2025 birthday trip planning- My first non-UK park and first visit to Europa!

[Vik]

Thanks for that Matt. My birthday is mid-March so I'd probably be going early in the season. Out of Manchester and Stanstead the former is closer and easiest to get to from Sheffield. And from your list Ryanair might look cheaper at first glance but the baggage fees would add up quickly.

Still got loads of time though, although how quickly do Europa's hotels tend to sell out? By the time flights are available to book the hotel availability could be limited (and vice versa, don't want to book the stay and then find that the flight times aren't suitable/no flights). And another thing is local holidays, I'll obviously want to avoid those and go in term time.

There is no ideal time to book flights really. Flight prices can vary wildly from one day to the next. They can rise quite a bit one day and then next day drop significantly before beginning to rise again before falling off a cliff again. Guess it depends on what you see as a decent price to pay.

Worth noting though that some times flight times can be altered slightly or even a whole flight cancelled as EasyJet have done with us in June, with the late afternoon flight back from Basel cancelled and we’ve been transferred to the later evening flight. No big deal, means we can shower Roland with more Euros by having an extra day at EP

Wouldn’t worry too much about hotels selling out before booking flights. Even worse case scenario, there are plenty of options in Rust itself which are usually of a high standard. Sure when the flights are available to book there will still be plenty of hotel spaces available too.

Travelling to EP by public transport from any of the airports around that area is easy to plan thanks to the DB app but is a bit of a faff and quite time consuming. Trains themselves aren’t that reliable either. They make Northern seem like the pinnacle of rail travel . Though haven’t had any issues last couple of visits. Just avoid Frankfurt Hahn.

 

[Rowe]

To add onto train travel discussion, here are some times, train changes and prices you may expect next year depending on what time you fly. This is from my own itinerary for a Heathrow - Basel morning flight. (Going into 2pm/3pm territory may be a little much but you never know the extent a flight may get delayed or how long the passport control wait might get!)



One factor to keep in mind is bus times from Ringsheim/Europa-Park to Rust do run hourly from mid morning to late afternoon.

And with regards to flying itself, do check out your chosen airline's accessibility page if you or any friends with disabilities require extra assistance to make the journey easier there and back.

 

[venny]

Hire a car, but check prices for both sides of Basel airport. There’s a French and a Swiss side. Logistically, hiring from the French side is slightly easier as you won’t have to cross the border checks on the roads from Switzerland into France/Germant. Driving from the Swiss side has both the border and a slightly more convoluted road route. Most car hir companies call the French side of Basel airport Mulhouse, so try this when searching. Prices vary on which is cheapest. The French side tend to have shorter opening hours so it may also depend on your flight times.

I’d say you need to do at least three full days in the park and a full day in Rulantica. We did five days in the main park on our first trip and still felt like we didn’t see everything. If you enjoy having a few beers, exploring the hotels, restaurants and taking in all the entertainment you can easily pass a week across the resort without getting bored.

 

[Skyscraper]

Hire a car, but check prices for both sides of Basel airport. There’s a French and a Swiss side. Logistically, hiring from the French side is slightly easier as you won’t have to cross the border checks on the roads from Switzerland into France/Germant. Driving from the Swiss side has both the border and a slightly more convoluted road route. Most car hir companies call the French side of Basel airport Mulhouse, so try this when searching. Prices vary on which is cheapest. The French side tend to have shorter opening hours so it may also depend on your flight times.

That's really useful to know, thanks Venny!

 

[Bowser]

Just posting in here as a bookmark really as I'm interested to hear how this trip goes (haven't been myself but hoping to one day).

I work in travel so could offer some info in regards to flights but it looks like that information has been more than covered, though I can confirm that you can only book flights around 12 months in advance (varies slightly by airline but all in that range).

 

[Matt.GC]

I always stay in an Air BnB in a French village around 30 mins away from Europa. The French village and surrounding area are absolutely beautiful. Wonderful countryside, beautiful architecture, a sleepy place that's silent at night with a cockril that wakes you up every morning. There's a bigger town around 10 mins drive away that has supermarkets and other amenities. Some wonderful traditional French bakeries, cobbles streets, a river that runs alongside a pub where there's friendly french gentleman inside sipping red wine. Proper a Allo Allo stuff.

The house we rent out is large and quite wonderful, and the owner is an absolutely lovely lady who's very accommodating and friendly. 2 bedrooms, large kitchen, patio to drink out in the sunshine and a BBQ area. Would need a car, but Europa is a short trip away across the border and up the A5. Affordable too.

Normally fly into Basel, car hire appears to be cheaper on the Swiss side last time I went there. Flew in to Zurich last time as easyJet cancelled our Basel flight. I usually find the cheapest airport to fly to from my local one as I prefer to do the traveling on the other side and not UK side. Flights to Basel were frequent from Bristol at that time (I don't think they are anymore) so Basel is convenient if flights from Manchester are a gooer.

Would recommend at least half a day in Rulantica. Even if you don't like waterparks, it's an essential part of my schedule and not to be missed. Like all of Europa, it's absolutely delightful.

 

[IDB]

I always stay in an Air BnB in a French village around 30 mins away from Europa. The French village and surrounding area are absolutely beautiful. Wonderful countryside, beautiful architecture, a sleepy place that's silent at night with a cockril that wakes you up every morning.

That’s a really interesting point. I must admit I’ve been guilty in the past of focusing trips from themepark A to themepark B, but last year my Germany trip included stays outside of Rust and it was really enjoyable.

 

[Rob]

I’ve no doubt that there are some beautiful places in the vicinity of Rust, on both sides of the border. In fact I have driven through some of them. But I’d always recommend staying in Rust when visiting Europa-Park, whether on resort or somewhere else in the village. It’s just all part of the Europa-Park experience for me.

When staying in the village, a walk through Rust in the morning to the main entrance is such a wonderful way to start your day.

 

[Matt.GC]

That’s a really interesting point. I must admit I’ve been guilty in the past of focusing trips from themepark A to themepark B, but last year my Germany trip included stays outside of Rust and it was really enjoyable.

I made the mistake a few years ago on a DLP trip staying onsite and it felt like I wasn't really in France at all. I did a PA trip last year where I stayed on site, but I always hire a car to make the trip far more than just staying inside the resort bubble. I like to see the wider area as well.

This place in particular is beautiful. Wooden shutters on the windows, traditional culture all around with people going about their daily routines, silent at night. There's some wonderful countryside on both sides of the border near Europa, and there's nothing to stop you seeing Rust or using the onsite resort facilities. If money is tight, you can also venture out to supermarkets and restaurants as well.

I understand wanting to stay inside the bubble, but I like to do a little bit of exploring when I'm abroad.

 

[Eltel007]

Just to add something that may give you peace of mind on the bunk bed situation for adults, taken from the Europa Park website (I remembered checking this myself as my friends son is well over 6ft):

Please note that the bunk beds in the themed hotels have the following sizes:

• 'Santa Isabel' are only suitable for persons up to a body height of 1.75 meters: 90 x 175cm
• 'Bell Rock':
  90 x 200cm (suites in the lighthouse: 70 x 190cm; 80 x 190cm; 90 x 200cm)
• 'Krønasår': 90 x 200cm
• 'Colosseo': 90 x 190cm
• 'Castillo Alcazar': 90 x 200cm
• 'El Andaluz': 90 x 200cm
• At the Camp Resort: 80 x 200cm (except in the tipi tents and Winnetou's Honeymoon Suite)

 

[Skyscraper]

Just to add something that may give you peace of mind on the bunk bed situation for adults, taken from the Europa Park website (I remembered checking this myself as my friends son is well over 6ft):

Please note that the bunk beds in the themed hotels have the following sizes:

• 'Santa Isabel' are only suitable for persons up to a body height of 1.75 meters: 90 x 175cm
• 'Bell Rock':
  90 x 200cm (suites in the lighthouse: 70 x 190cm; 80 x 190cm; 90 x 200cm)
• 'Krønasår': 90 x 200cm
• 'Colosseo': 90 x 190cm
• 'Castillo Alcazar': 90 x 200cm
• 'El Andaluz': 90 x 200cm
• At the Camp Resort: 80 x 200cm (except in the tipi tents and Winnetou's Honeymoon Suite)

Thanks for that, I know to avoid Santa Isabel then. I'm 6ft 2, just short enough for Hotel Colosseo's thankfully as that's the hotel I'm keeping in mind.

 

[Llama]

For hotel I would recommend the deluxe rooms at either Colosseo or Castillo Alcazar, which have views of the Roman piazza or directly into Europa Park respectively. In both cases I think the slight increase in price, which still leaves it on the lower end of all on-site hotel prices, is more than worth it for the view you get in return, which makes it feel like you're inside the park for the entire duration of your trip. I've stayed at both and as a theme park fan (as I suspect you are too) it was a completely unique and wonderful experience.

I would also highly recommend Rulantica, as someone who is not particularly fond of waterparks in general. The theming is incredible.

As for the number of days, I think the more days you can manage and afford, the better. My first visit was 2 days at only EP, and every subsequent visit has been 3 days, 2 at EP with 1 in the middle at Rulantica. I usually feel like this is enough to go on all the rides and see the shows I want to see, including plenty of time to chill and have some drinks, but could easily do a day or two more at an even more relaxed pace.

And if you do stay on site, I can highly recommend having dinner at Silver Lake Saloon, not only because it's one of the more fun restaurants on property, but because you'll get to take the (potentially exclusive to your party!) EP Express monorail back to the hotel through the closed park after dinner. Having a whole full-sized monorail as your private transportation back home at the end of the night is really something!