In normal times, we've been able to schedule our flights with a generous amount of time prior to the first evening meeting, with one night at the hotel before tour start. With all the rescheduling of flights that the airlines are doing, have any of you been late for the tour? Should we target arriving two nights prior to tour start?
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
14041 posts
I've not done a RS tour this year but I would go for 2 nights if you can manage the extra time and costs. Sometimes the start towns are interesting and worth more than the time the tour can give it.
Which tour are you considering? I'm asking that because the more flight segments you have between you and your final destination the more I would go for 2 nights ahead. If you've got direct flights from your city to your start city with choices of more than one flight a day, I might go with 1 night.
FWIW, I'm doing Best of Italy in September and will spend 2 or 3 nights in Milan and 2 nights in Varenna ahead of the tour.
Posted by
OP
NH
42 posts
Good thinking on the flight segments. I am currently able to fly direct, no stops both ways. We are doing Portugal in October - into Lisbon, return from Porto.
Posted by
Southern Oregon
572 posts
If you’re doing the Portugal tour, you will want to visit Sintra before the tour starts so I would indeed schedule at least two nights before the tour starts. Sintra and Cascais are worth a full day.
Posted by
OP
NH
42 posts
Thanks for that tip.
Posted by
San Diego, California
4867 posts
We have done two international trips post-covid. The Sept 2021 flight out was canceled completely- after we had boarded. We had a 24 hr layover before we could fly over The Pond.
Just this past April, our pilot tested positive for covid, so we had a 4+ hr delay, missed our connection, arrived at our destination around midnight.
I think you have to plan for major delays, and be happy if you don't experience one.
Safe travels!
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
We like to arrive 2 nights before a tour. We flew into Lisbon & out of Porto. Prior to the Portugal tour we hired Lisbon Riders to tour Sintra, Cascais & beyond. They are an amazing company & it was the highlight of Portugal. It was a great introduction before our RS Tour. Highly recommend. https://lisbonriders.com/
Posted by
OP
NH
42 posts
We'll check them out. Thanks for the link :-)
Posted by
Michigan
39 posts
I would book 2 nights early (at least). We had one extra night but our first leg was delayed by over 4 hours (lack of air traffic controllers) so we missed our connection. Then we had a long day in the Newark airport waiting for that evening flight. Arrived extra tired as a result. I think I’d still build in 2 days even if I had a direct flight. Best of luck!