We are planning a Hawaii trip, likely with both girls, in January. We have a few options for flying. One would be to spend more and fly out of the closest airport. It's an hour and a half away, and the flights would not be direct. OR we could spend less, but drive 5 hours to the closest big airport, which would involve an extra overnight at a relative's house on either end of the trip. I'm trying to decide what, logistically, makes the most sense when traveling with a 3 year old and an 8 month old.
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If it is comfortable to stay at the relative's house, I'd do the big airport. I've had too many flights canceled or miss connections, and I'd take more time in the car over risking that with young kids. But we drive whenever we can, so if your kids aren't good in the car, that's probably not a better option for you.
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Hmm. I think this depends. I’m usually all for a non-stop flight with kids, but I’m comparing a 45 minute drive to our small easy airport and a 1.5 hour drive to our big airport. Five hours is a long drive. I think you’re going to have to go with your gut on how much of a hassle you think the drive/stay is vs the possibility of getting delayed/missing your connection.
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Ugh, my kids never sleep well at someone else's house. I'd pick the good night of sleep over everything else.
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I would pick the closest airport in a heartbeat. The thought of driving 5 hours plus having to stay with a relative just to get to the next airport sounds too tiring
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I'd go with the closer airport. Mostly for the return trip. I can't imagine getting in the car for 5 hours the day after a 5 (or more) hour flight with 2 littles
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Definitely the closer airport!
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What’s the difference in flight length/travel time between the closest non-direct option and the further direct one?
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I went to Hawaii once, on miles with connections. Somehow, we got stranded overnight both going and coming back.
Going there was an airline computer glitch that delayed flights and made us miss our connection in SF. Coming back, there were high winds that delayed the flight out of HI, so again we missed our connection. In both cases, it necessitated an overnight stay. Can you check if you missed your connection how bad of a delay it would be until the next flight? And what % are on time?
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@erinbaderin: The travel time would be similar. And when I did more research, the cost for the closer airport was like twice as much per ticket. So we opted for the flights out of the further, bigger airport and got a great deal. And it turns out my parents are coming with us, so we will have extra hands and an extra car driving down and back. That'll make it easier with the two kids.
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@Mrs. Turtle: With a similar travel time I would have said go to the closer airport until you said twice as much money! Then it’s no contest. Have a great time!
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10 comments