Travel : United States

[gar_gar]

Hi, I am also planning for a trip to Orlando during June holiday period for family of 3.


Have a hard time deciding what flight to take. Thought of taking SQ but the return flight from SIN to MCO is almost $18k for 3 (2A, 1C). Not too sure about the rest of the cheaper flight like United/ ANA. Anybody has experience with these airline? ANA seat looks kind of small and narrow and the comfort rating from the web is not great. Heard United do not have inflight entertainment which my 9yrs old dd might be bored to death even with iPad which she is could be bore with it.

Another option is to take SQ to San Fransico ($6k+ for 3) and take a domestic flight to Orlando. However, we might need to stay over night at the hotel there. We only have around 10days all in all. Not too sure if such stayover will waste too much time.


Any kind advise?

[schweppes]

gar_gar:

Hi, I am also planning for a trip to Orlando during June holiday period for family of 3.


Have a hard time deciding what flight to take. Thought of taking SQ but the return flight from SIN to MCO is almost $18k for 3 (2A, 1C). Not too sure about the rest of the cheaper flight like United/ ANA. Anybody has experience with these airline? ANA seat looks kind of small and narrow and the comfort rating from the web is not great. Heard United do not have inflight entertainment which my 9yrs old dd might be bored to death even with iPad which she is could be bore with it.

Another option is to take SQ to San Fransico ($6k+ for 3) and take a domestic flight to Orlando. However, we might need to stay over night at the hotel there. We only have around 10days all in all. Not too sure if such stayover will waste too much time.


Any kind advise?

maybe u can check with a travel agent on the best connecting flights. if u book early, sometimes can get good rates too.

[verykiasu2010]

gar_gar:

Hi, I am also planning for a trip to Orlando during June holiday period for family of 3.


Have a hard time deciding what flight to take. Thought of taking SQ but the return flight from SIN to MCO is almost $18k for 3 (2A, 1C). Not too sure about the rest of the cheaper flight like United/ ANA. Anybody has experience with these airline? ANA seat looks kind of small and narrow and the comfort rating from the web is not great. Heard United do not have inflight entertainment which my 9yrs old dd might be bored to death even with iPad which she is could be bore with it.

Another option is to take SQ to San Fransico ($6k+ for 3) and take a domestic flight to Orlando. However, we might need to stay over night at the hotel there. We only have around 10days all in all. Not too sure if such stayover will waste too much time.


Any kind advise?

I find the cheapest route is by United. Their B777 has inflight entertainment, only the B747 do not have

you can book direct on http://www.unitedairlines.com.sg

SQ is nice on the A380 via LAX, but the website problems are not fixed since May 22, 2011; plus you still need local flights from LAX - MCO r/t, not a bad combination as the long haul are on SQ

alternative is try out Emirates, via Dubai, quite good too

or take SQ to London, and from London use Virgin Atlantic r/t

[peapot]

ya, planning to go US too. But will be going in June. Anyone know if June is peak season? Things will be more expensive?

[verykiasu2010]

peapot:

ya, planning to go US too. But will be going in June. Anyone know if June is peak season? Things will be more expensive?

the peak season is Sep / Oct when all the major conferences are every where and hotels are especially expensive, at least double the normal rate

[schweppes]

Can consider flying with Eva Air. Price is more attractive than SQ which is :moneyflies: :moneyflies:


Service is good - inflight entertainment kept everyone occupied on the long haul flight. Food is not bad too. In fact, family and I found Eva Air's overall service and quality better than Emirates.

Transit in Taipeh is another attractive point to consider

[hsm]

dolphinsiah:

Hello HSM,

It depends how would you like your USA holiday to be like...with Theme parks/Shopping or Sight Seeing....
We took 3 weeks of Holiday in USA during Dec 2011...

1st week went Orlando did 6 Theme Parks....so enjoyable....the Theme parks are so awesome....
Orlando people are also very friendly and the weather is very good...
The next 2 weeks went LA, LAs Vegas and SFO...

SFO a very unique city....I like the street which have lots of slope...
But too many homeless people....which makes the street not safe....

Premium Outlet shopping , USA brand very cheap.....don't buy you will regret...bought Coach/kate Spade/Guess...Levis
Just bring a empty luggage...come aback with extra 3 luggages..

I suggest that you choose a State to arrive and from that State you travel to another State by Domestic Flight....

Hi dolpinsiah

Thanks for your sharing.. yeah, i'm planning for theme parks, outlets shopping and alittle sightseeing

Prob not planning for Orlando for this trip, it's too far to fly from West side to Orlando.. but very tempting with the 6 theme parks u mentioned

[hsm]

schweppes:

How old are your kids?

Some of the places worth visiting:

San Francisco
Alcatraz - a definite must go; recommended that you book your tickets online 2 weeks before arrival - esp if u are going during peak period
Fisherman Wharf
Muir Woods
Golden Gate Bridge
Nappa Valley
Union Square
if going in Winter - bring your kids ice skating at Union Square
if got time... then travel to the hinterlands surrounding SF

Food/ restaurants: Cheesecake Factory, Burger Bar, Bubba Gummp (the berry and pear salad is to die for...) :drool: :drool:

Las Vegas
Grand Canyon - definite must go; u can check out going with Grand Canyon Tours http://www.Grand-Adventures.com/(highly recommended tour company for day tour to GC)
The Strip
Shopping at the Premium Outlets - go to the North Premium Outlet (instead of the South Outlet). Have better quality brands. A place to shop-till-u-drop. :moneyflies: :moneyflies:
The shows -if got time to watch

Food/ restaurant: In-and-Out Burger :drool:

Los Angeles
theme parks: Universal Studio, Disney
Hollywood
Rodeo Drive
The Grove (for shopping and farmers' market type food) :drool:

Food/ restaurant: Baja Fresh (a mexican fast food restaurant) :drool:

U can drive inter-state or fly on their domestic flights. Cabs are pretty expensive. So, one suggestion is to stay in the city/central for easy walking access. Join day tours if u don't wish to rent a car.

Have fun planning!!

Hi schweppes

Thanks for the wonderful tips! My girls are 12 & 10 this year. Sounds like 2 weeks is not sufficient Must checkout if the tour packages go to the places you mentioned. Still deciding whether to join tour group or self drive..

I'm sure self explore, we will get to cover more things compared to package tour.. but need alot of plannings..

For the list u mentioned for SFO, do you self drive?

:thankyou:

[hsm]

schweppes:

Can consider flying with Eva Air. Price is more attractive than SQ which is :moneyflies: :moneyflies:


Service is good - inflight entertainment kept everyone occupied on the long haul flight. Food is not bad too. In fact, family and I found Eva Air's overall service and quality better than Emirates.

Transit in Taipeh is another attractive point to consider

yes, i agree!
Most of the airlines including SQ cost abt $8k+ for my family of 4.. except for EVA, it's only $6k+.. my collegue flew on EVA last Dec to West Coast, she said it was good!

[schweppes]

hsm:

Hi schweppes

Thanks for the wonderful tips! My girls are 12 & 10 this year. Sounds like 2 weeks is not sufficient Must checkout if the tour packages go to the places you mentioned. Still deciding whether to join tour group or self drive..

I'm sure self explore, we will get to cover more things compared to package tour.. but need alot of plannings..

For the list u mentioned for SFO, do you self drive?

:thankyou:

Did not self drive for the US trip. dh said that since he drives so much in Spore, he just wanted to relax and leave the driving to others. It worked out well as I cd see he was less stressed without having to worry about route planning and traffic jams (a big headache in LA). Cd enjoy watching the scenery instead of staring at the roads. Whilst having a car has its advantages and flexibility, we were ok without.

For the 3 places we visited, I made sure that the accommodation we booked are in the city - walking distance, so need not rely on cars. We also joined day tours if we wanted to go to further places. If need be, we'll take the cab.

We were there for 10D/8N - wish we cd hv stayed longer but cd not be away too long. So, looking at my list above, we did not go to Napa Valley and Disney as no time. But somehow, we tried to cover as much as we could.

If u have time to spare, u shd visit Yosemite National Parks, esp if your family enjoys nature. Wish I cd visit that place too.

One thing to note is that if u are on F&E, ask your travel agent to arrange for flights to arrive in one city and depart in another.. So we flew in to SFO and flew out from LAX. If ur dh is driving, can consider driving down from SF to LA (or vice versa, depending which airport u arrive in).

Best experiences from the trip : visiting Alcatraz, ice skating @ Unions Sq (for the girls), Muir Woods and ultimate best was of course, Grand Canyon (as it was snowing, my girls made snow angels in GC - that was really amazing feeling)

I enjoy planning for my family vacations. Can be time consuming but so fun. In fact I find it relaxing - a good way to destress from work & my kids school stress.

Our girls are similar in age group and they really enjoyed themselves. Am sure your girls will have a blast.