first trip to USA... should I go direct?

dani049

travelling solo, 23 years old and have only been on a couple of holidays around europe until now. to fly to the west coast i have 2 options

1. go to LHR and get a direct flight
2. fly to the USA with a stopover

I hope to sleep some of the journey but probably only 6-7 hrs. i know the dublin flights will clear customs in dublin but is it really a big deal to clear in the USA? won't be going at peak season, likely fall/winter. there is always a risk of bad weather delaying my flight if I stopover on the east coast..but I have heard LHR is horrible to get around? don't know what to do

please advise :P

Layinghen

Personally I would fly to US with stopover on east coast. Flying direct to California is a LONG flight particularly if your only other flying experiences were around Europe. You are going to America and your touchdown on the east coast will be your first American experience and you get it after only 6 hours in the air! I wouldn't worry at all about weather delaying you on the east coast (not saying it can't happen) but Boston and New York are so used to snow they can deal with it far better than we can over here

keithclancy

dani049 wrote: »

travelling solo, 23 years old and have only been on a couple of holidays around europe until now. to fly to the west coast i have 2 options

1. go to LHR and get a direct flight
2. fly to the USA with a stopover

I hope to sleep some of the journey but probably only 6-7 hrs. i know the dublin flights will clear customs in dublin but is it really a big deal to clear in the USA? won't be going at peak season, likely fall/winter. there is always a risk of bad weather delaying my flight if I stopover on the east coast..but I have heard LHR is horrible to get around? don't know what to do

please advise :P

Your 23, you'll be grand.

Its mainly a price/convenience point for me

Have done Amsterdam-Geneva-Rome-Newyork-Rome-Venice-Mastricht without problems.

What was nice was being able to factor in a few days in Geneva / Venice into our trip.

dani049

I mentioned i'm 23 because i have only been to a few places in Europe, mostly family holidays to Spain/Canaries/etc. i'm not as well traveled as a lot of my friends who are the same age!

It will cost a bit more to go via LHR but if its better than a stopover in the USA I would be willing to pay it.

kirving

I would think that you're better off stopping in the US than London. You could perhaps give yourself a few days to travel around New York or something, making the holiday even better value, and breaking up the flights more equally. You can travel to London any time for half nothing.

schemingbohemia

You can be really lucky in the US and clear customs and immigration quite quickly but it can also take ages, it took me well over an hour the last time I did it, that was after a two hour wait in LHR and getting to Dublin airport 2 hours before my flight to London. I'd much rather clear it in Dublin, also if you do fly direct from Dublin you could take a stopover in New York or Boston.

I think Aer Lingus are re-introducing the San Francisco flights this autumn so that might be worth waiting on.

syklops

Id rather spend a few hours on US soil if Im going on a US trip.

Have done Amsterdam-Geneva-Rome-Newyork-Rome-Venice-Mastricht without problems.

I've done Frankfurt-Paris-NYC-Seattle-Utah-Las Vegas. I won't say it was without problems, but I got there. I was f&*ked by the end of it though.

whomitconcerns

change in the US and make sure to take a pre cleared flight from Dublin. US port authority can be a nightmare delay sometimes, especially if flights are delayed etc you can get really stressed

syklops

I was on a business trip and customs saw the harp on my passport and let me through despite having had letters of invitation and the whole nine yards. My colleague, who is/was Macedonian was subjected to a 2 hour interview from border control. He'd even been in the US before. Made me very glad to be irish I gotta say.

Yamanoto

dani049 wrote: »

is it really a big deal to clear in the USA?

It can be OP, but it's difficult to predict (though some airports have a deservedly worse reputation than others).

I flew to LAX at the end of May & again in late June, both on BA from LHR.

Cleared CBP in 20 mins on the first occasion, then close to 3hrs on the second - not the most fun I've ever had after 11hrs in the air.

dani049

Thanks for the replies everyone. Is there a particular airport in the USA that would be best for my stopover (easy to navigate and not insanely busy?) I think my choices with a stopover would be JFK, Newark, Chicago or Atlanta.

I was thinking about adding a few nights in NY to the end of the trip, since I could possibly have a stopover there anyways. I'm currently doing 6 night SF, 3 nights Vegas.. But NYC seems mad expensive.. Hotels are 200+ a night and it could cost me $100+ for the cab far to/from the airport, not to mention sightseeing,food,etc.

Yamanoto

Atlanta provides the most seamless connections from the list above ime, with fast and efficient rail transport between concourses.

As for NYC proving pricey, check out priceline to bag a discounted hotel deal & use public transport to get you from the airport into Manhattan.

SmallCroc

Atlanta is a brilliant airport, loads to do, very efficient and easy to get around. IIRC, tho, not all flights to Atlanta are pre-cleared in Dublin.

Layinghen

Have used Atlanta a few times and it is no bother at all transferring between flights there.

mitosis

Fly from Dublin to USA and do immigration before you fly.

Fly to LHR and then USA and you have to do it at the other end when you are tired and there are hundreds of others going through at the same time.

Definitely take the stop over. Breaking the trip into two shorter flights is also a big benefit.

dee_mc

dani049 wrote: »

Thanks for the replies everyone. Is there a particular airport in the USA that would be best for my stopover (easy to navigate and not insanely busy?) I think my choices with a stopover would be JFK, Newark, Chicago or Atlanta.

I was thinking about adding a few nights in NY to the end of the trip, since I could possibly have a stopover there anyways. I'm currently doing 6 night SF, 3 nights Vegas.. But NYC seems mad expensive.. Hotels are 200+ a night and it could cost me $100+ for the cab far to/from the airport, not to mention sightseeing,food,etc.

Staying in NYC doesn't have to be that expensive.
Firstly you don't need to get a cab from the airport; for example from JFK you can get the AirTrain to Manhattan for $7.50. Probably quicker than taking a cab too!
It's easy to eat cheaply there too, certainly cheaper than eating out in Ireland, just remember to tip!
Re sightseeing, there's so much you can do for free, for example the Staten Island Ferry is free and you can see the Statue of Liberty from it, although the cost of visiting the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island is very low at $15 to $20. The open top bus tours are excellent and good value too. Many of the museums are free or cheap to visit too.
Bear in mind you don't need to stay in midtown Manhattan, I stayed in the Quality Inn, Woodside, Queens a few summers ago for around 120 dollars per night, my brother stayed in the Hotel Marrakech on Broadway (Upper West Side) last summer for even less, both hotels are in nice neighbourhoods and convenient to Subway (less than 5 minute walk in both cases). Browse through Booking.com etc and don't book too far in advance. Remember most places charge 14% tax on top of the stated per-night room fee.

syklops

If you are in NY you arent going to be spending any time in the hotel room anyway so all you need is a bed. A tiny little room will do. I stayed in a hotel in Time Square about 2 years ago and it was about $70 a night. Teeny weeny room, but as I said I only needed it for sleep.

I got a cab from the airport during my last trip and the cabbie told me I should have gotten the airtrain, because the same journey would have been about $5 versus the 35 he charged me. He practically gave out to me.

swe_fi

I would probably take a Direct flight if i were you. Main reasons being that you pre-clear here - saves time. The other thing is that there is less risk of the luggage getting lost in transit, this does happen and it is not nice.

My first suggestion would be to stop over in Boston. Really friendly place, chilled out, airport is small enough and easy to get to / from. You could spend a few days just walking around, visit the Science Museum, take the Duck tour, Go up to the Harvard Area

Second would be Chicago. It is really easy to get from to the Centre with the train and is a cool spot to walk around, take a river cruise, have a Pizza, go up in the Hancock tower etc.

These places are great but not as busy as New York, which can be quite overwhelming if you are inexperienced and on your own. Both have direct flights with Aer Lingus from Dublin. I would recommend flying Aer Lingus if you can, based on experience they have the best seats, staff and entertainment options. Takes a lot for me to say that as I have gotten shafted by AL before but have to admit it is the best option for the US, I am talking Economy flights here.

Enjoy your trip.

Edit: Forgot the 3rd reason also to fly direct is that if your flight is cancelled/delayed, at least you are on home soil and probably can get somewhere to stay / stay with friends, being picked up, rather than camping out in Heathrow. And Yes, Heathrow is horrible.

ProudDUB

Deffo go via Atlanta. It's not only a very easy airport to transfer through, there is less chance of your flight being impacted by the massive snow storms that they get further north. The likes of Boston/JFK/Chicago can deal with storms much better than Irish/UK one can, but that's not to say that there are never, ever delays and flight cancelations when bad weather happens. There are. All the time.

The only downside (for me) of flying to Atlanta, is that the flight itself can often be a couple of hours longer than if you are flying to airports on the east coast. I've had it take as long as 9 1/2 hrs, whereas the average for flying to NY/Boston would be about 7 hrs.

dani049

thanks for the replies everyone. Ill be going in November so I think NYC/east coast trip might have to wait until another time...I can't imagine its too pleasant walking around there in winter? I don't mind stopping over there for a few hours, will look into Atlanta hopefully it doesnt add too much longer onto the (already long) journey

dee_mc

November in New York is spectacular, the fall and early winter would probably be one of the most popular times for tourists to visit the city! They deal with snow, ice etc a hell of a lot better than we do in Ireland, and anyway average temperatures in November would be similar to our own (5 degrees celcius would be the average 'low' at that time of year)! As long as you have warm clothes the cold shouldn't bother you too much.

iusedtoknow

I prefer a long flight vs 2 longish flights.

I flew to SF a couple of months ago Dublin-JFK (i live in SF). It was horrible. You get to NY pretty tired (amazing how sitting on a jet for 6 hours is tiring, but there you go), then you have some time in an airport, before getting on a crappy US domestic flight for another 5.5/6 hours (unless you fly jetblue or virgin). They are pretty bad and long. The other thing is that you often end up arriving on the West coast towards late evening, into the night (around 10pm) and then you have to get to your hotel.

My preference from Europe is a stop over in Frankfurt/Munich and then a long flight. At that point, you can sleep, eat whatever and arrive in SF around 4pm. By the time you clear customs/immigration and in the city, it's 6 and your tired but at least can get into the city, have a bite to eat and then go to bed. I have never had any issues with the border guards at San Francisco (7 times and never more than the usual questions)

kusadasiboris

dani049 wrote: »

travelling solo, 23 years old and have only been on a couple of holidays around europe until now. to fly to the west coast i have 2 options

1. go to LHR and get a direct flight
2. fly to the USA with a stopover

I hope to sleep some of the journey but probably only 6-7 hrs. i know the dublin flights will clear customs in dublin but is it really a big deal to clear in the USA? won't be going at peak season, likely fall/winter. there is always a risk of bad weather delaying my flight if I stopover on the east coast..but I have heard LHR is horrible to get around? don't know what to do

please advise :P

short advise to you pal. try check out Turkish air lines. Dublin to Istanbul-Istanbul to USA few destinations , they have great cabin service. top Quality

whitey1

Clear immigration in Dublin. I had to clear stateside once and they funneled flights from all over into the one line. So you run the risk of getting in line with people who don't speak English, who don't know how to fill out paperwork etc

To be honest an airport is an airport. They have shops and bars and restraints. The only thing that will differ is the quality of aforementioned Establishments

If you had a layover in Boston, You could easily pop into. town for a couple of hours and see some pretty cool stuff

Yamanoto

kusadasiboris wrote: »

short advise to you pal. try check out Turkish air lines. Dublin to Istanbul-Istanbul to USA few destinations , they have great cabin service. top Quality

Great though Turkish Airlines are (SKYTRAX best Airline in Europe for the third year running), routing via IST for onward travel to the US would strike me as kinda mad.

Plates

My preference if traveling to the west coast would always be a short flight (i.e. London,Paris, Amsterdam) and then long flight to destination. Although clearing immigration in Dublin has its benefits it doesn't make up for the god awful experience of long internal flight in the US. Imagine 5+ hours on a Ryanair flight with the high possibility of being stuck beside (or between) a couple of obese, sweaty fellow passengers. Not my idea of fun.

ProudDUB

Yamanoto wrote: »

Great though Turkish Airlines are (SKYTRAX best Airline in Europe for the third year running), routing via IST for onward travel to the US would strike me as kinda mad.

Agreed. Flying half way to Asia (in the opposite direction of the way you are heading) and then heading on to the US, sounds like a ridiculously round about way to go. It would make the OP's travel day a lot, lot longer than it needs to be.

Plates wrote: »

My preference if traveling to the west coast would always be a short flight (i.e. London,Paris, Amsterdam) and then long flight to destination. Although clearing immigration in Dublin has its benefits it doesn't make up for the god awful experience of long internal flight in the US. Imagine 5+ hours on a Ryanair flight with the high possibility of being stuck beside (or between) a couple of obese, sweaty fellow passengers. Not my idea of fun.

You have just as much chance of having to sit between " a couple of sweaty, obese fellow passengers " on a flight to the US, as you do on a flight within the US. And if I had to pick one flight to experience that particular joy, I'd pick the 5 hr internal one, over the 12 hour international one any day. 'Sides, with proper planning and attention to detail, the OP can select a window or an aisle seat & leave the sweaty, obese couples to others.

ellrb

The best stop when flying from Dublin to Northern California at least is Chicago because it breaks up the trip pretty evenly, both about 7 hours or so, and the Chicago airports are nicer than JFK. I wouldn't necessarily stay there over night though. If you have a layover for a few hours you can take a train out from the airport directly downtown and still see the best parts of the city and stretch your legs (although that might not be a good idea in the winter). The other benefit of Chicago is that there are a lot more options of flights when you stop there rather than trying to find a nonstop. Overall a short stop is nice, but you shouldn't stop anywhere overnight. You'll be much happier if you don't drag the travel time out over a few days.
Good luck and have fun!

Jarrod

I've flown Dublin to DC direct. The pre-clearance in Dublin is fantastic and you get off the plane in the States as though it's an internal flight, just get your bags and you're away.

I've also flown via LHR and spent 2 and a half hours waiting to go through immigration in the US. I'd go direct, or at least have your connecting flight be in the US so you can pre clear immigration.

dani049

Thanks everyone. I'm still not Sure if I'll add a few days in NYC or not. If I don't ill probably go via atlanta since you guys recommend that.

If I do decide to add NYC would I be better to do it on the way over or way home? Would 3 nights be enough? And can anyone recommend any cheap but clean central hotels pref with private bathroom.

anne burnell

definately do immigration in Dublin if at alll possible, can take a few house to clear in the states otherwise...