Norwegian Airlines has me hooked on low fares between Stockholm, Sweden and Oakland, California. I have flown this route several times over the past year, paying an average airfare around $150 one way. And now Norwegian flies Oakland to London Gatwick. There are $160 one way tickets OAK-LGW in September and October 2017.
There are many places around Europe I either have not ever visited or visited 10, 20 or even more than 40 years ago. Even with six trips to Europe per year the past few years, I am only slowly expanding my exposure to unfamiliar places by one or two cities on most trips.
Long layovers on cheap intra-Europe airline tickets
Some people like to ride the train around Europe. I find trains a waste of time for time-constrained trips to Europe, unless there is exceptional scenery like the Bergen-Oslo train across the Hardangervidda glacial plateau of Norway.
Bergen Line to Oslo, 500 km by train (and bus)
Bergen Line to Oslo 500 km by train part two
A plane flight can shuttle you across Europe in four to six hours from one hotel in one city in one country to another hotel in a different city and different country with a different currency and different culture.
My travel planning thoughts for a trip to Europe in September and October is looking at maximizing cheap one way flights between airports in different countries to find tickets with long layover times, near 24 hours, at an intermediate airport.
Which brings me back to Stockholm and Norwegian Airlines and opportunities I see for one way tickets from Stockholm to another European country with a long near-24 hour layover in a city along the way.
Stockholm to Nice, France
One of my travel destinations I am planning for October is a trip to Monaco to redeem a couple free nights I have at the Riviera Marriott Hotel La Porte de Monaco.
The cheapest ticket for Friday October 6 is Air France $65. There is an overnight layover of 9hr 10min from 10:05pm Friday night arrival at Paris CDG to 7:15am departure from Paris ORY. That kind of itinerary offers no sightseeing time, except from a bus window in the dark.
Filtering Momondo.com search results by Quickest Time, then looking for the longest time flights, is a way to find long layover city options on other cheap fare tickets.
Efficient flight itineraries with nonstop or short layover one stop flight segments are priced from $114 to $140 one way with Norwegian and SAS, Air France and Brussels Airlines.
I am not seeking cheap efficient flight schedules. I want overnight layovers along the way, but a better itinerary than a $65 Air France ticket with a late night arrival in Paris CDG and early morning departure from Paris Orly airport on the opposite side of the city. The hotel expense for a quick overnight in Paris wastes any airfare bargain savings.
Here are other ticket options for Friday October 6 Stockholm to Nice, France.
KLM Amsterdam layover 22hr 40m from 3:40pm-2:20pm
KLM Stockholm ARN – Amsterdam AMS – Nice, France
$148 Friday Oct 6
$83 more at $148 one way to fly KLM compared to $65 Air France Stockholm to Nice, France, but a full day in Amsterdam.
Club Carlson free Friday Night every two stays or 10K points July 1–Sep 30
Club Carlson Free Friday at Art’otel Amsterdam is a $374 room night.
Air Baltic Stockholm to Nice via Riga 21hr 45 m layover from 5:45pm to 3:30pm.
$82 one way, Friday October 6
Riga, Latvia is not a particularly high-priced city to redeem a Club Carlson Free Friday, but there are several Club Carlson hotels in town in centrally located places. Airport transportation is easy and Old Town Riga is beautiful and a fun pub crawl city.
Air France Stockholm ARN – Paris CDG – Nice, France NCE
$90 one way, Friday October 6
22hr 25m layover in Paris from 8:50am Friday to 7:15am Saturday and no airport change from Paris CDG.
Radisson Blu Paris Champs Elysees is a $306 Free Friday value.
LOT Polish (operated by Regional Jet)
Stockholm ARN – Tallinn, Estonia TLL (20h 30m layover 8:35pm – 5:05pm) – Nice, France NCE
$116 one way Friday, Oct 6
Tallinn has $150 room rates for its two Radisson Blu hotels on Friday October 6.
In April 2017 I traveled through Lithuania and Latvia. I heard travelers mention Tallinn is the most beautiful of the Baltic country cities. Looks like a great opportunity to experience Tallinn on an overnight layover for little additional cost to fly Stockholm to Nice.
Air France Stockholm ARN – Paris CDG (21hr 5m layover) – Nice NCE
$87 one way, Friday October 6
21hr 5m layover 3:40pm to 12:45pm.
Another Air France option with layover hours that maximize the hotel and sightseeing daylight time in Paris with afternoon arrival and afternoon departure. Rush hour from CDG into the city is a pain. Hotel will be ready by arrival and no early morning rush out of the hotel necessary.
Additional cities in Europe at little additional cost
Amsterdam, Paris, Riga or Tallinn on long overnight transit layovers are all options for a Stockholm to Nice, France one-way ticket on Friday, October 6. Other dates open up the potential for other layover cities at low ticket prices.
Some trips I have limited time and other trips, like the trip I am planning for October, allow for spending additional days getting from one place to another in my travels.
Stockholm to Nice can place me in Tallinn for a day, a city I have not yet seen or another day in Paris, a city with a lifetime of sights to see.
These opportunities for quick city stops between flight origin and destination on cheap one way tickets around Europe is a ticketing strategy I want to utilize more in 2017-18 travel.
5 Comments
Comments are closed.