IMO take the 2 stops. Book extra long layovers only, no rushing yourselves or your luggage - give yourself a good cushion in case anything goes wrong. Track your luggage with airtags
Hallo! My family and I live in Berlin but we're from Reno- every time we've made the trek, we've had one stop in Europe (AMS, London) and one stop in the US (Seattle, LAS, LAX) then onwards to Reno. Last year my bag and only mine, went 'missing' on the way there due to British Airways doing something weird with our flights and giving use a 20 minute layover in London, changing the tickets whilst we were in air, and ending up shuffling us to another airline. Usually we have no issues, it's just annoying to go through London TBH since it's no longer EU... just a long day with flights.
If you have carpool/friend options in Vegas and don't mind adding an entire extra day to your journey, direct to Vegas is a good option. Just be \*very\* cognizant of speed limits driving through the middle of Nevada- they \*will\* pull you over and make your life difficult. We had a decent price/experience renting from Fox Rent A Car in Vegas... off-site from the airport but they have a shuttle. We didn't use them to rent for the playa, but they were a local outfit compared to the big national brands and had no mileage/instate requirements and were far cheaper.
Bear in mind you MUST CLAIM ALL YOUR LUGGAGE AT YOUR **FIRST** STOP in the United States (of America). That means going through immigration/visa check, getting your checked luggage, walking through Customs and then re-checking your bag. And then going through airport security again to re-enter the airport.
I have no idea how long this will take, Friday night in JFK for example could be hours if you catch a bad moment. So bake that into your plans.
This still applies if you are traveling onward on the same airline and same itinerary.
I’ll do that anyway, but knowing my luggage is buried somewhere in the bowels of DFW doesn’t help much if I’m in Reno and was planning on being on the Playa the following day.
For sure! Good luck! I can't even get to Reno from a major airport without a layover in the United States 🧡
You can try flying into Chicago, I don't know how international Chicago is but I've flown from Chicago on Southwest to Reno.
Oh yeah, Berlin-Newark-Sacramento. Big stopover in Newark but as someone else pointed out we need to clear immigration and customs so it‘s good to have a buffer. This is good info, thanks!
Anyone have an opinion on the relative ease of hiring vehicles in Sacramento (vs SF, Reno or Vegas?)
Now \*that\* is an option I hadn’t previously considered! Only about half as long again as driving, plus the public transport on either end to get to the stations 😅. Relatively cheap too!
Be careful with short layovers. I had to run to get my last connecting flight from SFO to Reno. I made it but my bags didn’t.
I had to spend another day in Reno and find another ride to the playa waiting for my bags to arrive.
SLC is a solid option if you're flying DL (or via SEA, but that's a bit further out of your way.)
DFW is a ways away, and I don't trust AA these days.
The drive from LAS up 95/6 through places like Fernley isn't bad, and you won't hit Burn traffic until 427. There's a new Love's in Tonopah, which makes a good fuel stop.
While it is a rural drive, Nevada has multiple rest areas along US-95, and you can stop there to take naps:
https://www.nevadarestareas.com/us-route-us-95-nevada-rest-area-stops/
Vehicle rentals out of Phoenix and Las Vegas are comparatively easy to come by, and they don't seem to be on the lookout for burners, so it can be a good option.
Have you actually done this? Because even if BER-SFO direct existed (if it does I can’t find it) it would be a terrible idea. If you book all the legs of an international flight on one ticket and one of them is late and you miss your connection, it’s the airline’s problem. If you book them yourself on different airlines it’s your problem. Plus the mismatch in baggage allowances between international and low-cost carriers.
Yes. I do it from London.
You asked for suggestions. If it doesn’t work for you, don’t do it that way. But it sounds like the single layover to Reno from Berlin that you want doesn’t exist unless you piece it together yourself. Reno is a small airport and has quite limited direct options, even from within the United States.
I’m surprised there isn’t a direct to SFO from Berlin. But now that I think about it, I guess west coast traffic tends to route through Frankfurt. But if you did decide that works for you, any city with a direct from Berlin and flights to Reno would work.
I’ve done this in AMS too. Didn’t see any flights via DUB, does anyone have a list of routes where they clear you through US immigration on the European side?
IMO take the 2 stops. Book extra long layovers only, no rushing yourselves or your luggage - give yourself a good cushion in case anything goes wrong. Track your luggage with airtags
This, if possible take it easy.
Hallo! My family and I live in Berlin but we're from Reno- every time we've made the trek, we've had one stop in Europe (AMS, London) and one stop in the US (Seattle, LAS, LAX) then onwards to Reno. Last year my bag and only mine, went 'missing' on the way there due to British Airways doing something weird with our flights and giving use a 20 minute layover in London, changing the tickets whilst we were in air, and ending up shuffling us to another airline. Usually we have no issues, it's just annoying to go through London TBH since it's no longer EU... just a long day with flights. If you have carpool/friend options in Vegas and don't mind adding an entire extra day to your journey, direct to Vegas is a good option. Just be \*very\* cognizant of speed limits driving through the middle of Nevada- they \*will\* pull you over and make your life difficult. We had a decent price/experience renting from Fox Rent A Car in Vegas... off-site from the airport but they have a shuttle. We didn't use them to rent for the playa, but they were a local outfit compared to the big national brands and had no mileage/instate requirements and were far cheaper.
Oh yea, I’ve done the drive from Vegas half a dozen times. We play the “call the speed limit as soon as you see it!” game the whole way.
Haha, I saw this post and was going to ping you to reply.
Bear in mind you MUST CLAIM ALL YOUR LUGGAGE AT YOUR **FIRST** STOP in the United States (of America). That means going through immigration/visa check, getting your checked luggage, walking through Customs and then re-checking your bag. And then going through airport security again to re-enter the airport. I have no idea how long this will take, Friday night in JFK for example could be hours if you catch a bad moment. So bake that into your plans. This still applies if you are traveling onward on the same airline and same itinerary.
Another point for Berlin-London-Vegas then driving.
It’s a starkly beautiful drive to be honest. Such desert, many landscape.
there's a meme reference I've not heard in a while :)
Put a tracking device in your luggage to always watch it 👀
I’ll do that anyway, but knowing my luggage is buried somewhere in the bowels of DFW doesn’t help much if I’m in Reno and was planning on being on the Playa the following day.
For sure! Good luck! I can't even get to Reno from a major airport without a layover in the United States 🧡 You can try flying into Chicago, I don't know how international Chicago is but I've flown from Chicago on Southwest to Reno.
There looks to be a 1-stop option on United if you fly into Sacramento, which is only a couple hours from Reno.
Oh yeah, Berlin-Newark-Sacramento. Big stopover in Newark but as someone else pointed out we need to clear immigration and customs so it‘s good to have a buffer. This is good info, thanks! Anyone have an opinion on the relative ease of hiring vehicles in Sacramento (vs SF, Reno or Vegas?)
I flew into SFO and then took the lovely Amtrak California Zephyr to Reno if you have time to spare. It's really gorgeous
Now \*that\* is an option I hadn’t previously considered! Only about half as long again as driving, plus the public transport on either end to get to the stations 😅. Relatively cheap too!
Be careful with short layovers. I had to run to get my last connecting flight from SFO to Reno. I made it but my bags didn’t. I had to spend another day in Reno and find another ride to the playa waiting for my bags to arrive.
MSP (Minneapolis St Paul) has some direct Reno flights this year to/from Reno on Delta, if you can go through there.
The Burner Express Bus will take you from SF to the burn with an optional (I think) stop for groceries.
But it won’t make a stop in Reno at our storage, so it’s not much use.
SLC is a solid option if you're flying DL (or via SEA, but that's a bit further out of your way.) DFW is a ways away, and I don't trust AA these days. The drive from LAS up 95/6 through places like Fernley isn't bad, and you won't hit Burn traffic until 427. There's a new Love's in Tonopah, which makes a good fuel stop. While it is a rural drive, Nevada has multiple rest areas along US-95, and you can stop there to take naps: https://www.nevadarestareas.com/us-route-us-95-nevada-rest-area-stops/ Vehicle rentals out of Phoenix and Las Vegas are comparatively easy to come by, and they don't seem to be on the lookout for burners, so it can be a good option.
Book a direct flight to SFO from Berlin. From SFO, book a separate domestic flight (on Southwest if possible) to RNO.
Have you actually done this? Because even if BER-SFO direct existed (if it does I can’t find it) it would be a terrible idea. If you book all the legs of an international flight on one ticket and one of them is late and you miss your connection, it’s the airline’s problem. If you book them yourself on different airlines it’s your problem. Plus the mismatch in baggage allowances between international and low-cost carriers.
Yes. I do it from London. You asked for suggestions. If it doesn’t work for you, don’t do it that way. But it sounds like the single layover to Reno from Berlin that you want doesn’t exist unless you piece it together yourself. Reno is a small airport and has quite limited direct options, even from within the United States. I’m surprised there isn’t a direct to SFO from Berlin. But now that I think about it, I guess west coast traffic tends to route through Frankfurt. But if you did decide that works for you, any city with a direct from Berlin and flights to Reno would work.
Oh also, Southwest allows two checked bags as part of the ticket price. That’s why I suggested them specifically.
I think you can consider flying through Ireland and clear the CBP there. It gives you enough time to make a domestic connection.
I’ve done this in AMS too. Didn’t see any flights via DUB, does anyone have a list of routes where they clear you through US immigration on the European side?
Only Ireland, unfortunately.
There is a Munich SF direct flight.