Student airfare finder Student Universe's "Go Deal" today is Munich -- $100 off Munich flights until midnight tonight. We found one for $677.73 New York-Munich June 21 -- add the plus plus ($299.50 taxes and fees) for $977.23 round trip; $877.23 with the Student Universe promotional code. Ouch. Travel headlines have been proclaiming higher summer airfares to Europe, and man, is it true.

Since Student Universe can usually be counted on for some very decent student airfare discounts, we looked for a few other ways to get to Munich on a dime this summer -- and the dimes added up. Let's analyze the options.

Fly to London first

Cheaper US-London fares can always be counted on -- it's a little closer, after all. We found a roundtrip student airfare from Student Universe at $438.45 + $250.20 taxes and fees for $688.65 leaving NYC on June 6. Not bad compared to a Travelocity flight on the same day for $757.60. Sticking with the Student Universe NYC-London flight at $688.65, we've now got to beat the Student Universe total cost to Munich of $877.23.

Budget European airline London-Munich

Use a cheap European airline when looking for flights in Europe -- sales, usually of the less than a buck variety, happen all the time... but not today. We found a 93GBP, or $172.86, on budget Euro airline easyJet,which brings our plane ticket total to $861.51, a savings of $16.22. However, the easyJet flight to Munich leaves, as many budget European airlines do, from London's Stansted airport, and you'll be flying into London's Heathrow. The Student Universe flight on Air India, which does have a London layover, flies you to Munich from New York without changing airports.

Totally not worth saving sixteen bucks to get you and your stuff from Heathrow to Stansted and get checked in, in my opinion -- and you'll barely save a few dollars by the time you pay for a ride to Stansted, anyway. Let's not bag this effort yet, though -- we'll look at taking the train from London to Munich.

RailEurope London-Munich

Trains are a wonderful thing in Europe. Stations are central and travel is a comparatively luxurious snap. I took the train from downtown Munich into London this spring, and it was a great journey. Student traveler-discounted passes covering several countries on one ticket exist; we looked at a Eurail Selectpass Youth for $249, which will cover three-five bordering countries over five days worth of travel. Added to our $688.65 NYC-London, that's already exceeded the cost of the Student Universe NYC-Munich ticket of $877.23 (remember, that price is only good today). The student travel pass is only good on the continent, so you'll have to get from London to France, where you'll start using your Selectpass -- the Eurostar, the train that goes under the English channel, will take you from London to Paris or Brussels in a couple of hours, and is another $180 round trip. You'll have to get from your Heathrow gate to the train station platform -- not that hard, actually, but does cost a few bucks.

NYC-London and Paris by plane, Munich by train

While using the NYC-London student airfare of $688.65, you could also catch a plane from London to Paris and pick up a $157 roundtrip train to Munich and pay a trip total of $949 -- best London-Paris roundtrip airfare found was 55.71GBP, or $103.35, on easyJet. That flight leaves from London's Luton airport, so you'll have to schlep your stuff there from Heathrow, where you'll be landing coming in New York; you'll also have to get from Paris' Charles de Gaulle aiport to the Paris train station for your Munich leg.

Is it worth it?

The cheapest and the easiest travel method isn't usually the same -- in this case, it is. Best option for getting from New York to Munich above is, ultimately, the Student Universe Go Deal at $877.23, provided you reserve by midnight tonight. If you choose other methods, you'll have to transfer between airports at the least and airports, buses and train stations at the most. These transfers have to match various transportation mode schedules, which I could not make them do in these examples without spending substantial chunks of time hanging around train stations. That can be quite fun, actually, but the passage of hours means you'll have to find food and drink and you'll be dragging your gear, so choices will be limited to eating places nearby. Without some time to seach for some cheap street stands... kaching, kaching, kaching.

Head for the Student Universe site by midnight EST to book -- remember that you may not find the same airfare we did; costs will vary depending on your travel dates.

While in Germany

Grab a German rail pass at a discount now to get around Germany once you arrive -- Rail Europe is running a sweet World Cup soccer special. And book a top Munich hostel or Berlin hostel right this minute before they're full for the summer. Enjoy your trip!

Related:

What's a Go Deal? Find out, get the promotional code and grab a student travel discount now | Search student airfare finders | Find best German hostels | Student Universe giving away $10K in travel

^{Photos: top - Student Universe screenshot; middle: courtesy easyjet.com; middle and bottom: Kathleen Crislip}