By Sam
More and more of us are ditching the travel agent and trying to become shrewd travellers nowadays. This a smart move. Budget airlines and the internet in general means we are no longer held ransom by travel agents and forced to pay their extortionate prices. However some caution is required.
Many budget airlines are only able to offer such cheap flights because they use cities secondary airports who have much lower operational costs, which is great in theory. However these airports can have misleading names and ties to a city when in reality they are not very close at all.
Below you will find some of the furthest airports from their respective named cities. Now, I’m not saying don’t fly to these airports, I am just recommending that you research where exactly they are and how much it will cost you in terms of transfers on the other side.
Paris Vatry Disney Airport
Given its name you would expect the Paris Vatry Disney airport to be close to Paris city centre or at least be close to Disney World Paris right? Wrong! Be very careful of choosing this airport if you are planning to whisk your significant other away for a short city break or if you want to take your kids to disney world.
The airport is actually 93 miles away from Paris City centre which means you will spend a good chunk of your short city break travelling to and from the airport, not to mention that you’ll be spending (literally) a good chunk of your budget on travel too.
So, if it is not so close to Paris then it must be close to Disney right? Wrong! The airport is situated 70 miles away from Disney too, so please bear that in mind if you are looking for a family holiday with the kids. A 70 mile journey does not sound fun with 2-4 tired little ones on board now does it?
Barcelona Girona and Reus Airport
Barcelona is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. As with most cities it is not the cheapest place to stay and visit, so many of us look to travel there on a budget or for a very short trip so that we can see the city without breaking the bank.
I personally see trips advertised for 1-3 nights very often, including flights and hotel but almost never including transfers. The majority of the time the flights are either to Girona ro Reus, which are both 58 miles away from the city centre.
Now this is not an absolutely huge distance and cheap transfers can be found if you look in advance, however if going for a short trip then it is a very important point to note because when factoring your travel and flight time you may well arrive very late, which essentially means you are losing a night. Not a huge problem is staying for a fortnight, but if you are planning on a 1-3 night stay or wanting to make it on time to see Barcelona at Camp Nou this could well be a deal breaker.
Munich West (Memmingen) Airport
You wouldn’t be a fool for thinking that Munich West airport was in the heart of the German city, however you would be very wrong. The airport is actually situated in a town called Memmingen some 70 miles away from Munich city centre.
This means you need to factor in a good hour and a half travel time if you plan on doing anything in the city centre on arrival.
Ryanair uses this and many other of these airports on their cheap flights, so beware when looking at them for that bargain deal.
Oslo (Torp)
Planning on visiting Norway’s beautiful capital Oslo anytime soon? Well be sure to check which airport you are landing at. Oslo (Torp) is actually located some 68 miles from the city centre, which if you don’t plan it in advance will cost you an arm and a leg in a taxi.
It is not only the cost that you need to think about. Many of you will want to visit Norway for the fabulous museums, the Viking museum in particular, just be sure that you don’t plan this for your first day if landing in the afternoon as you will likely have a two hour journey ahead of you after you land.
London Stansted
London is one of the world’s most popular destinations for business people and tourists alike. Multiple major airports are named after the city itself and can be a little misleading. London Stansted airport in particular is actually 40 miles from the city centre, which may not seem like much, but in London’s traffic could potentially take you hours depending on the time of day and method of transport.
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