Melissa5

Have you flown from San Diego (or LAX) to Cape Town via London? Do you think it's less stressful to fly all the way and get it over with? Or is it less stressful to stopover in London, and sleep 2 nights in London?

Flying makes me anxious, although I love to travel, so I put up with it. I hate airports, security lines, and feeling confined on long flights. I have mild claustrophobia, which doesn't help. My hip also gets stiff and uncomfortable with too much sitting. The longest flight I've ever taken is the 12-hour flight to New Zealand from LAX. So the flights from San Diego to Cape Town, South Africa are causing me considerable anxiety! We are ready to book our flights.

I thought perhaps if we flew from San Diego to London, then spent 2 nights in London, that would break up the flights. Then after 2 nights in London there would be the long flight from London to Cape Town.

My husband is pretty sure he has enough points to upgrade us to business class. We have never flown business class, so I'm sure that will help! We have always flown in the economy seats.

This is my first trip to South Africa. I have been to London once for 4 nights, and loved it, enroute from Krakow to LAX. We stopped in London for 4 nights. But I also spent 1 night in London enroute from LAX to Prague, and that turned out to be a bad choice. One night in London near the airport wasn't fun at all, and didn't really give me enough time to relax between flights.

I'd love to hear your advice and experiences! Thanks.

Carlux

We recently had friends visit us when we were staying in Cape Town - they came from Asheville, NC, which involved driving to nearest airport, flight to Washington, LONG flight from there by way of Dakar to Jo'burg, then on to the Cape. 7 hours time difference.

We suggested a stop in London, they just wanted to get it all over with in one trip. Even travelling business class they figured it was just too long, and really wished they had stopped. So if you can manage to stop somewhere I think it's a good idea. Get some real sleep, start to recover a bit from jet lag, and then continue.

Melissa5

Carlux: Thanks for sharing the experience of your friends.

Celia

What airline are you flying? British Airways business class is the best to SA, I think.

Years ago when we always flew coach from Chicago to Jo'burg, we always stayed over in London for one night, and felt it gave us a chance to get a leg up on jet lag, as well as see a little of London. But since we've been able to fly business class, we don't stay over. The layover time is long, all day, but the BA business class lounge at Heathrow is wonderful! There's all the food and drink you could want, and of course wi-fi, and comfortable seats. You can even get a facial and a massage for your stiffness. Then in the evening you board the plane and spend the night sleeping in your lie-flat bed, and wake up in time for breakfast before landing in South Africa.

So if you can do business, class, and on BA, I'd say don't waste a day that you could be spending in South Africa.

traveler318

I flew from SFO to LHR to JNB last year, similar distance. Was business on United to London, then on South African Airways. I was worried I would be a wreck, but it was fine for several reasons. First, we had a six hour lay over, so plenty of time to decompress, have dinner and not worry about the connection. Second, flying business, we could use the Star Alliance Lounge and have a shower. That made a huge difference. Third, I found the South African seat very comfortable for sleeping, and got the best night's sleep I ever had on a flight. We even connected on to a domestic flight once we got to JNB. Not saying we were not tired, but to me it was better than spending time in London would have been. We flew home CPT - LHR - SFO on British and that was fine too, although we thought the Star Lounge's showers were better.

Now, if I was coach, I wouldn't consider flying straight through. Then I'd spend at least one night at one of the Heathrow airport hotels or two nights in town. So I think you should see if you can go in business or first, as that would be the determining factor, at least for me.

Best of luck.

pgriffin

Are there direct flights from San Diego to Cape Town?

With who?

Internet says flight time of 20+ hours but does not give any carrier that does it.

amyb

Personally I'd want to get it over with and not burn precious vacation days just killing time somewhere else. For my flight to China (15+ hours from Chicago) I had Xanax, which really helped make the flight more enjoyable. I'm sure your doc would hook you up with something. I also upgraded to economy plus on United so I had more legroom than coach.

Gardyloo

Certainly breaking the journey is advisable. We travel from the west coast to South Africa fairly often, and whenever possible we take a break in Europe, both coming and going.

Sometimes - not always - airlines will price trips with long stopovers in both directions as if they were two "nested" round trips, e.g. SAN-LHR-SAN and LHR-CPT-LHR. This will cause the price to be much higher than the straight "through" fare, SAN-CPT-SAN, but not always, and by avoiding a stopover on the return flight it may not be too huge an issue.

However, any layover of 24 hours or more in the UK will subject you to a departure tax (UK Air Passenger Duty) that - in business class especially - will be several hundred dollars for the two of you. You might want to look into an alternative routing, with a stopover in, say, Amsterdam, rather than the UK, to avoid this tax.

There are also daily flights to London from New York, Chicago, Newark and Washington DC that leave in the morning and arrive around 9 PM at Heathrow. Coming from the west coast, you would have to spend a night in NYC, Chicago or DC (or take a red-eye if it connects) and again in London, but you'd be sleeping in a bed in both cases. We love the daytime flights over the Atlantic - it really helps us on the jetlag front, but it does require more overall travel time, so it doesn't work for everyone.

As for upgrading, this very much depends on the airline. It's not just having enough miles/points to upgrade, it's also having seats available for upgrades. As a rule, South Africa is a tough upgrade route, so you might want to look at simply purchasing business class fares. In that case I would definitely research flights out of LAX and into both Cape Town and Joburg - lots more competition at both ends. There are umpteen daily and quite affordable flights between JNB and CPT.

Also look at premium economy as well as business class. On some airlines, e.g. British Airways, it's a definite step up in comfort, although by no means the same as business class.

sandi

... and that Air Paxs Duty via LHR is going up. For me the reason wherever flying avoid going thru the UK. Their taxes are ridiculous.

Living on the East Coast, regardless the destination I always fly straight thru even if flying west, i.e., Asia as flights go over the pole and often actually a shorter flight than if from the west coast.

In your case though, from the West Coast, I would stop somewhere if seats available and any additional fees aren't that exhorbitant. And if you have the days for this stopover, go for it.

canadian_robin

We fly to Africa from Western Canada via British Airways (much better than the AC/SAA combo in terms of service/aircraft) through Heathrow to Cape Town or Nairobi, depending on where in Africa we are headed - more or less two back to back eight hour flights (although with several hours in London between the flights). Much as we hate to give up a night in Africa, and the fact that the flight schedules are such that we have several hours in London between flights, we always overnight in London. As a result, we arrive in Africa less tired (after a good sleep in London), we have a full day in London to visit friends or see a few highlights, and it reduces the risk of DVT. On our first visit to Africa in 2004, we flew straight through, and vowed not to do it again - for us, it was not a pleasant way to start the trip. We were so tired, that the first couple of days in Africa were not well spent. Arriving rested is especially important to us given that we self-drive and have to be fit to drive when we get off the second fight. If you are on a guided tour, arriving tired is not such an issue, as long as you are not so exhausted that you are unable to enjoy yourself. CR

Celia

Gardyloo, thanks for that info on the London departure tax. Boo hiss to that!

AKR1

If, and only if, you are in a business class seat with a Lie Flat bed ( note this is different from an angled flat seat) on BOTH legs, then consider going straight through. Economy plus definitely does not qualify for this. Alternatively break journey in Europe or US east coast destinations such as NY or Washington for SAA connections or Atlanta for Delta connection to JNB, for a day.
Gardyloos post above gives spot on advice as well and I echo what he said also.

Melissa5

Thanks everybody for sharing your experience and advice! I'll let you know what we decide.

KathBC

It really depends on the individual.

I personally would never fly straight thru to SA or even Nairobi without at least 1 night to sleep in a comfortable bed and breathe some fresh air before the next leg. The stopover is well worth it if it means arriving at the destination with less jet lag than if without one.

Will be flying from the west coast of Canada in June and because I enjoy London so much and have friends there will be staying for several days prior to continuing on to Cape Town and then 1 night in Windsor by Heathrow on the way back.

pgriffin

Out of pure curiosity I checked this out in some detail on the net. Sorry to spoil the party here but there are definitely no direct, non-stop flights from the West Coast of America (or San Diego) to Capetown. So the whole stopover/no stopover is not a concern - you will be stopping over.

AKR1

I think the OP knows that. This discussion is whether to break journey at the stop off point for a day or two or just continue to the connection.

pgriffin

Ok, fair enough I didn't get that so my mistake!! I'll leave now as I don't have anything useful to add whatsoever.

shouldbewriting

We traveled from SFO to Johannesburg via Dubai, over-nighting at a good hotel right in the airport which avoided all kinds of security lines etc. Luggage was checked right through to Joburg, hotel provided all toiletries etc. 16 hours to Dubai; 8 next day to J. Sure you could go to Capetown instead.

shouldbewriting

Should have said airline was Emirates -- excellent service, flight not full on first leg.

Melissa5

KathBC: Where do you recommend if we stay 1 night in Windsor on the way back, as you are doing? We once spent 1 night at a London airport hotel and hated it. It was noisy with doors slamming in the hall all night, and we had an awful dinner nearby and didn't see any of London at all. Thanks! Enjoy your trip and thanks for the reply.

YES, everybody, I do realize there aren't any direct flights from San Diego to Cape Town. That would be a doozy of a long flight if there were! The choice is between spending 1 or 2 nights in London, or taking a connecting flight in London the same day, with no overnight. I would prefer 3 nights in London, but my husband wishes to save more nights for South AFrica.

IT's helping a lot to read everyone's experiences and advice. I'm leaning towards a night or 2 in London in both directions. My husband prefers no overnights in London, but he's willing to stay in London if I feel it's necessary. (Originally he enticed me into this trip by promising a trip to Paris and South Africa! That sounded great to me. But it has somehow become a trip to South Africa, with a minimum number of nights in London instead of Paris.)

When flying to New Zealand or Europe, I have always felt like it is stretching my limits of what I can tolerate and still call it a vacation. So for me, probably 2 nights in London on the way to Cape Town, and at least 1 night in London on the way home makes the most sense.

How many nights would we need to be able to stay in the Cotswolds instead of London? I do love London, but we have never seen England outside of London.