Dublin to LA 350 EUR

acquiescefc

Many dates on Air France non summer - March to May, Aug to November
Fly on the A380 via Paris.

Also Orlando similar price

https://www.google.co.uk/flights/#search;f=DUB;t=LAX;d=2017-04-19;r=2017-05-03;sel=DUBCDG0AF1017-CDGLAX0AF66;q=flights

JaMarcusHustle

Is a 2 hour layover in Heathrow enough to get from Aer Lingus arrival (Terminal 2) to your American Airlines departure (Terminal 3)?

Never been through Heathrow before.

davo2001

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Is a 2 hour layover in Heathrow enough to get from Aer Lingus arrival (Terminal 2) to your American Airlines departure (Terminal 3)?

Never been through Heathrow before.

Apsolutely.

acquiescefc

Heathrow is a nightmare for connecting but if its busy which it probably will be they are proactive. The worst line is immigration which you will have to go through but they have staff who will let you jump queue if your flight time is near, they usually call out times they allow to bump.

Put your flights in here and it will tell you your route and minimum connection time needed. http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections
Follow the purple signs for flight connections.

mad m

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Is a 2 hour layover in Heathrow enough to get from Aer Lingus arrival (Terminal 2) to your American Airlines departure (Terminal 3)?

Never been through Heathrow before.

Have done it with just 1.5hr between flights to terminal 5 and its bus ride plus a lot of walking,security to it from T2. Heathrow is bloody huge.

JaMarcusHustle

Have found other flights with a 3hr 10m layover that are the same price so I think we'll go with them.

We have 14th April - 1st May inclusive booked off work already (18 days off only requiring 9 days annual leave taken due to Good Friday, Easter Monday and May BH weekend) with nothing planned so giving it serious consideration.

Does this sound doable or trying to cram in too much?

2 nights LA
2 nights Monterey
2 nights San Francisco
3 nights Lake Tahoe
2 nights Yosemite
2 nights Vegas
1 night LA

Any nights we should cut out, and any nights we should add in that I haven't considered?

Would be mostly AirBNB and car rental to keep costs down. But driving would be half the fun.

alksander

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Have found other flights with a 3hr 10m layover that are the same price so I think we'll go with them.

We have 14th April - 1st May inclusive booked off work already (18 days off only requiring 9 days annual leave taken due to Good Friday, Easter Monday and May BH weekend) with nothing planned so giving it serious consideration.

Does this sound doable or trying to cram in too much?

2 nights LA
2 nights Monterey
2 nights San Francisco
3 nights Lake Tahoe
2 nights Yosemite
2 nights Vegas
1 night LA

Any nights we should cut out, and any nights we should add in that I haven't considered?

Would be mostly AirBNB and car rental to keep costs down. But driving would be half the fun.

I think Airbnb in general can be risky for such short durations because you need to manage meeting the landlords on time. Less of a problem if you rent a room, but might be a bigger issue when renting an entire home.

There is a lot of travel involved between those locations, not sure it makes sense splitting it up that much. I think it might be short spending 2-2-2 nights in SF, LA and Vegas each. There's a lot to do at each location.

mikewest

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Have found other flights with a 3hr 10m layover that are the same price so I think we'll go with them.

We have 14th April - 1st May inclusive booked off work already (18 days off only requiring 9 days annual leave taken due to Good Friday, Easter Monday and May BH weekend) with nothing planned so giving it serious consideration.

Does this sound doable or trying to cram in too much?

2 nights LA
2 nights Monterey
2 nights San Francisco
3 nights Lake Tahoe
2 nights Yosemite
2 nights Vegas
1 night LA

Any nights we should cut out, and any nights we should add in that I haven't considered?

Would be mostly AirBNB and car rental to keep costs down. But driving would be half the fun.

Looooong days driving from LA to Monterey up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway) especially if you want to stop off at Hearst Castle or Elephant beach or especially Big Sur. Big Sur is stunning and Carmel, Monterey, Laguna Seca, Fisherman's Warf etc are worth the extra time.
Stop off in Santa Barbara on the way up the coast from LA and go to the pier - just gorgeous.
Do you need 3 nights in Tahoe? Hit the Grand Canyon from an extra night in Vegas or Death Valley between Yosemite and Vegas
Can be a tough drive from Vegas to LAX car rental return depending on time of day but unless you have an absolute need to be in LA then skip the last night in LA. Allow 7 hours min from Vegas to check in desk or more if you need to stop off and eat at Peggy Sue's Diner in Barstow or some such.
Hope your bags make it home through Heathrow - mine usually don't until the next day or two:(. Heading out is usually fine but pack an extra pair socks and jocks in your carry on and remember they have Walmart for all other essentials cheaper than you get here.

zac8

If you're going September/October to LA there are direct flights available with Ethiopian Airlines for €358. Seems to be a few dates available eg. Sep 22 to Oct 6.

Former Former

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Does this sound doable or trying to cram in too much?

2 nights LA
2 nights Monterey
2 nights San Francisco
3 nights Lake Tahoe
2 nights Yosemite
2 nights Vegas
1 night LA

Any nights we should cut out, and any nights we should add in that I haven't considered?

Yeah, I think you're trying to fit too much in. I did a similar itinerary (without Yosemite) and it really was heavy going. The distances are huge, and if you go the scenic route (i.e. the California coast), you're not even getting the benefit of the interstate.

My advice is to skip Vegas and take the extra time in either LA or San Fran.

Two nights in Vegas is not going to be enough, and if you throw in the Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Hoover Dam etc etc, you can easily make a separate and equally awesome trip out of it in the future.

alastair

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

Have found other flights with a 3hr 10m layover that are the same price so I think we'll go with them.

We have 14th April - 1st May inclusive booked off work already (18 days off only requiring 9 days annual leave taken due to Good Friday, Easter Monday and May BH weekend) with nothing planned so giving it serious consideration.

Does this sound doable or trying to cram in too much?

2 nights LA
2 nights Monterey
2 nights San Francisco
3 nights Lake Tahoe
2 nights Yosemite
2 nights Vegas
1 night LA

Any nights we should cut out, and any nights we should add in that I haven't considered?

Would be mostly AirBNB and car rental to keep costs down. But driving would be half the fun.

Way too busy.

You can't do justice to SF in two days. Yosemite doesn't really need two days though imo - a full day is enough to get the lay of the land, and tbh, the impact of first panoramic sight of the park is difficult to live up to. I'd personally pull the Vegas trip too, but that's because it's an over-rated kip, and you'll enjoy other locations on your schedule more (YMMV).

But seriously - SF needs more time. I've been a few times, and a week spent there last summer felt rushed.

banchang

I wouldn't miss Santa Barbara, which is stunning.

Agree to leave out Vegas, for same reasons.

lawred2

banchang wrote: »

I wouldn't miss Santa Barbara, which is stunning.

Agree to leave out Vegas, for same reasons.

one of the prettiest places I visited in America without doubt

Zonda999

acquiescefc wrote: »

Heathrow is a nightmare for connecting but if its busy which it probably will be they are proactive. The worst line is immigration which you will have to go through but they have staff who will let you jump queue if your flight time is near, they usually call out times they allow to bump.

Put your flights in here and it will tell you your route and minimum connection time needed. http://www.heathrow.com/flight-connections
Follow the purple signs for flight connections.

I've been through Heathrow several times in the last few years and have always found it be fine for connections. I think some of the hatred for Heathrow comes from a decade ago when by all accounts it wasn't great

mad m

Any chance you can fly into LA and then fly out of Vegas? Saves having to go back to LA...

Been to San Fran----must do is Alcatraz, remember to book it before hand especially the night visit.

Lake Tahoe is another lovely place, great skiing place. Mad to see Casinos on one side of street as I think it borders Reno.

Vegas, wasn't mad about it to be honest but its a must see. Grand Canyon I think is around 2 hour drive from it. From Vegas there is a place called Page Arizona (4hr drive), you can do a half day raft trip down Colorado river, its unreal.

Anyway there is loads to do but time fly's by on those type of trips. Enjoy.

JaMarcusHustle

How does Google Flights work?

When I pick my flights for 2 adults for £750 return, it just takes me to either the British Airways or American Airlines home page where I have to enter the flight details all over again. And I can't get the flights for anywhere near the price listed on Google.

lawred2

acquiescefc wrote: »

Many dates on Air France non summer - March to May, Aug to November
Fly on the A380 via Paris.

Also Orlando similar price

https://www.google.co.uk/flights/#search;f=DUB;t=LAX;d=2017-04-19;r=2017-05-03;sel=DUBCDG0AF1017-CDGLAX0AF66;q=flights

I'd pay that just to fly A380

acquiescefc

mad m wrote: »

Any chance you can fly into LA and then fly out of Vegas? Saves having to go back to LA...

Been to San Fran----must do is Alcatraz, remember to book it before hand especially the night visit.

Lake Tahoe is another lovely place, great skiing place. Mad to see Casinos on one side of street as I think it borders Reno.

Vegas, wasn't mad about it to be honest but its a must see. Grand Canyon I think is around 2 hour drive from it. From Vegas there is a place called Page Arizona (4hr drive), you can do a half day raft trip down Colorado river, its unreal.

Anyway there is loads to do but time fly's by on those type of trips. Enjoy.

https://www.google.ie/flights/?f=0&pli=1#search;iti=DUB_LAX_2017-05-02*LAS_DUB_2017-05-14;tt=m

move the dates about to see what fares there are

acquiescefc

JaMarcusHustle wrote: »

How does Google Flights work?

When I pick my flights for 2 adults for £750 return, it just takes me to either the British Airways or American Airlines home page where I have to enter the flight details all over again. And I can't get the flights for anywhere near the price listed on Google.

If it sends you to a blank AA/BA page just pick the same dates and search and then select exact flights you had in googleflights and it should come up at roughly same price

acquiescefc

Zonda999 wrote: »

I've been through Heathrow several times in the last few years and have always found it be fine for connections. I think some of the hatred for Heathrow comes from a decade ago when by all accounts it wasn't great

Transferred thru twice last year and both times it was chaos. Amount of free booze time I missed in the lounge was terrible.:cool:

mikewest

Zonda999 wrote: »

I've been through Heathrow several times in the last few years and have always found it be fine for connections. I think some of the hatred for Heathrow comes from a decade ago when by all accounts it wasn't great

Heathrow is a nightmare if anything goes wrong anywhere for even half an hour, e.g I ended up spending a night in LA flying from Dublin to Phoenix because of a small thunderstorm near Heathrow. Another time more recently I was many hours late arriving in Houston with an additional Atlanta stopover from Dublin due to high winds again around Heathrow (flying BA).
On the other hand I have made a connection from terminal 5 to the gate in a now closed terminal 1 in 25 minutes complete with security so it can work efficiently. Two hours minimum needed for connections and really allow more.