Open jaw suggestions

There are non-stop flights from Dulles to London (United, BA, Virgin) and Edinburgh (United, seasonal). For that reason, I’d choose a multi-city flight on United IAD to LHR / EDI to IAD over a connecting flight out of Manchester IF the price was competitive.

Is it really $500 more to fly into LHR and home from EDI? Did you try flipping the route (e.g., start in Edinburgh and finish in London) to see if that makes a difference.

I'm looking at Virgin and partners because United is about $800 more for the same dates. Virgin/partners do not have nonstop from EDI or Manchester to IAD/DCA. I'd do United just for the sake of nonstop, but not for $800 more. Yes, I flipped the dates, too--meant to add that we are trying to stay away from Edinburgh for the first leg because accommodations are insane and few due to the Taylor Swift concert at the same time.

I’d take a connecting flight if it saved $800 too. In that case, I’d just go for best price and times.

I’ve done a round trip out of London many times even though it meant backtracking. If you do that, plan to spend your last night in London to minimize risk of any train delays.

Do you mean do the RT from LHR instead of open jaw to save $500? Can you tell I'm biased toward nonstop flights over taking another train ride to get to LHR? :)

I’d take a connecting flight out of either EDI or MAN if the price was better and the connection was reasonable. Where does Virgin have you connect?

Virgin/Delta connects at Boston for the best price and shortest layover. The overall travel time is a wash if we fly from MAN, EDI or LHR. Either we spend the time and money on a train to get back to LHR from wherever we visit last, or time and more money on a connecting flight itinerary. I'm leaning towards coming back to LHR because connecting flights, especially only a 1.5 hour layover seems tight.

I would suggest a variation on a Rick Steves itinerary - arrive LHR and directly to Bath, then Liverpool, York, Edinburgh and London at the end - if it avoids the Swift dates.

Bear in mind that Taylor Swift is also playing Liverpool on 13th, 14th and 15th June.

We are hoping to see TS in Liverpool those dates!

I was thinking of this variation of RS' itinerary: London, Bath, Liverpool, York, Edinburgh (for the open jaw option). Does that sound better than a full loop that starts and ends in London? I wish we could travel for longer, but school/work schedules for the 4 of us don't offer more time.

I ran a few tests and saw non-stops to London, round trip for about $1,000.

Next test: A multi-destination ticket for about the same price, Washington-London-Edinburgh- home, with a stop on return trip.

Multi-destination saves the cost of returning to London, probably including an extra night in a hotel. Better, it saves time which is literally at a premium on vacation.

I wonder: Did you research the air prices using a multi-destination search function? These tickets must be booked as a single itinerary rather than pieced together by the customer.

PS I used cheapoair for the search but would absolutely book through the airline you choose.

I have found changing terminals at LHR to be time-consuming and unpleasant. But have not been there recently. Note that Lufthansa is a United partner. I don't know about the "transit lounge" options in their hubs (coming from UK), however. (I'm talking about member-miles and seamless travel, not minimizing total time in the air. My Lufthansa experiences have been good.)

I did multicity. After I booked the multicity fare, I was going to book an alternative RT fare from LHR, but the $500 price difference was no longer available, so now the price is the same between multicity and RT. Agree, that I'd probably spend more on a hotel at LHR the night before, plus train time and cost. I think multicity wins for our circumstances.

When you say 'hoping to see TS' at Liverpool, do you not have tickets yet?

Are there any available?

Do you have a hotel booked in Liverpool- if not you will be paying very high prices.

If you are trying to do Liverpool and York then I don't see the point of going back to Edinburgh for an open jaw flight. To me the choice is then MAN or LHR. It may come down to preference and what time of day the MAN or LHR leave at.

The $500 air fare savings have probably been swallowed up in increased hotel costs in two cities where TS is playing.

You are right that for York or Liverpool to London the train cost to London with a railcard should not be more than about £40 to £50 each for a last minute on the day booking (probably rather less) so on that metric LHR win- even less if you book a week or two ahead.

I don’t have tickets yet. I will buy closer to the date as other shows have had lots available within 2-3 days of the concerts. If we don’t get reasonable tickets, we will pivot and sightsee more. It’s worth trying, given that the ticket companies were still outsmarted by scalpers who snatched up tickets from the fans.

I’d be going to Edinburgh last—long after the TS price gouging—London, Bath, Liverpool, York, Edinburgh. Liverpool lodging is higher for TS but not like Edinburgh and there’s more availability.