bobster

Planning a trip to both countries in the first three weeks of October. Anyone have an opinion on whether to start in Scotland or Ireland? One theory might be to start in Scotland because it may be colder there later in the month. Any truth to that? Am flying in from US; is it easier to get to one country than another? Anyone have any luck with Open jaw tickets that would let us fly into Scotland and out of Ireland, back to the States? As cheap as Ryan Air is, probably not worth it? Thanks for any advice. Bob

Maira

I would think that an important element on deciding the route logistics would be transportation cost(s) and flexibility. Is there an established route (cheaper, one-way) between your departure airport and a city in either Scotland or Ireland? i.e. Boston-Shannon, Chicago-Edinburgh, etc...

Are you splitting the three weeks 50/50?

bobster

In answer to Maira's question, I don't have a real good departure city in Kansas City. closer to Chicago, but could also do Baltimore, Boston, NY. On your second question, we'll probably spend a couple more days in Ireland/Northern Ireland, but close to 50/50.

red63corvette

Bobster,

Just an FYI. I shopped for my tickets for a few months using Expedia, Travelocity, etc. I ended up getting much better rates going directly to the airline's own web sites. I was surprised because in the past I've always got the best deals from the others.

I checked every day and got in on a 24 hour window at British Midland where my Chicago to Edinburgh tix were only $349 round trip. Of course, when I arrive, they may give me a parachute and tell me to have a seat outside on the wing. lol

~ Sheryl

bobster

thanks for the advice, Sheryl. About how long before your trip did you get your deal from British Midland? Looks like Chicago is my best choice, too. Any other east coast destination doesn't get me back to KC the final night.

red63corvette

Bobster,

I started shopping around the fall of last year and the deal came along Feb. 13th (had to look in my travel journal for the exact date).

Chicago was definitely the cheapest place for me to fly out of. South Bend was closest and Indianapolis, IN and Columbus, OH were also options, so I felt like I'd truly shopped the best deal.

Part of my getting such a great deal was my date/time flexibility. I didn't care when I left and was happy as long as I was able to stay a couple of weeks. I'm flying out in the evening mid-week and coming home in the morning mid-week.

I was also surprised to find there's a pretty good sized price difference between flights even on the same day. If I wanted a one hour layover I had to add nearly $100 to my ticket. For a hundred bucks, I can find somebody to share a cup of coffee with for a few hours. lol

~ Sheryl