Advice required re flights please

mumlady1

First of all, I'm very new to this forum so I apologise if I've posted this in the wrong place!

I'm hoping to take my hubby and 2 teens to America either in April or July 2011. Would I be better to book flights now or wait a while?
It says elsewhere on this site to book flights early but I have a friend who leaves booking her flights until just a couple of months before she goes and seems to get better prices.
Also I'm hoping to fly to NYC then travel by train to Washington and fly home from there. Would I be better to book one way tickets to and from each city or just book a return from NYC and travel to Washington for a few days and then back to NY?

Any advice would be much apprciated. Thanks

Alan_Bowen

Don't buy single tickets to the US, buy an 'open jaw' ticket that allows you to fly into New York and out of Washington, BA and Virgin both fly to both destinations. Take the train, AMTRAK, between the two cities and book in advance to get the best fare. Now the million dollar question, when to book. You dates look suspiciously like school holiday periods, if they are then book early as demand will always go up and so will prices. April seats are already on sale, for July you will need to wait a little longer, they are generally on sale around 330 days before travel. A weather warning , July can be unbearably hot and humid, it has been over 100 degrees in the last few weeks which makes sightseeing a nightmare, for me at least. I would choose Easter for the cooler weather, and possibly lower prices.

alanrowell

Open jaw is also known as Multicity. Most airlines offer them as do the various search engines for flights like Kayak.co.uk

As to when to go - I would suggest April being the better choice as if you look at the weather for Washington DC you see the MINIMUM daytime temperature this week is 32C with overnight tenmps of 25C with the humidity at nearly 100%. New York is slightly cooler but it's still at temperatures that would have headlines of "phew what a scorcher" in the UK

mumlady1

Thank you so much guys for your help and advice, it's much appreciated. You're right, the dates are school holidays - kids still at school and I work school terms! Looks like April might be best for us as we are all part vampire (not keen on too much sun)!
Thanks again