guarantee of having to change terminals if you arrive there from the US, and change to a Schengen flight. We have done it numerous times without issues, but with the convenience of priority lines from Biz class.

 

Have a great trip!

 

Everything you say is true! the wine may be better at CDG but the hot chocolate is better at Schipol!! and BC always makes things easier, that's why it costs so much more, but it's worth it. :D

Edited January 25, 2014 by Hydrokitty
addinf sentence

[WarEagle76]

Another vote for AMS Schipol. Whenever we have to connect in Europe it is our airport of choice.

[rjscott]

Hi,

Just put down a deposit for a 2015 RiverCruise departing from Budapest.

I started my research looking at flight schedules currently available from the U.S. (east coast departure) to Budapest. Given airline routes, dates etc are not yet available for 2015, I wanted to get a idea on what might be the best route to take mainly trying to determine which European airports would be best for connection flights.

If you have flown into Budapest from the U.S., which connection(s) did you use and your opinion as ease to make connections, layover times, effeciency etc.

 

 

From where you are, I'd recommend Delta to Amsterdam Schipol to Budapest. You should be able to get n/s to AMS and then a short hop to Budapest.