Rick Steves Warns Of The 'Name Game' While Booking With Budget Airlines In Europe

Some major cities are so large that it is necessary to have more than one airport serving them. Think cities like Chicago, New York City, and Paris. However, sometimes these airports are not exactly centrally located. This is especially true in Europe. Major airports in Europe already find themselves slightly outside of town given the centuries-old layouts of the cities. Additional airports are sometimes even further away.

For travel expert Rick Steves, showing how to make vacationing more affordable is one of the key aspects of his travel empire. This includes budget airlines, but Steves explains that these can come with a catch: a "name game," as he calls it. "Budget airlines sometimes use obscure airports. For example, one of Ryanair's London hubs is Stansted Airport, one of the farthest airports from London's city center," he says on his website. "Ryanair's flights to 'Frankfurt' actually take you to Hahn, 75 miles away." This is not to say that you should avoid budget airlines. It just means there are some extra things to keep in mind — and to do your research before you book.

If you do use Ryanair to fly into London, and therefore find yourself at the British capital's Stansted Airport rather than the better-known Heathrow Airport, you will be taking a longer train to get to the central parts of the city. Stansted takes close to an hour by train. Heathrow to London by Underground (subway) does too, but there is an express train option that takes just 15 minutes. This is just one example of the pre-planning it can take when going from airport to city and vice versa.

Despite the drawbacks of flying into an airport farther away from your actual destination, and the infamous fact that some budget airlines don't offer free carry-on luggage, budget airlines like Ryanair and others really do offer great flight deals. If budgeting comes into conflict with convenience a little too much when getting from an airport to a major city, perhaps look into cutting costs in other ways during your trip. From sleeping on a budget to eating well on a budget in Europe, there are still ways to make travel affordable outside of using budget airlines.