Màlaga, Spain!, Part 1- Ryanair travel tips :)

Two weeks ago I took advantage of the army taking away my husband to a boring class for a couple of days, and decided to take the time to go on a trip. I chose Màlaga in Spain for a few reasons. 1, because ryanair (a discount airline) flew there right from Nürnberg, 2, because the weather was going to be nice, and 3, because there was lots to see and do there. I definitely was not disappointed with the trip. But first, lets talk about Ryanair.

For any of you who might be planing to plane hop around Europe, Ryanair is a great choice. Easyjet is another discount airline to use, but does not fly many places from Germany, so it's not much help to me anymore. Ryanair has cheap flights, and can get you almost anywhere you want to go, and many places you didn't know you wanted to go to. When I looked at where they flew to from Nürnberg, I was originally disappointed that it was so limited, but now I can see it as a positive. It allowed me to think outside the box-see a city that wasn't necessarily well known, but still had a lot to offer. One thing I always do before I book my flights, is to check the public transportation options from the airport to the place that I am staying. Everything has to work with each other. The hostel I chose had a 24h reception, so I didn't have to worry about a super early or late flight, but I did have to make sure that I would be able to get to and from the hotel at a strange hour. I did my research, and was able to confirm that the train opened early enough for my early Saturday morning flight home. Okay, so the times worked out, so I went ahead and booked the trip! My next dilemma was Ryanair's super stingy bag limitations. I get it, it's a discount airline, so they need to make their money somewhere. Their carry-on size is significantly smaller than most airlines. To check a bag, it starts at 20 euro, and can be 60 euro if you decide to check it at the airport and haven't prepaid. Really? 40 euro's because a person has to ring you up. So when I got to the airport, I had to rearrange some things to make my backpack fit. Hint-don't use a backpack-use a suitcase with the limitation dimensions, and don't pack it full so it doesn't expand. I also went online on my phone, and paid to check my bag home because at that point, if I bought even one thing, it wouldn't fit, and I did not need to pay 60 euros.

Besides the bag limitations, I have nothing else to complain about Ryanair. Boarding is different than other airlines - there are no assigned seats, first come first serve - which works out well for me because I am always early. The flight was smooth and on time, and they had reasonably priced food available to buy on the plane.

Beautiful scenery from the airport in Màlaga