Best possible flight schedule?
 

After dozens of setbacks and postponements, we are finally going to vietnam! I have to book the flights this april for april 2013 because we are using frequent flier miles. So begins the official planning and research...for real.

I posted this question on another forum too, hoping to get as much feedback as possible.

What flight itinerary would you take to make the travel from Boston to Hanoi least painful? Our party will include me (39), dh (44), mil (68), ds (9), ds (9). We'll be flying in economy class.

-Boston to California to Asian gateway to Hanoi

-Boston to new York/Newark/dc to Asian gateway to Hanoi

-Boston to European gateway to Asian gateway to Hanoi

Flying west over toward Asia (likely on asiana) lands us in Hanoi around 10 pm. Flying over Europe (like via lufthansa and thai airways) lands in Hanoi around 10 am.

I was thinking going the Asian route and landing a night would be good because we'd be tired and want to go to bed right away.

Thoughts? Anyone travel this distance with kids and had success helping kids get over the jet lag?

Thanks!

We weren't traveling from the East Coast, but from San Francisco-Seoul-Hanoi, and landed in Hanoi about 10:10 p.m. It was great for us, because after a good night's sleep, we were ready to go the next morning, and suffered no jet lag.

Great to hear, SF! Were you on a noonish flight to Seoul? How'd you do when you got home? What was your flight schedule?

Thanks!

Personally, I like arriving late at night (my usual flight to Bangkok lands just before midnight). I am ready to sleep, and awaken early in the morning, ready to go. Aside of being tired early the first night or two, I have very little difficulty with jetlag.

Caveat: everyone is different.

We left SFO on a United non-stop at 11:05 a.m. on a Saturday morning, arriving Seoul 4:25 p.m. Left Seoul (on Asiana) at 7:20 p.m., arrived Hanoi 10:10 p.m. (Sunday night)

We returned from Hong Kong. Left Hong Kong at 9:55 a.m. on a Saturday morning, arrived Tokyo 2:45 p.m.. Left Tokyo 5:05 p.m., arrived San Francisco 10:10 a.m. THE SAME DAY :-)

If you are using Star Alliance, do look at flights to Narita (Toyko) from Washington Dulles and Chicago either on United or ANA. From there you can fly Asiana to Hanoi via Seoul. That's what we did and it worked out well. We returned via Bangkok and Narita.

you might check out my two fav carriers at the moment...i live in boston but find connections cheaper and better from jfk...

finn air and korean air

united is the preferred carrier into vietnam, maybe the only american, but personally i do not favor them and i hate to go to chicago which almost all boston united flights require..

This is terrific feedback! I had thought that going right to sleep would be a good idea, but then I cherish my sleep. :-) I didn't think I'd be able to bypass jet lag though! What a bonus! Just in case though, I figure it might be worth using melatonin for a couple of nights to ensure a restful sleep.

I'm flying on Continental/United FF miles I'm glad to hear that flying out of SFO works. I hear LAX is nightmarish. And going out of NYC, I'd fly into LGA from BOS and have to cab over to JFK.

Flying home is a different matter that I'm still trying to figure out. I'm flying out of SGN and am hoping to finagle an extra long layover somewhere and get out and see the city. Given my options for reward travel, my layover cities can be Tokyo, Hong Kong, Seoul and Peking. Any suggestions about which of these would be the most accessible for a quicky tour? Accessible in terms of being able to get someplace interesting within 45 minutes from the airport and having enough time to get back. These all have about a 12 hour layover.

Thank you so much!

Oops...Peking = Beijing. Was reading the airport code. :-) I'm not THAT dated.

If you are a melatonin responder, having some melatonin to take the first few nights will help. In any case, getting out into the bright sunlight early in the morning will help reset your body clock.

If you can get a two-night layover on your way home (I think that's what is allowed), I think Hong Kong would be easiest. It's a fairly compact city with great public transportation.

narita has several options for the local community with tours offered by the info desk..

we have taken a train into narita town and walked around and visited a temple which was interesting and fun and also had a meal there..

HK is another option i would consider

from bos i fly directly to JFK--last time jet blue, but also the other major carriers too