We are from Charlotte, NC. No fear of flying, but long flight time exhaust us. Any advice for best way to fly to Shannon and back from Dublin to Clt? We are open to stay over somewhere and fly part of the leg the next day, if that helps. Cost does matter, but willing to pay a little more, so when we arrive, we are ready to go see the beauty of Ireland. Any ideas or airline tips are greatly appreciated! We hope to go on the tour in Oct.
Posted by
1585 posts
Have you tried searching on Google Flights (or similar) using the multi-city feature? If not, give it a try and see if you can find flights with a long enough layover that would allow you to spend the night in Boston or Newark (for example) on the way to Ireland. If Iceland Air serves Charlotte you could look into a stopover flight in Reykjavik. A third option would be to depart from Charlotte earlier so you can recover in Ireland for a day or two before the tour starts.
Posted by
3123 posts
I've tried the layover technique and found I was even more exhausted than I'd be on a nonstop, so I don't recommend it. If you wanted a layover, you could surely get one in New York, Boston, or Iceland.
I always go to Kayak.com to search for flights and compare prices. You can filter for nonstop or however many intermediate stops you're willing to make.
Once I've decided which flights I want, I go directly to the airline website to book and purchase. Otherwise Kayak may send you to a 3rd party such as Expedia without your knowledge. (This happened to me a couple of times.) If you book through a 3rd party it is a hassle if you need to contact the airline for anything such as ordering a special meal.
Also, if you're going to have any intermediate stops, make sure your entire itinerary is booked on one ticket. That way if your first flight is delayed through no fault of yours, and you miss your connection, the airline will be obligated to put you on the next available flight. It will also enable you to check any checked bags through to your final destination so you won't have to run around retrieving them at the intermediate-stop airport.