A question elsewhere brings up this topic. If you are not an experienced traveler (and sometimes even if you are!) it is always a good idea to plan a basic itinerary, have it critiqued by others, make adjustments and THEN buy your airline tickets. Once you buy your tickets you are virtually locked into dates and airports. The question that came up involved a person flying into and out of the same airport. Had they gotten their itinerary critiqued before purchasing the tickets, it probably would have been suggested that they fly open-jaw since everything on their itinerary was essentially in a straight line and they could avoid back-tracking rather than eliminating something because it was too far out of the way. In this case, they are flying in and out of Zurich and wanted to see Neuschwanstein, but the family gathering they are going over for is south of Zurich. Had they planned it where they would fly into Munich and out of Zurich, voila! Everything on their itinerary becomes much more doable. So often folks are disappointed to learn that they cannot cram in all of their "must-sees" in the time they have allotted and it could have been avoided had they waited to buy their tickets until AFTER the intinerary critique.
Posted by
Charlotte, NC, USA
3428 posts
Paul, It depends on where you are wanting to go! Sometime open jaw makes things more flexible- and cheaper; sometimes it does not. What are your tentative plans?
Posted by
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
23297 posts
I think each approach has it own merit. There is no definite answer. There are some people who are AR and need to everything planned to the last detail -- twice. But that gives them their comfort level which is critical. Others are looser and equally comfortable with less planning. We are somewhere in the middle. We plan in some detail about half to two-thirds and do the rest when we are on the ground. Our next trip probably will be our least planned -- at least in advance. Told the young lady on the FF desk that we would take any ticket into Europe anywhere in early September and home anytime near mid October. Results -- into Amsterdam on Sept 6th and home from Rome on Oct 7th. Now we have figure what to do in between.
We almost always do open jaw tickets. I see little advantage to flying in and out of the same city except when you are staying in that area. And I have never asked anyone to critique my itinerary but we do solicit info on areas we are interested in visiting. Only I know what works best for me.
Posted by
OP
Taylor, TX, USA
416 posts
Paul,
In the case I was citing, the folks only had a few days to work with prior to a family wedding so there wasn't a lot of wiggle-room. It sounds like your situation is different and that you will be there longer. I chose to fly in and out of Frankfurt last year because the cost was significantly lower than flying directly to Italy (my final destination) and we were renting a car which was much more economical for 4 people than buying 4 train tickets, not to mention that some of the things we wanted to do were not accessible any other way. Part of my point here was that there are a lot of folks who come and ask for a critique of their itineraries and are then mightily disappointed to learn that their plans just aren't feasible, BUT if they had booked their airline tickets differently, could have been worked out.
Posted by
OP
Taylor, TX, USA
416 posts
Frank,
You are a far more experienced traveller than most so of course you don't need your itinerary critiqued. Not everyone has the amount of time for their trips as you do and truly do need help maximizing the time they DO have.
Posted by
Madison, WI, USA
525 posts
This is a very appropriate subject, thanks Nancy. I do see a lot of itineraries that people are painted into a corner because they now have to return to a city. However, I do realize that many times this is because of using frequent flyer miles - so before people go off on "why would you do that" - keep in mind, maybe it was free flights?
Anyway, if that isn't your situation - please plot out your proposed trip and then look at a map. Research how much time it would take you to travel to each destination (shout out to you Kent!). Don't make assumptions here!! Once your itinerary is set and solid - THEN buy tickets. You can save yourself vaulable time by doing the research first.
I would fly open jaw 99% of the time. Only once did it work out that we traveled in a circle and hit all the things I had on my dream itinerary.