EuroCheapo is teaming up with airberlin and visitBerlin to offer this unique “Fall of the Wall” trip giveaway. Join the country in celebrating the end of a political division and the beginning of a peaceful reunification.

Spend the weekend of November 7-9 visiting artistic exhibits, touring the former Wall, taking in some theater, and experiencing the illuminated helium balloon installation along the former Wall’s border. And those are just a few of the festivities you could partake in. Read about many more here.

One lucky winner will receive:

• Two round-trip tickets on airberlin from the US to Berlin in November 2014.

• Complimentary accommodation for three nights in central Berlin, courtesy of visitBerlin.

How to enter

To enter to win, simply fill in the form below. By entering this contest, you will also be subscribing to EuroCheapo’s “Weekly Cheapo” newsletter.

On July 16th, we’ll randomly draw the name of one lucky winner. It’s that simple. Hopefully, you can join the party this November in Berlin. Good luck!

Sorry, this contest has now ended.

Contest rules

• Winner will be randomly chosen on July 16 and contacted by email. Winner will be given 24 hours to respond to the notification email. If no response is received within 24 hours, this entry will be voided and EuroCheapo will draw another winner.

• Winner receives two Economy Class seats on airberlin from any airberlin US departure airport to Berlin Tegel, valid for November 2014 travel.

• Three nights accommodation will be provided in a Berlin hotel or hostel (private room with bath).

• Participants must be at least 18 years old at date of entry. Other rules and restrictions apply. Contest is open to the public.

• By entering this contest, you are also subscribing to EuroCheapo’s “Weekly Cheapo” newsletter.

• Only one entry will be permitted per person.

• Current EuroCheapo newsletter subscribers and past contest participants are not automatically entered into the contest, and must fill out the form above to be entered into this contest.

The post Enter to win 2 tickets to Berlin this November to celebrate the fall of the Wall! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The best part? You choose the destination! Fly from any airberlin US departing airport to any airberlin European arrival.

Where do you feel like flying? Berlin? Stockholm? Milan? Munich? Vienna? Copenhagen? Prague? There are dozens of cities to choose from!

On March 11, we’ll randomly select 15 finalists who will be asked to explain where they’d like to fly in 25 words or less. We’ll force you to keep it short and sweet! We’ll then post the entries in our blog and let our readers vote on their favorite, and choose a winner!

Contest closed

Please note that this contest has been closed to entries. Thanks for reading!

Contest terms and conditions:

• Prize consists of two airberlin round-trip tickets from airberlin’s US departure airports to an airberlin arrival airport in Europe in economy class, subject to availability. Travel must be completed by April 1, 2015. Participants must be at least 18 years old at date of entry. Other rules and restrictions apply. Contest is open to the public.

• Only one entry will be permitted per person.

• Current EuroCheapo newsletter subscribers and past contest participants are not automatically entered into the contest, and must fill out the form above to be entered into this contest.

• By entering the airberlin and EuroCheapo trip giveaway, you agree to receive top offers and information about airberlin and EuroCheapo by email.

Thank you, and good luck!

The post Enter here to win 2 free flights to Europe on airberlin! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here, for your edification, are the luggage rules and prices (as of mid-September 2013) for a number of Europe’s largest discount airlines. This information is provided as-is, pulled from each airline’s website. For each carrier, we’ve included a link to their full rules—be sure to double check their policies to make sure they haven’t changed in the meantime.  (If you discover such a change, please leave us a note in the comments so we can correct the chart.)

And away we go!

The post Carry-on and Checked Bag Allowances on Low-Cost Carriers appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Here’s a quick overview of how the program works:

Deutsche Bahn has signed agreements with numerous airlines, allowing them to sell flat-rate tickets from any German city with a major airport to any destination within Germany of your choosing and vice versa. The full list of partner airlines is available on their website.

Rail & Fly tickets may be used for train travel the day of or day after arrival in Germany, and similarly the day before or day of departure.

The price – €29 one-way, €58 round-trip – is the lowest sale price offered by Deutsche Bahn and therefore nearly unbeatable. While the tickets must be booked in advance, they are easily added either at the time of booking or after purchase through a separate link on the airline’s website.

When should you use it?

The relative flexibility of the travel conditions combined with the robust German train network means even transatlantic visitors (flying partner airlines) should consider purchasing discounted airfares to alternative airports in the country and connecting over land.

And for some an additional perk: This option offers the opportunity to visit another city or region for nearly two days before traveling to your next (or final) port of call.

Low-cost no-go

Unfortunately, few low-cost airlines participate in this program. Those taking discount flights in Europe may want to consider this advantage when comparing fares from non-participants Ryanair and easyJet with airlines offering the Rail & Fly option, including airberlin, Germanwings, Condor, and TUIFly.

Do note that certain airlines restrict Rail & Fly bookings in connection with ultra short-haul flights between Germany and Amsterdam, Basel, Paris, Salzburg, Vienna, and Zurich.

Crossing the Atlantic, travelers will want to consider this option on fares from airberlin, American Airlines, Lufthansa, Icelandair, and US Airways, among others (check the full list above).

The post Is Germany’s "Rail & Fly" a Good Deal? appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Valerie’s submission, a fabulously illustrated series of vignettes, tells of her trip to Berlin in the 1960s, and of her longing to revisit the city, witness the changes, the new additions, and see some old friends.

The winning submission by Valerie O. of Washington State.

Difficult decisions

Valerie’s submission was chosen by our panel of four judges, including Johnny Jet, Nomadic Matt, Grant Martin and myself. Each of us cast a private ballot, and each of us selected Valerie as one of our top three choices. Tallying up the votes, she was the clear winner.

This isn’t to say that the choice was an easy one. There were so many fantastic entries — and so many close calls. If you haven’t already, take a moment to check out the 14 finalists. You’ll meet:

• a social media sensation with a great following (Anna)
• a hilarious German-speaker with a fondness for pop-star “Nena” (Chelsea)
• a thoughtful nursing student (Julie, who also received the most votes from readers in our poll)
• a husband-and-wife team that truly deserves a trip (Greg & Emily)
• a Canadian longing for Berlin’s history (Kris)
• a kind gent whose father-in-law competed in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin (Arthur)

And that’s only half the group! All of them spoke of their fondness for travel and of their appreciation of Berlin. If only they could all go!

Obviously, this was not an easy call. So many of these received votes from the four judges, but only Valerie placed in the “top three” for all of the judges on our panel.

Many thanks

We really appreciate the time that each of these finalists put into their submissions, and in rallying their friends to show their support. Thanks for your entries, and we look forward to announcing our next giveaway.

Until then, congrats to Valerie, and Gute Reise!

The post Congrats to Valerie, our Summer in Berlin Giveaway Winner! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But now that the (absentee) voting is done, the question becomes: How to observe the election from Copenhagen? Right now I can think of three ways about it:

Option one: Tune out, then tune in on November 7

I’ll be visiting Copenhagen’s many sights with a group of other American travel writers on Tuesday, November 6. Certainly the subject will come up, but our attention will be happily focused on Nyhavn, the National Gallery and the city’s palaces.

We’ll be gleefully six hours ahead of any action back home. Even tuning in at midnight will mean that almost no polls will have closed. (Indiana and parts of Kentucky close at 6 PM EST, but those states aren’t really nail-biters.) I might as well go to sleep at a normal hour, and wake up refreshed to find out about the results. Yeah, right…

Option two: Stay up all night in a bar

A drastically different option would be to pull an all-nighter in a local bar that’s showing the event. Perhaps it will be the hotel’s bar, or we will undoubtedly hear about spots in Copenhagen to watch the event. This would surely attract visiting Americans, as well as interested Danes and travelers from other parts of the world who are likewise wound up about the election.

I find this option, in theory, to be quite attractive. It’s always fun to watch big events with others, allowing your energies to build. All of that waiting (and all of that commentary) goes down a bit easier with a few beers and new-found friends. And, hey, if things go south for you, you’re already in a bar!

The reality, of course, can be less ideal. If the election is mostly decided when major swing states in the east close (Florida at 7 p.m., Ohio at 7:30 p.m.), we’d find out in Copenhagen around 1 a.m. That’s doable… but what if it’s close in those states? What about western swing states? This thing could go late in the US, which means it could go really late in Europe.

And, of course, there’s that 9 a.m. airberlin flight we’ll be catching to Vienna the next morning.

Option three: Early to bed, early to rise

The last, and perhaps most responsible, option is to go to sleep early-ish, and wake up early (say, at 5 a.m.) to figure out what happened, or even catch the tail-end of the event itself.

This sounds perfectly reasonable, but is it possible to fall asleep early on election night? Maybe for some, but as a political junkie, I’m pretty sure that even if I do fall asleep, I’m certain to wake up at 3 a.m. knowing that I could turn on the TV and see the first big results coming in.

Or a messy mix of all three

What will most likely happen, of course, is a big, messy mix of all three. I’ll probably intend to go to sleep early, but first grab a beer with some of my traveling companions. This will lead to “just one more” before the first results come in. Despite the excitement around those first numbers, I’ll force myself to sleep, only to wake up a few hours later in the middle of the night, flip on the TV and half-dream about Wolf Blitzer for the next few hours.

When you factor in a 7 a.m. trip to the airport, it sounds a bit grim. But, hey, even if we’re all exhausted, it will be over. If “my guy” wins, it will be a happy, relieved exhaustion. If he doesn’t, well, I’ll be headed to Vienna.

I guess traveling during an election has its benefits after all.

Are you watching the election from abroad?

If you’re traveling or living abroad and excited about the election, how do you plan to watch it? Will it be an all-nighter, a middle-of-the-night wake-up, or a wait-and-see? Tell us about your plans in the comments section.

The post How to watch the US election results while traveling in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

We’ve teamed up again with our friends over at airberlin to give away another fantastic and free roundtrip for two from New York’s JFK airport to anywhere airberlin flies in Europe!

Start packing your bags, folks, because someone is about to get lucky. Why shouldn’t it be you?

Did you enter our last flight giveaway? No problem. You’re welcome to enter this one, too!

Want to canoodle in Copenhagen? Dance in Dusseldorf? Vamp in Vienna? (Okay, we’re getting carried away here, but you get the idea.)

To enter, simply fill out the form below. We’ll draw the name of one lucky winner on Tuesday, December 4, 2012.

Sign up here to win!

Contest terms and conditions

• Prize consists of two airberlin round-trip tickets from New York to anywhere airberlin flies in Europe in economy class, subject to availability. Travel must be completed by October 31, 2013. Participants must be at least 18 years old at date of entry. Other rules and restrictions apply. Contest is open to the public.

• Only one entry will be permitted per person.

• By entering the airberlin and EuroCheapo sweepstakes, you agree to receive top offers and information about airberlin and EuroCheapo by email.

Good luck, Cheapos!

The post Flight Giveaway! Win a free trip to Europe with airberlin! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

Sign up to win your own trip to Germany!

My bags are packed (sort of), papers organized(ish), and spirit ready (definitely) to head off on a nine-day adventure.

But where am I flying after Berlin? It’s a mystery!

Follow along

Why be so mysterious (and self-indulgent), you ask? Why not? We have so much fun with mystery photos in our newsletter and on our Facebook page, why give it all away now?

Naturally, I’ll also keep an eye out for any Cheapo-friendly activities, cool budget hotels, and delicious cheap eats. Plus, I’ll be asking for your feedback along the way.

Dreaming of wurst. Photo: JaBB

Win your own trip

If you haven’t yet registered for our summer trip giveaway, register now for a chance to win two round-trip tickets from airberlin. They’ll fly our winner (and a guest) from JFK to any destination in Germany to which airberlin flies!

Plus, A&O Hostels is throwing in five nights in a private room at any of their German locations.

We’ll be drawing the lucky winner on July 17, 2012. Enter now to win!

Next stop: Berlin

As for me, I guess I should finish packing and brush up on my Deutsch. I’m already dreaming of a bicycle tour of Prenzlauer Berg and wurst mit senf und bier at Prater. Stay tuned!

Note: This is part of a travelogue series sponsored by airberlin covering destinations to which the airline flies from the United States. For more information, including new US-Europe routes and summer sale fares, visit airberlin.com.

The post Off to Berlin… and beyond! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

The summer travel season is heating up, Cheapos, and what better way to celebrate than by winning a free trip to Germany?

EuroCheapo has teamed up with airberlin and A&O Hostels to offer one very lucky Cheapo a freebie trip for two from New York City to Germany.

Trip Details

The grand prize winner will receive a round-trip flight for two people from New York’s JFK airport to any city airberlin flies to in Germany.

And to make it even more appealing, our friends at A&O Hostels will pitch in five free nights in a double room with free breakfast at any A&O Hostels location, subject to availability.

Sign up here to win!

Simply fill out the form below to enter the trip giveaway. You’ll also be signing up to receive special offers from airberlin and EuroCheapo.

We’ll be randomly selecting the lucky winner on July 17, 2012.

Contest terms and conditions:

* Prize consists of two airberlin round-trip tickets from New York to Germany in economy class, subject to availability. Travel must be completed by March 31, 2013. Participants must be at least 18 years old at date of entry. Other rules and restrictions apply. Contest is open to the public.

* Only one entry will be permitted per person.

* By entering the airberlin and EuroCheapo sweepstakes, you agree to receive top offers and information about airberlin and EuroCheapo by email.

Good luck, Cheapos!

The post Win a trip to Germany, courtesy of airberlin, A&O Hostels and EuroCheapo! appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.