Hello,

I would love any information you could help us with. We are planning a trip to Munich and Jim was my go to guy. Now you are my people... We are visiting for a convention and are looking for an inexpensive hotel with character. Something close to local transportation. Also, who do you recommend flying with? We are thinking of purchasing a one way ticket and then flying out of Holland after we see the tulips. Thoughts? What about time to purchase said tickets? Would it be reasonable to wait until winter to purchase our return flight? We have the usual travel books, but any helpful hints in these early stages is greatly appreciated.

Best, Aimee & Nathen

Who is/was Jim Moraga, and what has he to do with Munich?

Munich has excellent public transportation, so most hotels will be fairly well connected to everywhere. Personally I would recommend a hotel close to a rail-based transport (S-Bahn (frequent, fast suburban trains), U-Bahn (Subway/ Underground/ Tube) or Strassenbahn (Streetcars/ trams) rather than buses as they somehow are easier to navigate than buses for visitors.

Most affordable hotels in Munich are close to the main railway station, which is a safe area, even if rather uninteresting. The more expensive hotels are in the center, close to Marienplatz (the central square). It's an easy 15 minutes walk (through a pedestrianized shopping area) or a two stop S-Bahn journey between the two. Where exactly is your convention in Munich?

If you want a cheap, but perfectly acceptable hotel close to the Central Square, I have stayed at the Hotel am Markt. It's on the famous Viktualienmarkt, close to public transportation, and in the very centre. Used to be hotel of choice for guesting opera singers as being affordable and walking distance to both opera houses.

As for plane tickets: if flying from the US, do NOT buy one way tickets, they will be prohibitively expensive. Either go for an open-jaw (flying into one city, out of an another), or go for a round-trip ticket to Munich with a stop-over in Amsterdam (or a R/T to AMS with a stop-over in MUC)

Which airport/ area do you want to leave from? FF affiliation to any alliance? If you want to do a ticket with a stop-over I'd guess that DL/KLM or UA/US/LH would be the best, having direct flights MUC-AMS. If you want to go by train MUC-AMS (a nice and comfortable one-day journey) the choice would be larger. But departure airport would help!

Welcome to flyertalk nbent12 . We need a bit more Information to help you with the ticket purchase options. From where do you start? What time of year you want go? You said something about the tulips in the Netherlands so I would guess you want to go in spring 2014. Without some more details it is really hard to give helpful information.

for hotels try

www.hotel.de

www.hrs.de

We are coming to Munich for the BAUMA trade show 4/15-4/21 2013. We would like to see the flowers and or a flower festival in Holland either before or after the show. Icelandia air a has some great deals from SFO though their capitol and then to Munich for $700. We are just now inquiring about either getting a car for more adventure, or playing it safe on the train? thoughts? We have a five week window of holiday. Get to Amsterdam and then head south along the coast and fly out of Paris??

Check the prices of an open-jaw, flying into MUC, and out from wherever you end up. Five weeks certainly give you the time to see more than just Munich and Amsterdam. I would not rent a car for five weeks in Europe, costs would be very high. I suggest that you buy an EURAIL pass (and check the prices of single train tickets bought in advance). With five weeks an itinerary covering Munich. Amsterdam, Paris, South France and returning to Munich is certainly feasible.

If you want to go by price for your tickets just go by the cheapest you can find. As mentioned before. Don't buy one way tickets for your US-Europe portion.

Travelling by train is in Europe very easy, comfortable and convenient. Especially if you go between larger cities. Local transport in larger European cities is very efficient and you won't need a car. If you want to be more flexible, spontaneous and maybe visit more remote areas a car is the better option but also more expansive. Also keep in mind it gets very expansive if you take a one-way rental and return the car at a different country.

Distance wise: Munich-Amsterdam are 829km so about 9hours driving. Taking a train is much more convenient. Another alternative is flying. You should check out skyscanner.com which compares LCCs, too. Munich-Amsterdam should 1.5h by plane and you might be able to find flights under 100€ per person or even cheaper.

Amsterdam-Paris are 502km (direct route) so about 6hours. If you want to drive south on the cost until Calais and then turn land inwards to Paris it will take you 650km. Paris is around 300km away from Calais.

By the way: Who is this Jim guy?

The answer, sadly, is here:
R.I.P Jim, magic111, my dear friend

Thanks for the info. Jim Moraga is the gentleman who introduced us to flyer talk and has since deceased. magic111 was his flyer talk ID. My lady posted orginally and was feeling sentimental at the time. Be safe.

I have taken the liberty to edit the title of the thread and change it to "in memoriam magic111".

I hope you are okay with it, but it makes it a bit easier to understand for the most flyertalkers, as they know the nicks more than the real names.

FLYGVA
(a.k.a Jan)
Co-moderator Germany forum