Calling AMC

[mayerling]

AMC, I was wondering if I could impose on you for some travel planning advice.

DH and I would like to fly to the West Coast of the US from Southern Europe in January. Since we're taking N, we'd like to make a couple of overnight stops along the way. Every travel website I've looked at does not give me the option of multiple flights + hotels (it's either multiple flights or 1 flight+hotel). Do you know a website that you could suggest? Should I just try a travel agent?

Thanks!

 

[JGator]

Try Kayak.com - under flights, there is a tab for multi-city. You should get one free stop over with your flight as long as the airline you choose has a hub in one of the cities you want to stopover in. An example would be get a ticket to LAX from Paris with a stopover in Atlanta (on Delta/Air France) or take United/Lufthansa from Frankfurt to San Francisco with a stop in Chicago or DC where United has hubs. You just have to know which airlines have hubs in the city you want to visit along the way. New York would be a good stopover option because a lot of flights from Europe connect in NYC. My in-laws often visit us on the East Coast from Europe and stop to see us for 2 weeks, and then go to the West Coast for a few more weeks to see my SIL so I know this can be done with one ticket. You can only stop over overnight(s) one-way not both ways using one roundtrip ticket. Good luck.

 

[amc80]

JGator gave good advice. If that doesn't work then I would recommend a travel agent. Most agents make zero money on flights (as in the airlines don't pay a commission) so there may be a flat fee per ticket added on (they will earn a bit on the hotel, though). But it may well be worth it if you don't feel like dealing with the logistics on your own. Sounds like a fun trip!

 

[mayerling]

So from what I understand there are no websites that would do more than one stop with a hotel booking. It seems I'll have to go with a travel agent then.

 

[JGator]

Mayerling, I would book hotels and airfare separately. Also, apparently, the one free stop is only if you are using frequent flyer miles for the ticket. My DH said you should be able to add stopovers for as little as $100 to a paid ticket though. You should check out tripadvisor.com for hotel reviews. Also, once you are here, use them for ideas on attractions and restaurants too. I find the site really helpful, and I've actually posted a few reviews myself.

 

[amc80]

Yep, I agree with JGator (again). No need to book together. Do you have a preferred airline or airline group? If so, I'd start by calling them and pricing it out that way. The hotels are easy to add and can be done separately.