Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on booking a trip to Germany and South America

Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder

A flight to Rio from London is likely to be cheaper than from Frankfurt (Getty)

Q My girlfriend and I are planning a big trip in late summer/early autumn next year, with a few weeks in Germany before flying out for six weeks in South America. We both love Germany and have always wanted to explore South America, hence the trip. How should we organise the ticket?

Mark Higgins, London

A Your trip sounds fabulous – but I would rather say your trips sound fabulous. Because I recommend you come back to London between your time in Germany and your time in London. Here’s why.

The cost of getting to Germany and back is, with advance planning and flexibility, fairly negligible. I’ve checked fares on easyJet for this September, and on a trip such as Luton to Berlin and Munich to Gatwick, and there’s plenty available at about £30 each way – and, if you use easyJet’s marvellously generous cabin-baggage allowance, you need not spend extra on bags.

Next, in general, London is the best place in Europe from which to begin a long-haul trip. Despite the onerous Air Passenger Duty of £73 for beginning a long-haul trip in the UK, competition is so intense that you will probably pay less for a London-Rio ticket than a Frankfurt-Rio ticket, even though the latter is 14 miles shorter; that was borne out just now in a search I made for this coming September.

The only other thought: if Lufthansa is doing some good deals, then you might find that you can buy a London-Frankfurt-Rio ticket and have a long stopover in Germany. For that, I’d recommend talking to a travel agent you trust.

Every day, our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder