Purchasing Flights -- Dublin, London and possibly Cornwall

It looks like you're trying to skin the cat backwards for flights. Use kayak.com and try this: Use the 'Mult-city' option. Use the following airport codes SEA, DUB, LON, SEA. The only thing you might not have tried is LON, this will get you all four London airports instead of just everwhat you'd been using. See what happens with a Tuedsay, Wednesday, or Saturday departure. Shoot, try every day of the week and see what's best. Somebody else will have to tell you how to get down to Cornwall by public transportation. You'll have to say where these gardens are - - Eden Project, maybe?

Or do you mean the Lost Gardens of Heligan? Ed's flight stuff is right on...

My only suggestion is to use a no-frills ticket from Dublin to London, possibly costing as little as $75 if bought well in advance. The trans-Atlantic fares should be booked as open-jaws (into one city, out of another) seen as "multi-city" on search boards, not as two one-way tickets. I suspect that's what you have already found since the prices are in the ball park. This year Atlantic flights went up significantly for the summer. If you could go in April you might save $100 to $200 each, based on 2012. Only you can decide if it's worth it and there is never any guarantee that price patterns repeat themselves.
I can't understand what you are asking about "hassle". For me the least hassle means the fewest change of plane, which may not always be the most economical. Oh, and not getting up in the dark for a morning flight.

You have gotten good information on Dublin and London . Cornwall ? There is rail service frpm Paddington to Cornwall ( Truro , Penzance ) 5 - 6 hours . But how will you get around once you are down there ? A car is very desirable to effectively see things as public transportation is somewhat sporadic and time consuming . In addition it's a substantial trip to and from London for the amount of time you are allowing for such a charming place . Hopefully Nigel will be able to give you more detail .

"I can't understand what you are asking about "hassle". For me the least hassle means the fewest change of plane, which may not always be the most economical. Oh, and not getting up in the dark for a morning flight." From the West Coast I've had early morning flights for every trip I've made to Europe. There have been no other options. Maybe you will have better luck from Seattle. As others have said, book multi-city flights. The exception could be if you find something really cheap round trip to either Dublin or London, and then fly to the other destination and back. If it doesn't cost significantly less to to that it's not worth it.

I like Southam's idea better, or it's at least an option. Ryan Air flies Dublin to Gatwick, Luton, and Stanstead, I think. The last two are a bit of pain in the butt for getting into the city. With this idea, in kayak's multi-city deal you'd use SEA,DUB as one sequence, not enter DUB/LON at all, and LON,SEA as the next sequence. (You'd only use two lines instead of the three in my initial response. The Dublin to London leg would then be a separate purchase on the Ryan site. Andrea was typing while I was. Her last paragraph makes a lot of sense as well. As far as hassel goes, money that stays in my pocket ain't hassel. When I get my guts up, I'll fess up to how many nights I've slept in airports all over the world this year.

You can fly to Newquay from Gatwick (Flybe) and from 20 June onwards from Southend (Easyjet).

Both RyanAir and Aer Lingus fly non-stop Dublin to Bristol, a busy regional airport that is somewhat closer overland to the Cornwall area than London is. You would still have to make a fairly lengthy drive or train ride, depending on your destination in Cornwall. Although Aer Lingus is an international carrier, it has to compete on prices with RyanAir.

If you want the least hassle/ most pleasant flights at a reasonable cost, it would be the American/British Air combination ( AA Seattle to Chicagomto,Dublin; BA for London Heathrow back to Seattle) for $1184, unless a flight on BA both ways comes in at that price as well ( it didn't when I searched, using mid-week flights both directions). Choose a budget airline for the one-way Dublin to London. The sooner you book that one, the cheaper it will be.

Thank you all for the input - I didn't quite see the 1100ish range but I appreciate the advice on how to search. Seems I threw you a bit of a softball so here goes with something more: have any of you traveled from Dub to Lon using the ferry and train service. I see there are some good deal there ($65 one way lowest) and am wondering if the day of traveling might be worth the countryside scenery. Also do you have any thoughts on using the Youth hostel system in Dublin or London?

I did take that train/ferry between London and Dublin, more than 40 years ago when I was a student. Train to Holyhead, overnight ferry to Dun Laoghaire. It was mostly fun, except that the crossing was rough in one direction. This was at the end of March. By mid-May maybe the weather is better and the sea calmer. If you have the time and the inclination to take the "slow boat" route, it is worth looking into, especially since you will end up in Wales and can see the gardens there before goiing on to London. We stayed in hostels in both London and Dublin, but those particular ones probably do not exist any more.

You lost the bubble with that last idea - - you're already short for time in London and now you're robbing more. I've twice taken the Holyhead-Dublin ferry, but only because I was standing in Anglesey and decided to go to Belfast. It's four hours of boredom and the Irish Sea can get lumpy, if that's a factor. I've never ridden the train, but that's probably another four hours through unspectacular scenery. (I've driven through where I think the train would run a bunch of times.) Toss in another hour to get from Dublin to the ferryport and something else to your hotel from Euston. You've burned a whole day when you could have done it in a half, door-to-door. I'm the all-time champion of rural / small-town hostels. Every time I stay in an urban one, I swear it will be the last. If you decide to go that route, make darn sure you're getting what you want - - and don't get hung up on the 'youth' business. Lola threw me a loop. I'm unaware of any special gardens in Wales (but that doesn't mean squat), however. from Holyhead to The Devon/Cornwall border is a good six hour drive. Again, I don't know what it would take by public transportation. It'd be a bit closer from Fishguard, but I think that ferry only goes over from Rossiare.

I was indeed referring to the gardens they want to see in Cornwall, but did not consult a map to see how close Holyhead is to their Cornish Eden spots. Now I see I was picturing in my mind the Fishguard--Roslair ferry,not Holyhead.

What are your thoughts on a 9.5 hr non-stop returning from Lon to Sea? It is a 747 wide body at night.

Daytime, nighttime.... nonstop is always my choice if there is one.

Mary, that British airways flight is our flight of choice. We go to Europe almost every year, and used to fly SAS but they left. Now we like British. The flight from London to Seattle is not at night. You leave London in mid-afternoon and flying westward you follow the sun so basically track the time zones and arrive in Seattle not much after you left London. The whole flight is in daylight and you end up with an extended day. If you are lucky it will be clear over Greenland and you will have amazing views. One thing to note about British Airways is that they charge for choosing your seats if you want to reserve them in advance. It is free to choose them when you checking online 24 hours before departure, so if you do not wish to pay extra you can do that.

Thanks for the heads up on BA. Does that mean when I book the flight they will add a fee to select at that time? Do you have any tips on economical but safe/clean places to stay in London?

No, they do not add the fee for seats unless you want to s e l e c t your seats in advance. If you want to do that, you go to "manage my booking" on the website. You can view a seating chart and see if things are filling up. If you want to choose assigned seats in advance it is $30 per seat in Economy. Most people choose NOT to pay and they just s e l e c t their seats for free when they check in online. As for economical places to stay in London, you might post a query in !"To the North.". There is a hotel in Bayswater run by the Soroptimists that Swan recommended that sounded good; I'll see if I can find the name.

OK the hotel is Number 63. It is on Bayswater Road right across from Hyde Park, near Lancaster Gate tube station. I think that is a great location, especially if you like to walk, as you can go through the park. Twin room is 120 GBP including breakfast, which is very good for London. It seems to be oriented toward women, since it is run by the Soroptimists.