Airport Guides

Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa sits 12 km west of Main Town and is the only Polish airport with a direct rail link inside its terminal — the PKM (Pomeranian Metropolitan Railway) reaches all three Tricity centres in 25-60 minutes. Single Terminal T2, Wizz Air dominant at 47% of Q1 2026 traffic, EES live since 10 April 2026. The airport that connects the Solidarity birthplace, the world amber capital, and the Sopot beach in one Tricity bundle.

Lyon Saint-Exupéry sits 25 km east of Lyon centre and is connected by the Rhônexpress tram-train in 30 minutes for €16.70. Two terminals, an integrated TGV station, and EES live since 10 April 2026. Air France’s third-largest French hub, the gateway to the French Alps, and the airport you fly into for Lyon’s bouchons and Paul Bocuse-tier gastronomy.

Bologna Guglielmo Marconi sits 6 km from Bologna Centrale and is connected by the Marconi Express monorail in 7 minutes for €11. Single terminal, two piers, EES live since 10 April 2026. Lufthansa Group’s deep central-Italy hub plus Ryanair’s third-largest Italian base, with Bologna Centrale the high-speed rail pivot to Milan, Florence, Rome, and Venice.

Paris Orly is the second airport, the southern airport, and since 24 June 2024 it’s also the airport on the Paris Metro. Line 14 finally connects ORY directly to Châtelet in 25 minutes for €14. Four terminals (1, 2, 3 connected; 4 separate), Air France’s domestic and Schengen base, EES live since 10 April 2026. The honest 2026 guide: Metro 14 vs OrlyVal+RER B vs T7, the lounge truth, and the ORY-vs-CDG decision tree.

Kaunas International is Lithuania’s low-cost capital — Ryanair and Wizz Air country, with LOT codeshares filling the network gaps. Single terminal, autumn 2025 expansion +4,400 m², EES live since 10 April 2026. The honest 2026 guide: Bus 29 to Kaunas (€1, 30 min), Ollex direct shuttle to Vilnius (€15, 1h15m), and why KUN has no Priority Pass lounge.

Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport sits 4 km from Old Town — closer to its capital than any other airport in the EU. Single terminal, EES live since 10 April 2026, Tram 4 still suspended for Rail Baltica until June 2026. The honest 2026 guide: Bus 2 vs taxi vs walking, the LHV Lounge realities, the Helsinki ferry interchange that turns TLL into a two-country base, and how the Estonian e-Residency programme actually works.

Complete 2026 guide to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) covering Pegasus Airlines’s main base + Turkish Airlines’s secondary Istanbul hub on the Asian (Anatolian) side, the M4 Metro extension to the airport since October 2022 (~₺18 / ~50 min to Kadıköy), HAVABUS shuttle to Taksim, why EES doesn’t apply (Türkiye is not in Schengen), Türkiye visa-free for UK/EU/US 90/180 + e-Visa for Canada/Australia/India, IGA Lounge International Priority Pass + Pegasus BolBol + Turkish CIP, and when to pick SAW vs IST main.

Complete 2026 guide to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) covering Airbus’s worldwide HQ + A350/A330/A320 final-assembly lines + Aeroscopia museum (Concorde F-BVFC, Super Guppy, Caravelle prototype, A300B), tram T2 direct from terminal to Palais de Justice in ~30 minutes for €2.20, EES live since 10 April 2026 at Hall E for non-Schengen arrivals, ETIAS Q4 2026 launch €20 / 3-year, Salon Pyrénées Priority Pass in Hall C, the Capitole de Toulouse + Cité de l’espace + Canal du Midi UNESCO + Basilique Saint-Sernin, and the violet de Toulouse / Armagnac / Madiran souvenir trifecta.

Complete 2026 guide to Sofia Airport (SOF) covering Bulgaria’s adoption of the euro on 1 January 2026 (21st Eurozone member, locked at 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN), full Schengen membership since March 2024 (air/sea) and January 2025 (land borders), EES live since 10 April 2026, the Sofia Metro Line 1 direct from T2 to Serdika in ~25 minutes for €0.82, T1 (LCCs incl. Wizz mega-base) vs T2 (Bulgaria Air Star Alliance / FS carriers), Plaza Premium T2 Priority Pass + Bulgaria Air Lounge Star Alliance Gold, and Boyana Church UNESCO + Rila Monastery + Plovdiv old town.

Complete 2026 guide to Ljubljana Jože Pučnik Airport (LJU) covering capacity finally crossing 1 million seats H1 2026 (first time since pre-Adria-Airways-collapse 2019), the direct Arriva bus from LJU to Lake Bled bus station (~30-40 min, €4.10 weekday / €1.30 weekend), EES live since 10 April 2026, Slovenia’s three-climates-in-one-country geography (Alpine + Mediterranean + Central European in a 2-hour drive — Triglav, Bohinj, Postojna Cave, Piran), 23 airlines including Iberia frequencies doubled (13→31), and the LJU Business Lounge Priority Pass option.

Complete 2026 guide to Hamburg Airport (HAM / Helmut Schmidt) covering Speicherstadt + Kontorhaus UNESCO World Heritage since 2015 (world’s largest contiguous warehouse complex), the FREE 37m Elbphilharmonie Plaza viewpoint, S-Bahn S1 direct from terminals to Hauptbahnhof in 25 minutes for €3.80 (with the Ohlsdorf train-split quirk — front cars to airport, rear to Poppenbüttel), EES live since 10 April 2026, Plaza Premium T1 + Lufthansa Senator T2 lounges, and Reeperbahn Beatles + Sunday Fischmarkt at Altona.

Complete 2026 guide to Ibiza Airport (IBZ) covering the rental-car cap drop from 16,000 → 14,000 slots for summer 2026 (~12% YoY cut, average ~€42/day), the defeated €15/night ECOTAX hike (rates remain €1-4), EES live since 10 April 2026, EMT bus 10/9/24 to Ibiza Town/Playa d’en Bossa/San Antonio at €3.50-5, UNESCO Dalt Vila Old Town + Posidonia seagrass meadows since 1999, the global #1 club scene (Pacha/Amnesia/Ushuaïa/DC10/Hï Ibiza DJ Mag #1), and the Formentera 30-min ferry alternative.

Complete 2026 guide to Gran Canaria Airport (LPA / Las Palmas) covering Maspalomas’ 404-hectare Special Natural Reserve dunes, the Canary Islands tax twist (NOT in EU customs union, IGIC ~7% replaces IVA 21%), EES live since 10 April 2026, the Global bus 60 to Las Palmas (€2.80) + Global bus 66 to Maspalomas / Playa del Inglés (€3.90 / 40 min, the south-resort default), Vegueta UNESCO Old Town in Las Palmas, Roque Nublo + Tejeda mountain interior, and year-round 20-25°C climate that makes Gran Canaria Europe’s most reliable winter-sun anchor.

Complete 2026 guide to Tenerife South Airport (TFS / Reina Sofía) covering Mount Teide UNESCO (3,718m, Spain’s highest peak), the Canary Islands tax twist (NOT in EU customs union, IGIC ~7% replaces IVA 21%), EES live since 10 April 2026, the cheap TITSA bus 343 to Costa Adeje at €3-4 / 15-20 min, Siam Park (TripAdvisor world #1 water park), the TFS vs TFN airport choice (TFS for south resorts, TFN for Santa Cruz / Loro Parque), year-round 18-28°C eternal-spring climate, and Tenerife wine + papas arrugadas + mojo.

Complete 2026 guide to Split Airport (SPU/Resnik) covering Croatia’s 2023 dual accession (Schengen 26 March 2023 + EUR 1 January 2023), EES live since 10 April 2026, the locals’ insider tip that Trogir UNESCO is just 6 km away and walkable in 60-75 minutes, the cheap Promet 37 public bus at €2 cash to both Split and Trogir, the €8 Pleso prijevoz shuttle to Split bus station, the Hvar/Brač/Korčula/Mljet ferry hub from Split harbour (NOT airport), Diocletian’s Palace UNESCO Old Town built INSIDE the Roman palace walls, Krka National Park day trip, and the Pannonia Priority Pass lounge.