Travel Advice Needed
Aug. 25th, 2004 10:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lostcarparkWe're looking at Florida for a honeymoon destination. Probably should have booked it months ago, but you know how it goes. I know there are some frequent flyers here, so I'd appreciate any suggestions. Oh, and if you know someone who has a lot of travel experience, please ask them to have a look.
There aren't any direct flights between Dublin and Orlando, so we're going to have to change somewhere.
I've done some searching on various sites, and depending when we travel the price is generally working out around €650-€800 per person. However, if I book a direct flight to JFK with Aer Lingus, I can get it for under €300 per person. A Delta flight from JFK to Orlando comes in at around $140, so it would add up to a fairly substantial saving when you multiply it by three.
When I look up the price on Expedia, it offers me hotel and car packages and tells me I save loads by booking them together. It works out around $100 per night for a 3.5 star hotel close to Disney, and about $20 per day for the car.
So some questions:
1. Is it a good idea to book the flights separately?
2. Is JFK a good airport to connect in?
3. How long should I leave between flights for baggage collection and check-in?
4. Will travel insurance cover it if one flight is delayed and we miss the other?
5. Is it worthwhile booking flight, hotel and car together?
6. Is there somewhere else I could get a cheaper deal?
7. Any general advice on traveling to the US these days?
Eagerly awaiting suggestions!
There aren't any direct flights between Dublin and Orlando, so we're going to have to change somewhere.
I've done some searching on various sites, and depending when we travel the price is generally working out around €650-€800 per person. However, if I book a direct flight to JFK with Aer Lingus, I can get it for under €300 per person. A Delta flight from JFK to Orlando comes in at around $140, so it would add up to a fairly substantial saving when you multiply it by three.
When I look up the price on Expedia, it offers me hotel and car packages and tells me I save loads by booking them together. It works out around $100 per night for a 3.5 star hotel close to Disney, and about $20 per day for the car.
So some questions:
1. Is it a good idea to book the flights separately?
2. Is JFK a good airport to connect in?
3. How long should I leave between flights for baggage collection and check-in?
4. Will travel insurance cover it if one flight is delayed and we miss the other?
5. Is it worthwhile booking flight, hotel and car together?
6. Is there somewhere else I could get a cheaper deal?
7. Any general advice on traveling to the US these days?
Eagerly awaiting suggestions!
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no subject
Date: 2004-08-25 06:09 am (UTC)I always recommend to my team that they do the change in the EU first and fly direct. Look at options via Schipol or Copenhagen, also London - you can often pick up charter deals direct from Stanstead, Gatwick and Manchester for Orlando - be well worth looking into those.
As a rule of thumb, you need to leave over 120 minutes for changes at major US airports. On a bad day CUstoms and Immigration will take over an hour, and you could find yourself with a mile+ to walk even within the same terminal buildings (especially at Newark, one of my team missed a connection there in June and had a 6 hour wait).
Double and triple check your forms - they are badly made and laid out. Best to do them in the UK while you're still fresh. If you do end up flying via JFK or a North East airport being Irish will help a lot.
OFten you find that travel agent packages beat the hell out of anything you can put together yourself. They have the economy of scales. It's worth checking out Airtours and the like.