At $734 RT in August, Dusseldorf is Affordable Gateway to Europe from East Coast

At $734 RT in August, Dusseldorf is Affordable Gateway to Europe from East Coast

by Serge the Concierge

I knew Dusselforf as the birthplace of Kraftwerk, the grandaddys of electronic rock.

I found a second reason to like the city when i discovered that Dusseldorf is currently offering great fares to Europe for East Coast travelers for peak vacation month of August.

For fare and flight search, I started using more and more Google Flights which I like for its simplicity and speed.

Last summer, i flew to Europe from Newark Liberty via Berlin for $625 RT.

I decided to scout other potential entry points like Barcelona, London, Brussels, Amsterdam using Google Flights and did not find anything under $900 RT.

I then checked the map of Germany and checked airports closer to France like Frankfurt, Koln and finally Dusseldorf.

Trying to stay away from United which I flew from US and back last year, I found following flights mostly aboard Lufthansa with 1 stop each way.

Here's my finds at $734 RT with departure on August 12, 2013 and return on August 26, 2013:

Outbound (August 12) 

Leaving Newark (EWR) on Lufthansa for Munich at 8:20 PM , arriving in Munich at 10:20 AM on August 13

3 hours and 10 minutes layover in Munich

Flight from Munich to Dusseldorf on Lufthansa leaves at 1:30 PM arrives in Dusseldorf at 2:40 PM

Return (August 26)

Dusseldorf to Toronto on Lufthansa, leaves at 12:50 PM arrives in Toronto at 2:50 PM

2 hours and 50 minutes layover in Toronto

Toronto to Newark on United Express leaves Toronto at 5:40 PM arrives at 7:40 PM

From Dusseldorf, I then found RT to Paris for $125 on Air France.

An alternative return choice all on Lufthansa via Munich leaves at same time (12:50 PM) and gets you in Newark by 6:30 PM (an hour and 10 minutes earlier) for $756 RT
A little flexibility gives you an $859 RT ticket to Paris (or $881 using second return option).

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As a comparison, on same dates best Round Trip fare (albeit non-stop) from Newark to Paris that I could find was via British Airways for $1298.

The cheapest RT fare from New York area to Paris on these dates has you leave from JFK with one stop was on Icelandair (stop in Reykjavik) for $984.

(* Photo is of Easter decorations at Carlsplatz Wochenmarket, a must stop for food lovers in Dusseldorf, image from Carlsplatz Facebook page)
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