Ideas for 3-5 day stopover location on route to NE US
Discussion
Hello.
Looking for some suggestions as I'm struggling for inspiration.
America side of my Family is meeting up at the beach in Delaware on July 14-21. Various airports work for this including PHL, JFK, EWR, BWI, IAD,
However I'd like to extend a holiday the week before, spending a few days somewhere with warm (25C+), calm seas and decent holiday weather.
Also need to spend a couple of days in NYC, 12th and 13th seem to make sense.
Flying with wife, 7 year old and 2 year old. We're 40mins from MAN. Getting to London is a pain.
Other criteria:
Would prefer to fly direct(ish) from Manchester (else Bermuda would be perfect). Ideally not a super-long flight (which takes out West Coast US, which also fails on sea temps)
Should have easy onward travel to JFK.
US, or having US pre-clearance would be nice.
Zika free location (Else Barbados would work)
Not keen on spending much more than £2k on flights, but I have over 200k AAdvantage miles and 70k Avios which could keep costs down (though don't want to 'waste' them if there's a good sale fare). Happy on economy, provided there's in-seat entertainment for any long flight.
As the Caribbean is out with Zika, and Bermuda is a bit of a headache to get to (overshooting to JFK then coming back East), the only other place in that direction I've come up with is Florida Keys (flying either to Key West or into Miami).
Other alternative could be to stop over somewhere in the Mediterranean, but finding that onward flights to US are either complex (multiple stops) or very expensive.
Would really appreciate any ideas.
Looking for some suggestions as I'm struggling for inspiration.
America side of my Family is meeting up at the beach in Delaware on July 14-21. Various airports work for this including PHL, JFK, EWR, BWI, IAD,
However I'd like to extend a holiday the week before, spending a few days somewhere with warm (25C+), calm seas and decent holiday weather.
Also need to spend a couple of days in NYC, 12th and 13th seem to make sense.
Flying with wife, 7 year old and 2 year old. We're 40mins from MAN. Getting to London is a pain.
Other criteria:
Would prefer to fly direct(ish) from Manchester (else Bermuda would be perfect). Ideally not a super-long flight (which takes out West Coast US, which also fails on sea temps)
Should have easy onward travel to JFK.
US, or having US pre-clearance would be nice.
Zika free location (Else Barbados would work)
Not keen on spending much more than £2k on flights, but I have over 200k AAdvantage miles and 70k Avios which could keep costs down (though don't want to 'waste' them if there's a good sale fare). Happy on economy, provided there's in-seat entertainment for any long flight.
As the Caribbean is out with Zika, and Bermuda is a bit of a headache to get to (overshooting to JFK then coming back East), the only other place in that direction I've come up with is Florida Keys (flying either to Key West or into Miami).
Other alternative could be to stop over somewhere in the Mediterranean, but finding that onward flights to US are either complex (multiple stops) or very expensive.
Would really appreciate any ideas.
The runway at Key West isn't long enough to accommodate anything other than puddle-jumpers and private jets, so I think you are limited to Miami, Orlando or Tampa as an entry point if FL is to be your destination. Silver Airways operate a regular turbo-prop service from Orlando to Key West.
Or you could travel to Orlando or Tampa, rent a car and head to Sanibel/Captiva - which is a sensational beach location.
Very simple and cheap to get from Orlando (less so Tampa) to NE seaboard airports - e.g. SWA,MCO-BWI, 3 x daily service - one way = $79.00
Or you could travel to Orlando or Tampa, rent a car and head to Sanibel/Captiva - which is a sensational beach location.
Very simple and cheap to get from Orlando (less so Tampa) to NE seaboard airports - e.g. SWA,MCO-BWI, 3 x daily service - one way = $79.00
If you are looking for pre-clearance, the nearest airport to MAN that has clearance would be Dublin, worth the stopover there to gain preclearance. Did it last year when flying to LAX (LBA-DUB-LAX), spent 15 minutes clearing immigration while my friends who flew LHR to LAX spent 3 hours upon arrival clearing immigration.
Thanks for the tips on Florida West Coast. Had actually been looking at Naples area but didn't know of the island you mention (and several similar in the region). Looks like I can get off peak Avios flights to Tampa (Treasure Island) or into Fort Myers with AAdvantage miles.
Interesting tip on Dublin for pre-clearance. I've probably traveled to the US upwards of 100 times in the past 10 years and been caught up in some horrendous lines. Worst was actually Houston (on route to brother in law in Austin).
Flew into JFK in October and found their new machines really improved the process. There was only 10 minutes of waiting to see a person.
Interesting tip on Dublin for pre-clearance. I've probably traveled to the US upwards of 100 times in the past 10 years and been caught up in some horrendous lines. Worst was actually Houston (on route to brother in law in Austin).
Flew into JFK in October and found their new machines really improved the process. There was only 10 minutes of waiting to see a person.
Hilton Head Island in S Carolina ?
No direct flights but you could fly into JFK, then get a return down to Hilton Head probably simplest....
...or any other major East coast airport probably has links into HHI which might work better for a shorter 2nd leg...then up to JFK direct from HHI at the end.
No direct flights but you could fly into JFK, then get a return down to Hilton Head probably simplest....
...or any other major East coast airport probably has links into HHI which might work better for a shorter 2nd leg...then up to JFK direct from HHI at the end.
Edited by Steve Campbell on Friday 12th January 15:34
After spending a few evenings looking at the options, found the following route won overall:
MAN - LHR cash / top up Avios account (could have included for 'free' in BDA booking, but added over £500 to the taxes & charges)
LHR - LGW taxi
LGW - BDA, 52k avios & £500ish
BDA - PHL- 15k avios, + 30k AA Miles & £300ish
PHL - MAN - 120k AA miles & £16
Weather in Bermuda seemed a little more pleasant than the Southern US states, plus shorter flights all round which should suit the kids. The US pre-clearance at a quiet airport should also be a bonus.
Cash price would have been about £6k for the 4 of us, so seems to be a good use of the miles.
MAN - LGW is a bit of a faff, but thought it best to deal with this on home turf with awake / excited kids. Beats connecting in the US.
Best part of flying out of PHL may be the Chickie & Pete's for one last cheesesteak before leaving Philly area.
MAN - LHR cash / top up Avios account (could have included for 'free' in BDA booking, but added over £500 to the taxes & charges)
LHR - LGW taxi
LGW - BDA, 52k avios & £500ish
BDA - PHL- 15k avios, + 30k AA Miles & £300ish
PHL - MAN - 120k AA miles & £16
Weather in Bermuda seemed a little more pleasant than the Southern US states, plus shorter flights all round which should suit the kids. The US pre-clearance at a quiet airport should also be a bonus.
Cash price would have been about £6k for the 4 of us, so seems to be a good use of the miles.
MAN - LGW is a bit of a faff, but thought it best to deal with this on home turf with awake / excited kids. Beats connecting in the US.
Best part of flying out of PHL may be the Chickie & Pete's for one last cheesesteak before leaving Philly area.
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