New York return flights - 2 adults + 2 kids

BenEadir

Hi guys,

I want to book the following return flights:-

2 adults + 2 kids (10 and 14) departing Dublin to New York for 4 nights going out on either Saturday Oct 24th returning Wed the 28th, going out Sunday the 25th coming back Thurs the 29th or going out Mon the 26th coming home Friday the 30th.

The preference is for direct both ways but via the UK on the way out would be ok also, direct home is more important.

I've tried Skyscanner and the various airline booking engines direct (Aer Lingus, US Airways, Delta, American) and the best price I can find is €2,300 direct with Aer Lingus 24th to the 28th.

Are there any other airlines I should be looking at?

Are there any "sales" on US flights that usually come up around this time of year that I should wait for or should I just take the best price I can get today and be done with it?

schemingbohemia

You're booking very early, might be worth waiting until closer to the time, have heard some people saying that 6 weeks in advance is the magic time to book. Having said that, not sure if I'd be prepared myself to wait that close to departure.

Sometimes Philadelphia comes up cheaper but it's a bit of a schlep given that you're going for 4 nights. Prices for the whole month of October don't seem to offer much in the way of savings at the moment, i'd wait a while.

The ITA Matrix can sometimes show better prices, routings etc http://matrix.itasoftware.com/

jaymcg91

Definitely wait, it's not a mad busy time to fly, you should get under €500pp definitely.

Last year Aer Lingus did an Autumn 'Early Bird' sale, I paid like €425 return to NY. That sale was in April IIRC.

BenEadir

jaymcg91 wrote: »

Definitely wait, it's not a mad busy time to fly, you should get under €500pp definitely.

Last year Aer Lingus did an Autumn 'Early Bird' sale, I paid like €425 return to NY. That sale was in April IIRC.

Indeed and with fuel costs less than half what they were last year I hope there will be some very attractive prices coming soon especially as the Euro has weakened to the Dollar making tourism to the US a lot more expensive.

spurious

That's mid term break time. I wouldn't wait too long to book.

BenEadir

Thanks for the help and advice guys, appreciate it.

Booked the Aer Lingus direct flights for €2,300 so we're hot to trot. I figured the Greek election result combined with the ECU Quantitive Easing will weaken the Euro against the Dollar even more so might as well lock in the price. Hope I'm not too wrong.

Booked a nice hotel suite in Midtown on Lexington Avenue for four nights. Total cost including taxes etc is €1,500 which is steep but it's NY and it works out at €95 a head per night. I looked at an apartment in the same area on AirBNB but the saving was only €200 and I prefer the idea of being in a hotel and being able to leave our luggage with the concierge on the day we leave until about 6pm. With the apartment we'd have to be out for 11am and be minding our suitcases all day.

So, now that I'm all booked etc anyone got any suggestions as to where we "must" eat, places we "must" visit and things we "must" do?

Things already on our list are:-

Johns Pizza on Bleecker Street http://www.johnsbrickovenpizza.com - "No Slices. No Reservations. Cash Only." Love it!!

Century 21 discount store - down near Ground Zero.

McSorleys old ale house - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McSorley%27s_Old_Ale_House - I've been here before and loved it. Hope they let the kids in late afternoon for an hour just to sample the athmosphere.

Ground Zero, Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty. My grandfather emigrated to the US so might be able to find his immigration records etc.

Keens Steakhouse for a slap up dinner one night - http://www.keens.com. Loads of good steakhouses in NY. Tried Smith and Wollensky before and thought it was more reputation than substance so might try Keens this time.

The Carnegie Deli for their pastrami sandwiches - http://carnegiedeli.com/food-gallery/

http://katzsdelicatessen.com for some more pastrami or similar sandwiches

Can anyone suggest a good tour of NY? We were in Oslo last year and did a 4 hour cycling tour which was great but I don't think NY lends itself to such a tour. Perhaps a bike tour of Central Park? (I'll try to avoid doing a Bono )

Public transport? Should we be looking at getting some sort of travel card for the 4 days we're there or just use Taxi's? (We'll also do a lot of walking around Midtown so I'm thinking mostly of the trip down to C21 and Ground Zero and when we have bags of shopping to carry)

What about getting off Manhattan? Should we venture over to Brooklyn? I'm a big Soprano's fan so I'd love to do the drive across the Brooklyn Bridge.

What about Woodbury Common Outlet Mall? It's almost 2 hours by bus from Midtown so will more or less take up an entire day. Shopping is going to be important for my wife and daughter so I guess it should be on the itinerary. Are there ton's of shops and are the bargains worth a 4 hour round trip costing (I'm guessing) $200 for the four of us?