Tony and I went for a short city break in Berlin a couple of weeks ago for an old mate’s 50th birthday party.
It isn’t easy being green…
We had plenty of notice, more than enough time to track down the cheapest travel deals. I investigated train travel first, since it’s the greenest option. Sadly it turned out it’d cost just under £400 each to travel Brighton to Berlin by train and as little as £39 return by EasyJet. No contest… they don’t exactly make it easy to go green!
EasyJet’s online prices started at £39 each but we actually ended up paying a lot more, over £100 each. Which was still a great deal compared to the train but more than we’d expected.
Because excess baggage charges can easily exceed the cost of cheap flights, we each bought a special cabin bag designed to fit the airline’s requirements and avoid paying extra luggage charges, which can be scarily high. Ryanair, for example, charges £70 for a 20 kilogramme case for a peak time European break.
We crammed our belongings in, taking the absolute minimum we needed for the trip. In actual fact there really wasn’t enough space and a bit extra would have been very welcome, especially since it’s much colder in Berlin than the UK at this time of year. A woolly jumper or two would have been nice!
Sendmybag.com
On our return – too late for this break but excellent idea for our next trip abroad – I discovered sendmybag.com, a cheap, efficient and viable alternative to spending extra cash on excess baggage. What a brilliant idea. You send your luggage ahead by courier instead of paying excess baggage supplements, at a lower cost than paying excess baggage charges. It means your journey is much smoother and less painful too. No heavy cases to carry, look after or lug on and off trains and planes. Just a small bag with travel essentials in it. How cool is that, especially when you’re travelling greater distances for a longer break!How does it work? SendMyBag’s luggage shipping service is ideal for travel either within or beyond Europe, delivering to most major cities within 1-2 days. They collect your luggage from your home or business and deliver it to your destination on time, safely, so it’s ready for you when you arrive. Even better, if you refer your friends you can claim a discount. That’s what I call a very good deal: cheap, reliable luggage transfer and a comfortable, hassle free journey… perfect!