The best travel deal I have scored must be the $9 flight from London to Pisa on Ryanair.
The background:
I had won a contest at my previous employer and the prize was money for an international trip.
My choice was to go to London for about 10 days, staying in a small hostel type place just off Victoria station, living on a budget but having a great time in London.
After a few days I thought to myself “Michael, we need to go somewhere else, 10 days is too long in one place”. So I looked around and found that Ryanair had $9 trips to a few cities in Europe, namely Barcelona, Berlin, Pisa, Stockholm and a few more. After some consideration I decided to fly in to Pisa and from there go on to Rome, ticking off 2 cities on one trip.
The airline:
Ryanair has a clever airport model. They fly out of cheaper airports at less popular times to lesser airports. All this is to cut the costs of landing and gate costs and they pass the savings on to their passengers. They do not have seating choices, they charge for baggage, it is a proper discount airline that has been going for years so they are doing everything right.
Getting to the airport:
https://www.stanstedairport.com
So because they fly out of Stansted airport you have to take a bus from central London out to the airport. This was fun for me so I sat at the window of the bus and looked at the whole of north London pass by. It was like being on a tour bus, interesting to observe the parts of the city I would never see as a central London tourist.
The drive is about an hour depending on when you fly. I was flying at about 7 or 8pm so there was bit of rush hour traffic but not like New York to JFK type rush hour traffic.
Arriving at the airport I checked in, checked my bag, and went to the gate. I then watched all the other people at other gates to try and understand the process. This was my first time flying a discount airline so I wanted to make sure I was up on the procedure. When it came time to board and there was a bit of a scrum to line up I was right in the middle near the front. I knew that whatever it took I was going to get a window seat for my flight over Europe. I boarded and got my window seat on the left side of the plane around row 23 and was ready for the flight to Italy.
The flight:
The flight was wonderful. The plane was a 737-800. It swooped all over the continent seeming to have to fly over specific lines. I presume the airline has rights to fly over certain countries so has to follow the borders. We had a wonderful view of the Alps as we swooped one way and then the other. This was because we were following the Italian border, perhaps there are laws about jet sounds at night. Whatever the reason I had some great views of the mountains and towns below.
Arriving in Pisa:
We landed in Pisa around 10pm. I had booked a train down to Rome at 2am so I had 3 or 4 hours in Pisa. My logic was that I could sleep on the train saving accommodation costs and then arrive bright and early in Rome. Pisa is very active late at night and I wandered around for a few hours before heading to the station. I tried homemade strawberry gelato which was so good and I had the best pizza I have ever eaten at a small pizzeria about 3 blocks from the station on the left.
Whenever I eat at a new pizzeria I always have a Margherita so I can taste the basics. This pizza was amazing, the tomato sauce and cheese were special. I also specifically remember that the cook turned the pizza over in the brick oven and cooked it face down for a minute or 2 before serving. I believe that was the secret to the great taste. It was firm and delicious.
On to Rome:
There was a lot of noise at the station that night. I thought they were soccer supporters but they said no! They were basketball supporters. The basketball league is inter-city and they had just beaten their rivals. There was chanting and singing galore, it made for a great experience. They all left on a city train and then my regional train arrived at 2am, I found a seat in a cabin, hooked my backpack around my legs and went to sleep. We arrived in Rome at about 6am. I went on to the hostel I had booked to leave my bag so I could walk around the city.
And then back to London:
After a rather splendid few days in Rome exploring the ancient wonders, it was time to leave. I took the morning train to Pisa and arrived at around lunch time.
My flight was at about 9pm so I had the whole day to explore. The Leaning Tower was interesting to visit as it had been leaning a bit much and they had installed cables and weights to hold it in place while they did some drilling or piling or whatever it was they had decided to do. It was fascinating to observe. More strawberry gelato was enjoyed and then it was on to the airport.
At Stansted airport I took the return bus which dropped me at Victoria Station close to midnight.
Conclusions:
I have no idea if it ended up being a good deal because the ticket was $9, taxes were about $30, the bus was about $11 each way and the train was an extra expense as well. Of course I did get to see Pisa as well as Rome and I did have the best pizza ever so in my mind it was well worth it.
Pisa image courtesy Wikipedia
