We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip outside of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover en route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are stupid):
1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do not have a stopover option when booking.
2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
Any info gratefully appreciated.
Thanks,
Mark, of Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
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> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel > from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip outside > of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover en > route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. > I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are > stupid):
> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a > few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do not > have a stopover option when booking.
> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold > and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
It will be miserable in Feb, but as you are coming in March why is that a problem?
What do you mean by "out of the question"? Starting from London the round trip will take you a minimum of 4 days by any mode of transport. (unless anyone knows of an airport on Mull), the ferries to Mull being your problem.
Mull is worth visiting, so if you plan a route that includes it, the side trip to Iona is easy.
> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel > from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip outside > of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover en > route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. > I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are > stupid):
> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a > few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do not > have a stopover option when booking.
> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold > and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
> Any info gratefully appreciated.
I'm a fan of stopovers when time permits. Depending on what you're all interested in, you could do, say, Hong Kong and Dubai; both are reasonably family-friendly, I'm told. A few years ago, I took EK SIN-CMB-DXB-LHR because it was (a) a cheaper ticket and (b) included a place I'd never been.
Stopovers can be of pretty much any length, depending upon flight availability, and can cost either more or less in terms of air tickets. (Plus of course the usual hotel charges, etc.)
I imagine Scotland would be cold and wet, but that's possible in July too.
I've crossposted to rec.travel.air because by the time you hit Europe, you're pretty much at your destination.
>>"Mark of Aus" <mark.f.matth...@gmail.com> wrote in message >>news:ga00pn$2u1q$1@adenine.netfront.net... >>> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel >>> from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip >>> outside >>> of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover >>> en >>> route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. >>> I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are >>> stupid):
>>> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a >>> few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do >>> not >>> have a stopover option when booking.
>>> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold >>> and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
>>> Any info gratefully appreciated.
>>I'm a fan of stopovers when time permits. Depending on what you're all >>interested in, you could do, say, Hong Kong and Dubai; both are reasonably >>family-friendly, I'm told. A few years ago, I took EK SIN-CMB-DXB-LHR >>because it was (a) a cheaper ticket and (b) included a place I'd never >>been.
>>Stopovers can be of pretty much any length, depending upon flight >>availability, and can cost either more or less in terms of air tickets. >>(Plus of course the usual hotel charges, etc.)
> Hotel charges increase dramatically after two or three days at some > stopover > destinations. They want you to go there to shop.
And on certain days, too, I think, like Friday/Saturday nights. I think stopovers are great, but they can be very expensive.
>>"Mark of Aus" <mark.f.matth...@gmail.com> wrote in message >>news:ga00pn$2u1q$1@adenine.netfront.net... >>> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel >>> from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip >>> outside >>> of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover >>> en >>> route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. >>> I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are >>> stupid):
>>> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a >>> few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do >>> not >>> have a stopover option when booking.
>>> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold >>> and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
>>> Any info gratefully appreciated.
>>I'm a fan of stopovers when time permits. Depending on what you're all >>interested in, you could do, say, Hong Kong and Dubai; both are reasonably >>family-friendly, I'm told. A few years ago, I took EK SIN-CMB-DXB-LHR >>because it was (a) a cheaper ticket and (b) included a place I'd never >>been.
>>Stopovers can be of pretty much any length, depending upon flight >>availability, and can cost either more or less in terms of air tickets. >>(Plus of course the usual hotel charges, etc.)
> Hotel charges increase dramatically after two or three days at some > stopover > destinations. They want you to go there to shop.
I don't get this comment Martin.
Why is the "they" here and how does your "shopping" (presumably in the high street) allow hotels rates to be subsidised?
>>"Mark of Aus" <mark.f.matth...@gmail.com> wrote in message >>news:ga00pn$2u1q$1@adenine.netfront.net... >>> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel >>> from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip >>> outside >>> of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover >>> en >>> route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. >>> I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are >>> stupid):
>>> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a >>> few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do >>> not >>> have a stopover option when booking.
>>> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold >>> and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
>>It will be miserable in Feb, but as you are coming in March why is that a >>problem?
> because it will be miserable in March too? > It can even be miserable in the middle of summer - been there done it & > never > again.
IME, there's a different level of miserable in the winter, the almost complete the lack of sunlight make rainy days in Jan much worse than June.
>>>>"Mark of Aus" <mark.f.matth...@gmail.com> wrote in message >>>>news:ga00pn$2u1q$1@adenine.netfront.net... >>>>> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to >>>>> travel >>>>> from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip >>>>> outside >>>>> of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover >>>>> en >>>>> route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. >>>>> I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are >>>>> stupid):
>>>>> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay >>>>> a >>>>> few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do >>>>> not >>>>> have a stopover option when booking.
>>>>> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how >>>>> cold >>>>> and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the >>>>> question?
>>>>> Any info gratefully appreciated.
>>>>I'm a fan of stopovers when time permits. Depending on what you're all >>>>interested in, you could do, say, Hong Kong and Dubai; both are >>>>reasonably >>>>family-friendly, I'm told. A few years ago, I took EK SIN-CMB-DXB-LHR >>>>because it was (a) a cheaper ticket and (b) included a place I'd never >>>>been.
>>>>Stopovers can be of pretty much any length, depending upon flight >>>>availability, and can cost either more or less in terms of air tickets. >>>>(Plus of course the usual hotel charges, etc.)
>>> Hotel charges increase dramatically after two or three days at some >>> stopover >>> destinations. They want you to go there to shop.
>>And on certain days, too, I think, like Friday/Saturday nights. I think >>stopovers are great, but they can be very expensive.
> We tried to stopover in Singapore in February 2005, but everything was > fully > booked. We eventually did the trip in one go changing at KL. Knackering > but we > did arrive in Melbourne in the evening and checked into Holiday Inn at the > airport & went straight to bed. The following day we woke up after 10 > hours > sleep and had no jet lag at all.
Could you have stopped over in KL, had you wanted to?
If I fly GF, I always take into consideration a mandatory stopover in Manama due to lack of planes, delays, general GF dementia, etc. Last year I was forced to stop over on a Friday and asked the immigration officer if the (quite good) National Museum of Bahrain was open that day. It not only was, he assigned an officer just finishing his shift to drive me there.
> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel > from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip outside > of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover en > route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. > I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are > stupid):
> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration?
No
> Is it more expensive to stay a few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours?
Not as far as the flight is concerned. Many airlines have agreements with local hotels that can get you discounts during your stopover
> I notice airline booking sites do not have a stopover option when > booking.
> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold > and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
Not only is it likley to be cold and wet but the days are very short at that time of year. It will be completely dark by 5.30 pm and the sun wont rise until around 6.30 am
Personally I'd skip Iona in March but Edinburgh could be OK , at least there are lots of indoor attractions there.
>> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a >> few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do not >> have a stopover option when booking.
For international fares, normally, a stop longer than 24 hours is considered a stopover. Once it is longer than 24 hours, it doesn't really matter, as long as the return trip is still within the fare rule's limits.
So if you have a ticket with maximum stay of 1 month, you could stay 28 days at intermediary point, then travel to destination, stay there one or two days and then come back. (minimum stay rules may apply at final destination though).
Not all fares allow a stopover. The dumbed down web based travel agencies may not give you the complete fare rules and may not "auto price" such itineraries. You want to look at all fares, and for each fare, check the complete fare rules to see if stopovers are allowed.
Some airlines grant a free stopover at their main gateway. For instance, it is likely that Air Pacific would let you have a stopover in Nadi Fiji on the way to Los Angeles.
If the lowest fares don't allow stopovers, you need to look at the next fares and check their fare rules. If the dumbed down web travel agency won't let you book a trip with a stopover even if you know that the fare exists and allows a stopover, you may have to go to the airline directly or through a travel agent.
> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to > travel from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first > trip outside of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable > place to stopover en route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a > long journey. I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies > if they are stupid):
You might try calling the airlines, or a Travel agent let someone else do the work.
As for the weather and bearability. You are from Carins, Hobart would be better climate in a similar time period. Would you go to the South Island of NZ say Milford Sound in September? From what I know the weather would be better in either place than Scotland unless you like cool and your adress belies that.
-- Joseph Coulter, cruises and vacations www.josephcoulter.com yourvacat...@comcast.net 877 832 2021 904 631 8863 cell
> We are a family of four (2adults, 2 children) who are planning to travel > from Australia to Europe next March/April. This is our first trip outside > of Australia and we are trying to arrange a suitable place to stopover en > route to avoid the crippling jetlag of such a long journey. > I have a couple (read infinity) of questions (apologies if they are > stupid):
> 1. Are stopovers of a standard duration? Is it more expensive to stay a > few days (2/3) rather than 24 hours? I notice airline booking sites do not > have a stopover option when booking.
> 2. I harbour a long held desire to visit Scotland but am unsure how cold > and/or miserable it might be in Feb/March. Is Iona out of the question?
> Any info gratefully appreciated.
> Thanks,
> Mark, of Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Just checked with an on-line agent and it appears that from Cairns you have three options: 1 Qantas via Singapore 2 JAL via Narita 3 Cathay via Hong Kong
The shortest of these (flight time wise) is Qantas. That would m
