Multi-city booking
Jun 21st, 2007, 05:11 PM
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Multi-city booking
I posted on the Europe forum and was advised to also try this one....I want to go from the SF bay area to NY, to D.C., to Rome, to London and back to the bay area...in that order, over a five week period...Mechanically, I can do it...just not experienced at it and am hoping that those of you that are, may be able to set me on the right track....thanks for your time...
Dupher
Dupher
Jun 21st, 2007, 05:49 PM
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Basically, all airline and online agent websites allow you to search for multi-city itineraries. Enter your whole itinerary and see what kind of pricing you're getting.
Then compare to what you'll pay if you break it up to 3-4 different reservations. For example:
1. Bay Area -> NYC & DC -> Bay Area open jaw roundtrip
2. NYC -> DC on Amtrak or fly
3. DC -> Rome & London -> DC open jaw roundtrip
4. Rome -> London
Or combine 3 & 4 and see if you get something cheaper than those 2 separate. Same thing with 1 & 2.
Then compare to what you'll pay if you break it up to 3-4 different reservations. For example:
1. Bay Area -> NYC & DC -> Bay Area open jaw roundtrip
2. NYC -> DC on Amtrak or fly
3. DC -> Rome & London -> DC open jaw roundtrip
4. Rome -> London
Or combine 3 & 4 and see if you get something cheaper than those 2 separate. Same thing with 1 & 2.
Jun 21st, 2007, 06:02 PM
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Oh, what fun!!!! 
This is right up my ally, so let me give you some (hopefully) valuable suggestions:
Not knowing what your buget is, let me start with the easiest, but probably most expensive way to book this. All of the major travel sites (I mainly use Expedia and Travelocity), have the option to book Multi-City trips. When on their main page the link to Multi-City is in the same box where you would enter your destinations and travel dates. I just did a quick search for you and got all those flights for around $2000. Now to the more complicated, but more than likely cheaper option. Between SF and NY and/or DC, Jet Blue has direct flights. Their rates are usually the lowest, but use a site like Travelocity to give you an idea of the prices for other carriers. I think Frontier has flights too but they connect though Denver. If you check on Travelocity then you will have a general idea of the price range and the flight options/times and then book directly though the airline to save the booking fee. Now between NYC and DC, again Jet Blue has good rates, but if you are not opposed to other forms of travel, Amtrak has good one way rates at times and there is even a bus for only around $20 one-way. Here is the link:http://www.vamoosebus.com/ (There are also the Chinatown buses, which are a little cheaper but I prefer this one). From or to DC the bus leaves/stops in either Arlington, VA or Bethesda, MD, which are both very near DC and both have Metro connections into DC. Now to your Europe portion....what I would suggest is London, then Rome. From DC or NY there are reasonable fares you can get to London, Rome has in my experience been more expensive. Apart from the main travel sites again, try Virgin Airlines and Iceland Air, Iceland Air sometimes has good rates connecting through Reykjavik from either NY JFK or Washington/Balitmore. (Note that Washington/Baltimore is the airport furthest outside of DC but there are train/bus connections that can get you there cheaper than if you go by taxi). British Airlines, KLM/Nothwest, Singapore Airlines (from NY JFK) and Lufthansa would be some other carriers I would recommend looking into for your flight to London. Also look out for specials on some of the US carriers to London, sometimes you will see flights as low as $500 round trip, although airport taxes into London can bump that up a bit. OK, so now let's say you are in London, from there to Rome, check either the city hopper rates with KLM, BA or Lufthansa, or check easyjet.com and ryanair.com for, at times, ridiciously low rates. Now with easyjet and ryanair you will be flying out of London Stansted, which is not the most convienient airport, but the savings may be well worth it. Just make sure that you give yourslef plenty of time to get to the airport, because in rush hour to get to Stansted can cost you some time. As far as places to stay in London/Rome, apart from the regular Hotels, I would take a look at the Hostels as well as a great way to meet people and save some dough. Well, I think that brings us full circle....Hope this helps, inspires you and have a wonderful trip!
This is right up my ally, so let me give you some (hopefully) valuable suggestions: Not knowing what your buget is, let me start with the easiest, but probably most expensive way to book this. All of the major travel sites (I mainly use Expedia and Travelocity), have the option to book Multi-City trips. When on their main page the link to Multi-City is in the same box where you would enter your destinations and travel dates. I just did a quick search for you and got all those flights for around $2000. Now to the more complicated, but more than likely cheaper option. Between SF and NY and/or DC, Jet Blue has direct flights. Their rates are usually the lowest, but use a site like Travelocity to give you an idea of the prices for other carriers. I think Frontier has flights too but they connect though Denver. If you check on Travelocity then you will have a general idea of the price range and the flight options/times and then book directly though the airline to save the booking fee. Now between NYC and DC, again Jet Blue has good rates, but if you are not opposed to other forms of travel, Amtrak has good one way rates at times and there is even a bus for only around $20 one-way. Here is the link:http://www.vamoosebus.com/ (There are also the Chinatown buses, which are a little cheaper but I prefer this one). From or to DC the bus leaves/stops in either Arlington, VA or Bethesda, MD, which are both very near DC and both have Metro connections into DC. Now to your Europe portion....what I would suggest is London, then Rome. From DC or NY there are reasonable fares you can get to London, Rome has in my experience been more expensive. Apart from the main travel sites again, try Virgin Airlines and Iceland Air, Iceland Air sometimes has good rates connecting through Reykjavik from either NY JFK or Washington/Balitmore. (Note that Washington/Baltimore is the airport furthest outside of DC but there are train/bus connections that can get you there cheaper than if you go by taxi). British Airlines, KLM/Nothwest, Singapore Airlines (from NY JFK) and Lufthansa would be some other carriers I would recommend looking into for your flight to London. Also look out for specials on some of the US carriers to London, sometimes you will see flights as low as $500 round trip, although airport taxes into London can bump that up a bit. OK, so now let's say you are in London, from there to Rome, check either the city hopper rates with KLM, BA or Lufthansa, or check easyjet.com and ryanair.com for, at times, ridiciously low rates. Now with easyjet and ryanair you will be flying out of London Stansted, which is not the most convienient airport, but the savings may be well worth it. Just make sure that you give yourslef plenty of time to get to the airport, because in rush hour to get to Stansted can cost you some time. As far as places to stay in London/Rome, apart from the regular Hotels, I would take a look at the Hostels as well as a great way to meet people and save some dough. Well, I think that brings us full circle....Hope this helps, inspires you and have a wonderful trip!
Jun 21st, 2007, 08:05 PM
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You can compare prices at http://matrix.itasoftware.com/cvg/dispatch/
Jun 21st, 2007, 08:10 PM
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Thank you both...Born2fly, I can't believe you went to all that trouble!...one problem I have is that the European part has to start in Rome because we are meeting our son and his wife there and they do not have time to do both Italy and the UK...I will, however, closely follow your advice, and I sincerely thank you for your efforts...
Dupher
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Jun 23rd, 2007, 08:20 AM
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My pleasure dupher...as you can see from my screen name I was Born2Fly, so it was no trouble at all. Flying is my hobby! Since you have to start in Rome, from the US the best rates you would probably get is with Al Italia or a US airliner, but make sure to use the comparison web sites. The recommendation to use ryan air or easy jet would still work within Europe. Enjoy your trip!
