Help me plan my honeymoon: NE America, Oct 2014

LynseyLou_2

Hi folks

I am getting married next month and still haven't sorted the honeymoon. We have overspent on the wedding quite a bit and only have £1500 to play with.

We want to go to NE America for two reasons. First, my fiance and I are big museum fans. Second, my friend is getting married in Maryland and we would like to pop in while we are there. We plan to visit New York and Washington DC via Baltimore.

I have had a good shop around and the best I could come up with was £1600, using Virgin Atlantic for flights into Newark, AirBnB for accommodation, and the New York pass for attractions.

Does anyone have any top tips? I have had a look at Priceline - has anyone had any success in the bidding? Is there any way of getting discounts on Amtrak - we will be using the train to get to Baltimore and Washington?

Our travel dates are flexible from week commencing Monday 13 October but we must be back by Saturday 25 October at the latest.

I hope I have included enough information. I am happy to hear from travel agents too.

Best wishes

Lynsey

Misty_Blue

There will be some more expert people along with ideas, but I noticed in your sig you have a Virgin Atlantic cc. Are you in the Flying Club? You can get 7% off the cost of a Virgin Holiday if you are, and I use the airmiles from my Virgin Atlantic cc for upgrades, but they can be used on reward / companion flights too.

LynseyLou_2

Hi Misty

Many thanks for your reply. Yes, I am in the Virgin Flying Club. I was planning on using Miles plus Money to get into JFK/Newark, as it knocked around £40 off for both of us. Maybe that's a waste, I don't know. I asked for a companion flight but it worked out much more expensive. I was appalled actually! VA are on sale at the moment, which helps A LOT!

I wanted to do a search with Virgin Holidays but their site doesn't seem to be wired up for multi-city trip planning. Maybe if I called them that would help - then I could use the 7% discount? Worth a shot I suppose.

Lynsey

blindman

LynseyLou wrote: »

Hi folks

I am getting married next month and still haven't sorted the honeymoon. We have overspent on the wedding quite a bit and only have £1500 to play with.

We want to go to NE America for two reasons. First, my fiance and I are big museum fans. Second, my friend is getting married in Maryland and we would like to pop in while we are there. We plan to visit New York and Washington DC via Baltimore.

I have had a good shop around and the best I could come up with was £1600, using Virgin Atlantic for flights into Newark, AirBnB for accommodation, and the New York pass for attractions.

Does anyone have any top tips? I have had a look at Priceline - has anyone had any success in the bidding? Is there any way of getting discounts on Amtrak - we will be using the train to get to Baltimore and Washington?

Our travel dates are flexible from week commencing Monday 13 October but we must be back by Saturday 25 October at the latest.

I hope I have included enough information. I am happy to hear from travel agents too. :eek::eek:

Best wishes

Lynsey

Priceline Some people have :cool:
Priceline saves you money on top end hotels-In general you pay as much as you would a 2*.
So not moneysaving but getting better value.

IMHO you don't need the New York Pass

Look at the New York thread for advice

Look at coach travel between Baltimore and Washington DC

Look at FT for Amtrak discounts

LynseyLou_2

Thank you very much :-)

torbrex

Other than the museums which are pretty much all free, I found Washington DC to be quite expensive for hotels and eating out particularly.
I ended up with a hotel in Arlington and got a weekly pass for the tube and rode that into the Mall every day.

jackieblack

LynseyLou wrote: »

I have had a good shop around and the best I could come up with was £1600, using Virgin Atlantic for flights into Newark, AirBnB for accommodation, and the New York pass for attractions.

Be aware that most short-term apartment rentals in New York are illegal, including those through sites such as AirBnB

LynseyLou_2

jackieblack wrote: »

Be aware that most short-term apartment rentals in New York are illegal, including those through sites such as AirBnB

Could you explain this?

michele-p

Hi, I don't know the exact law, but it's illegal to rent an apartment for under a month. There are sites that do it, and advertise, but it is illegal, and you take a great risk. They often ask you to state you are staying at a friends house.

We are busy planning a trip in June next year, so have been looking at accommodation in New York, Washington and Boston as part of it. Blimey they are expensive, your budget does sound very low for your trip.

We have booked http://home2suites3.hilton.com/en/hotels/new-york/home2-suites-by-hilton-new-york-long-island-city-manhattan-view-ny-ISPMVHT/index.html which has just opened and is getting good reviews. It's not on Manhatten, but just 10 mins away from Time Square by train.

We are also taking amtrak from New York to Washington. Keep a look our for Jet Blue flights though, then can be cheaper than train travel. We are then flying to Bufflo Niagra, then flying to Boston, spending a week in the mountains and on the coast, then flying back to New York for our return home.

Boston seems to be even more expensive than NY!

michele-p

One last thing, have a look at this thread, there may be a chance of a cheap ticket if you're quick (not with e-dreams, expedia is mentioned) someone mentioned booking for October.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/glitch-flights-new-york-return-prices-from-236-with-virgin-atlantic-edreams-1993796

LynseyLou_2

Thanks for the tips hun.

We think we are going to cut New York from the trip this time. I found a deal with British Airways with flights and accommodation for £1500 to Washington DC. We might go to New York when our finances are more settled.