GuysNS

Hi,
We are looking to travel to Scotland/Ireland from Halifax and are wondering if- since a lot of flights connect through London anyway- we should maybe take a day or two to see some things there instead of immediately switching planes and proceeding on. I'm not sure how bad the jetlag will be and how much time we would need. Would an extra day or two be a worthwhile addition to our trip, or would we just be wearing ourselves out running around and not really get to enjoy it?

alanRow

You do know that Zoom fly to Glasgow from Halifax

WillTravel

Alan is right, of course, but you might also like to do an open-jaw ticket, with either Glasgow or Belfast, and London.

alanRow

Think Zoom only fly to Glasgow & Gatwick from Halifax - and I can't remember if they are non-stop

If so you could fly into one and out of the other - take the Caledonian Sleeper service between London and Scotland (or vice versa) to save on travel time & hotel bills

GuysNS

Zoom is a definite possibility for flights, it certainly seems like the cheapest option right now. It seems like all the flights that came up in my search did require a connection though. The sleeper might be a good option, will have to compare prices on that.

I see a lot of mention of "open jaw" flights, and I have to confess my total ignorance on this subject- what is an "open jaw"? I've never been on a plane before, this is all new to me

Mimar

Open jaw means you fly into one city and out of another. Like going Halifax - Edinburgh and returning Dublin to Halifax. It saves money and precious time backtracking.

There's an immense amount to see in London and it's well worth your time. But in only a day or two you might be too jet-lagged to fully appreciate London. Or you might have little or no jetlag.

GuysNS

Mimar, thanks for the explanation
So do you book these flights as two separate (non-return) flights, or is there another way? I haven't seen any pricing options online aside from round trip or one way.

flanneruk

Being as how you're only four hours behind us, and the flight to Glasgow's only five hours, are you sure you'll be lagged like Californians? And doesn't getting to London add a surprisingly high percentage to your journey?

You're already cramming in two countries. Getting into London from a Glasgow airport takes an awful lot of time: at least four hours from the time you land from Halifax (on Zoom, you can't through-check your bags, so you have to collect them then go through immigration to check in again). Save it for next time.

Mimar

Usually, on the air tickets page, there's an option for multi-stop or multi-city. That's what you use.

jent103

Definitely agree with the open-jaw suggestion.

Could you do London at the end of your trip? You don't mention what exactly you plan to do in Scotland and Ireland, so my thought process is (just a guess) if you fly into Shannon and see the Irish countryside, it'll be more relaxed and perhaps a better way to get over whatever jet lag you have. Then if you spend your last couple of days in London, you'll be acclimated and ready to be busy with whatever sights you care to see.

But then again, I'm biased, as I love London! If you're planning to stick with cities, my suggestion doesn't make much difference.

GuysNS

Flanneruk, good points. I think it may be overdoing it and will prob stick with original plan of Scotland/Ireland only.

Mimar thanks for info on flights, I will look into it more...

now if only I could get a travel agent to return my calls and help with bookings!