This week we follow our member RB‘s trip to some of the less well-travelled parts of Germany, Italy and Spain.
To travel to Europe in comfort and style, but without breaking the bank, our member made good use of Life Miles. LifeMiles is the frequent flyer program of Columbian airline and Star Alliance member Avianca. The program may seem obscure, but it can be the key to cheap business and first class travel. Miles in the program can be purchased outright – often with very generous discounts or bonuses – then redeemed for travel on Star Alliance airlines such as Thai Airways and Lufthansa. There are a few catches; for example, flights are subject to award availability. But with a little bit of planning some very good deals can be obtained.
Although our member left it a tad late to lock in their flights, there were still a number of business class seats on Thai Airways available.
We were late in making plans for a holiday in 2015. By Feb our LifeMiles options to Europe were a bit restricted but options were still there. We booked our flights in & out of Munich (a long time since we had flown there) & then started to plan a holiday around that.
For this reason, Thai Airways was used to fly all the way from Brisbane to Munich, with a stopover in Bangkok along the way. How did the Thai Airways service stack up in business class?
After arriving in Munich our member headed south to a town called Garmisch-Partenkirchen, located in a picturesque part of Bavaria. This is a mountainous region of Germany renowned for its natural beauty as well as the ski slopes in winter. Despite inclement weather, our correspondent was determined to make the most of their time and a visit to the spectacular Partnach Gorge didn’t disappoint!
The walk through the gorge itself is about 700 metres of limestone walls with protected dark tunnels, galleries & low clearances (we had wet weather gear & torches) & you find yourself right over the roaring stream & under various waterfalls – certainly topped up by the recent rain.
The trip seems to have gone off to a good start. Following Germany our member will also take in some spectacular sights around Italy and Spain including Lake Como and Barcelona.
It certainly looks like an exciting trip is in store! Follow the trip report HERE.
