Unfortunately, Heathrow Airport is the only international destination with nonstop service available out of & back to the New Orleans airport.
www.eurostar.com
That works too. I’ve spent a week in Nice every summer for 15 or so years pre COVID. Paris to maybe Avignon to Nice. Day trip to Monaco or Eze or St Paul de Vence. Open jaw home from Nice via JFK is pretty easy.
It will be a couple of hundred bucks cheaper, and give them a couple of additional days (which would be a huge plus imo), if they were to fly roundtrip out of MSY on either Sat. or Sun., May 20 or 21, and return from Heathrow on Tuesday, May 31 ($1001/person is what's currently showing on the British Airlines website) -- rather than doing the weeklong trip of Tuesday, May 24, returning on the 31st ($1,135/person or $2,270 for the 2 of them), which would give them a mere 5 full days "on the ground."
Is your daughter adverse to the idea of going to Amsterdam or Paris? The Eurostar train offers nonstop transportation from London to either of those cities. The nonstop trip between London and Amsterdam takes more time than to Paris, but it's still only 4 hours, so no longer than, say, train travel between London and Edinburgh. And that way, your son would also get his wish of visiting a continental European city.
https://www.eurostar.com/us-en
Since they first traveled abroad when they were your twins' age, I asked my son and my niece for their opinions on the 2nd city. My son voted for Paris; my niece voted for Amsterdam. Theoretically, your twins could do a train between Paris-Amsterdam, but honestly, I don't think they'll find it difficult to keep themselves busy and entertained with 3-4 days each in London and Amsterdam (or Paris), without shoehorning in a 3rd city. The decision may be influenced by the availability and costs of accommodations in Amsterdam vs. Paris.
Stonehenge is definitely a doable day trip from London. 90-minute train ride to Salisbury, and then a special Stonehenge tour bus (timetable for May is under the Winter schedule tab):
Experience something magical, mysterious and truly magnificent when you hop on board the Stonehenge Tour bus... - The Stonehenge Tour
Experience something magical, mysterious and truly magnificent when you hop on board the Stonehenge Tour bus... - The Stonehenge Tourwww.thestonehengetour.info
Think the twins will like exploring the TimeOut websites for other ideas of what to see-do
Time Out London - Events, Attractions & What's on in London
Find out what's on in London with Time Out. Your guide to the best food & drink, events, activities and attractions in London.www.timeout.com
Time Out Amsterdam 2025: Best Things to do, Restaurants and More
Find out what’s going on in Amsterdam, from the best restaurants and bars, clubs and the finest attractions and things to do.Time Out Paris 2025 | Paris Events, Activities & Things To Do
Paris’s guide to theatre, restaurants, bars, movies, shopping, events, activities, things to do, music, clubs, dance and nightlife.
In case you haven't already noticed, hotel lingo is different than what we're used to. A "double room" is a room with a bed for 2 people, so they'll need to book a "twin room" in order to get a room with 2 beds -- and that will be an additional charge above the rates you initially see when doing searches. I just did a quick search for London university dorm accommodations, but it looks as if their schools' summer recess (when some dorm or "hall" rooms are made available to the general public) doesn't begin until the 2nd week in June or so.
This is such a wonderful, fun graduation gift for them -- memories for a lifetime!
Yep, I know an open jaw ticket is one where your return flight does not leave from the same airport as where your inbound flight landed. But I didn't remember that earlier in the thread, you had suggested train travel. So when I saw "Well, I still vote for London, Paris, Amsterdam. Open jaw ticket and three nights in each place," I mistakenly thought you were proposing flights to all 3 cities - my apologies.
Oh I hope your kids still get to go somewhere! Ireland would be doable. Dublin seems like it would be fun for twenty somethings. If your kids want to venture out of Dublin, there is a train that can take from to Galway. It’s just a 2.5 hr train ride. Also, day trips are available to Northern Ireland. There’s a UNESCO site in Northern Ireland called the Giant’s Causeway (it was on my travel bucket list) and lots of beautiful sites (including GOT film locations). Ireland is feels insular and is easily manageable.
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