UK Flight Help

Just had a look and the Open Jaw with BA (Lon-Seatile then Vancouver to London) is more expensive.

 

It seems it might just be cheaper to book 2 single one way flights.

 

What a forum.........

 

 

Thanks you.

 

 

Lou

BA doesn't open their booking window until almost a year before flight time, and fares that are listed initially are seldom the cheapest, because the airlines don't know that their internal costs won't go up over that 11 months. So they hedge by setting fares higher at first and then allowing them to fall based on competition.

First time we looked at Alaska and B.C. we also got ourselves a bit tangled because there are so many options for both land and sea. So very confusing and the more you look the more you find. There are the Rockies by train or DIY driving, N, S and round trip cruising, Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Denali as DIY or by cruisetour, and many islands and more remote areas.

For many, a short northbound or southbound cruise is only one sector of a DIY trip, they are using small planes to get onto small islands or to reach some parts of Alaska or are visiting some of the places in the first paragraph or a combination of these options. The short cruises are a "means to an end" to allow them to see sights they would not see by any other means, such as Glacier Bay, Hubbard Glacier, Tracy Arm etc. Onboard, these are more casual cruises, with many pax travelling light, sometimes only with backpacks. Must say though that the camera equipment and binoculars are impressive.

You mention going to Anchorage but are looking for suggestions for " 3-4 Days in various places before cruise. (Any ideas, thoughts ??)"

You do not mention Denali, or Fairbanks or The Seward Highway which suggests you maybe have not read about the area and what might interest you there. Depending on your findings, your research of that area would help you decide if you would rent an RV, a car/hotel/motel combo, go by train, book a train tour or book a land/cruise combo with a cruise line. You could even go north or southbound with one cruise line, do your own land thing inbetween then return with a different line. Even if you do not book with them, Princess Cruises has an excellent chart and info on their website which shows the possibilities and what you could see or do in each place. They offer multiple combinations and would give you an idea of where you might go and for how long.

Weather. September is a tricky month in Alaska. Weather can be very changeabe at that time. The earlier you would visit in the month the more likely that you might find places still open because you are into low season. If you look at the Princess land tour options, you will see that the latest they leave is during the first week in September.

What are you hoping to see in Alaska? You do not get all of the wildlife, sealife and marine life throughout the short season. Different months, different sightings, but the scenery is always there although it too can change depending on the month.

We were so confused with the multiple options we took the easy option and booked HAL cruise only northbound from Vancouver followed by cruise only southbound, and booked our own flights to give us 5 or 6 days in Vancouver split between pre and post cruise. Lovely city, we explored in it and out of it.

Not many years after, HAL brought in a new itinerary R/T Seattle 14 days. With only Juneau and Ketchikan as repeats for us we booked and had a wonderful time. It is worth looking at. We again booked our own flights.

Your "special offer flights" are in September for a reason. The Caribbean in hurricane season and Europe in February are also cheaper for a reason. I suggest you take a couple of days away from your flight searches to clear your heads of the muddle, then read all about Alaska before deciding which options are best for you.

Our Seattle flights were booked through OPODO. You will find all the code share airlines on there, European and American.

Hope this helps.

Hi edniburgher,

Thank you for your kind reply.

So just t clarify we land in Seattle and then fly to Anchorage. We are then looking to do a few days from there. Possibly simply get a bus/train to Denali seems to be the best option as everything seems to be there.

Does that make sense.

Lou

Flying to Seattle then on to Anchorage is not something we would have done, but it is your choice.

You might still decide that the R/T Seattle cruising option is the simplest and easiest.

Denali is a National Park and Reserve.

You need to read up on it on various websites, but this is the official National Park Service website:

https://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm

You will find info on how to reach it and how to get around some of it, and again there are multiple options. Opening/closing dates are also listed, note closed by mid-Sept latest although earlier if the weather deteriorates before then, so you might need a Plan B in case your planning comes adrift.

You need to read as much as you can because you may decide not to DIY Denali at all, but book it as a cruise tour instead.

I can highly recommend the Seward Highway out of Anchorage. We did it only as far as Portage as Anchorage was only a one day port stop for us. One of the most scenic routes in N America.

Hi Edinburgher,

"Flying to Seattle then on to Anchorage is not something we would have done, but it is your choice. You might still decide that the R/T Seattle cruising option is the simplest and easiest."

Very much appreciate your help.Can you please explain why you wouldn't do Seattle to Anchorage flight and also I assume you mean a cruise from Seattle being simplest option.

Thanks again

Lou

We are doing Alaska next year. After a lot of investigation we have decided.....

Friday - fly LHR to SEA (£2784 for 2 in WTP)

Overnight in Seattle giving us time to see the Pike and Chihuly

Saturday - Fly SEA to ANC at 4pm getting in around 6;30 ($520 for 2 one way)

Stay over night in Anchorage

Sunday - Hire car drive to Girdwood for lunch ($160 for 3 days car hire - hire in town not at the airport as it is much cheaper!)

Monday - drive to Denali

Tuesday - Denali

Wed - drive back to Anchorage

Thurs - catch early morning train to Seward, overnight Seward, use the launderette etc

Friday - boat trip to see whales etc, get on ship and sail at 8pm (RCI)

Following Friday get into Vancouver

Overnight in Vancouver

Saturday - flight back to LHR

We did look at doing SEA return to LHR but the train between YVR and SEA left at the 'wrong' time and we just decided it fell into the 'too difficult' folder, and once we factored in the train fare it was the same as the open jaw round trip.

We did look at connecting directly in SEA up to ANC which is possible but we thought we would break the journey and try and get acclimatised to the time difference. I also get to go shopping in SEA (but don't tell DH!)

I looked at the Norwegian flights to Seattle but once you bought their business class etc the prices were comparable to BA.

We also looked at the Icelandic flights via REK but that was more expensive than BA!

There are far more direct flights from SEA to ANC which is why it is better to use SEA as the set off point.

Hope that helps

Little Britain,

Sounds like very sold plans and well thought out. When are you going.

Its very early days planning for us and at the moment we are looking at Princess in early Sept. I know its risky with the weather but it suits us time wise better.

You mention driving to Denali, do you know what other ways you can get there. Have you got any firm plans whilst there.

Have a fantastic time.

lou

I know that the hotel we have picked only has 4 rooms left for next June so you have to be quick to book as soon as the inventory opens!!! We are staying at the Home Dome FYI.

For the Tuesday we will prebuy the tickets for the bus into the park - I think that is $144 for 2 of us. You have to take the busses in the park, and you pick how far in you want to go. The park only opens at the beginning of June.

We quickly realised that Alaska is sooooo expensive but I guess they only have a short season to make money!

We are going in June.

DH is currently glued to Alaska Live and wants to see a bear......!

After exhaustive reading and researching we took the easier options each time. No regrets. Absolutely loved our trips. We thought that Princess and HAL offered more of what we wanted but in the end we opted for HAL. Maybe changed now but the ships they had on the Alaska routings at that time had many floor to ceiling windows and the bow areas (not usually open to pax) could be opened for scenic sailing and whale watching. Some of the lectures were held out there. Staff would come round with hot Dutch pea soup. You could read Princess and HAL reviews of Alaska, and especially those where pax travelled in September.

After a long haul flight from the UK (and maybe two flights if you have to change) flying from Seattle to Anchorage is simply another flight journey, more time on the move, more expense and there is an 8 hour time difference between the UK and Seattle which can hit body and mind quite hard.

You asked " You mention driving to Denali, do you know what other ways you can get there?"

If you don't intend to drive, the National Park Service link I gave you in post #29 has your multiple choice options listed. Multiple choice info on getting around Denali is also on that link.

And if it is still September, your timing could be very tight because to be sure of Denali you need to go earlier in Sept, but cruising south afterwards you need to watch the dates, because ships will be leaving Alaska in September to reposition elsewhere for winter and more likely to be heading north than south.

Due to the multiple options for everything, everyone will have done what was best for them personally as there is no "one size fits all". This type of trip is a very personal one so reading as much as possible before committing to anything is the best way to go.

Whatever you decide, I am sure you will have a wonderful time because Alaska is unique.

little britain,

You are correct in that Alaska is expensive due to the short season as for many Alaskans that income must last them 12 months.

However, one of the other reasons for the expense is simply logistics because many towns do not have road access, meaning everything has to come in and out by air or by barge. Even trash is transported out by barge from some towns. As you can imagine, both options add to costs.

You will probably see these barges as you sail around. They will have everything and anything on them from groceries to furniture to shop stock to vehicles of all sizes, road signs, building materials, small boats, office equipment, you name it, it could be on there.

Stand somewhere like Juneau and look around you. Everything you see will have been transported by air or sea as Juneau has no road to anywhere despite being the State capital.

Another thought, As Alaska is a further time zone cruising up would give you time to lose a little more jet lag. Do check the cruises with denali tours as well. Also generally the cruises out of Vancouver have better scenery of the inside passage and calmer waters in the first day or so.

Hi there,

I've been following this with interest as I am planning a similar journey for next July.

OP, just wondered if you know Icelandair do London to Anchorage (via Iceland) ? It looks like this route is Sunday's and Wednesdays. I think that's what we've decided to go for. Enjoy your planning :)

Wow, a stop over in Iceland, that sounds amazing and we will definitely have a look.

Thanks you

Hi is there a reason why you wouldn't fly straight home from Vancouver??

Thanks for your help

Hi is there a reason why you wouldn't fly straight home from Vancouver??

 

Thanks for your help

Not at all. We were going to fly back from Vancouver with Air Transat or West Jet.

However, I see doing a multi city booking Vancouver- Toronto- London with West Jet works out almost the same price for us - so we're going to break up the long homeward journey with an overnight to Niagra Falls!

A few days DIY in Alaska? Canada? USA?

 

Lots of Alaska cruises start or finish (or both) in either Seattle or Vancouver. We have UK friends who are doing a 1-week Alaska cruise from Vancouver followed by 3-days on the Rocky Mountaineer train to Banff/Calgary. They found a great package deal, which we seem to not get so much in the US :(

The UK Cruise Package sounds very much like a 'Planet Cruise' offering. They've developed quite a niche market in putting together both Alaskan Tours (as you describe) and South American offerings with fly-in 2-3 days stay in Buenos Aires and 2 days end-of-stay at Valparaiso. We almost made their joining-up of 2 cruises last year (fly Scotland-London-Buenos Aires (3 days pre-cruise stay) then 'Round the Horn', calling at San Diego and then on to Vancouver for 5 days end-of-cruise stay - and then the flights back to London and Scotland). Unfortunately, what looked like a minor house repair initially turned into a 7 weeks+ rebuild so both the time and the Bank balance disappeared without trace! But 1 day, yes, 1 day - we will do this cruise package (probably the week after my funeral so my wife can go on the proceeds of the life assurance payout ...) :D:D

Quite surprised the difference in prices from Vancouver to London. West Jet seem to be less than half the price of BA.

How long does it take to get from the ship to Vancouver airport please.

Quite surprised the difference in prices from Vancouver to London. West Jet seem to be less than half the price of BA.

 

How long does it take to get from the ship to Vancouver airport please.

BA are usually pricier than others in our experience, so we've used them all of once from YVR to the UK compared to many flights on Air Canada/Star Alliance partners. Check the route on WJ - they have very few non-US international flights and like to route via Toronto to Europe, while BA go non-stop from YVR (as do Air Canada). I believe there's one daily flight YYZ (Toronto)-LGW, so it's going to be a much longer and less-convenient option than a non-stop with BA unless the WJ flight is actually on a partner airline.

YVR airport is <10miles, ~30mins by cab or SkyTrain (transit light rail) from the pier. Since you'll want to stay in town for at least a few days (we have more stuff to see and do than all the ports in AK combined) it's more relevant how far away from your hotel the airport is. Since the pier is in the heart of downtown, most hotels are a very similar distance/time.

BA are usually pricier than others in our experience, so we've used them all of once from YVR to the UK compared to many flights on Air Canada/Star Alliance partners. Check the route on WJ - they have very few non-US international flights and like to route via Toronto to Europe, while BA go non-stop from YVR (as do Air Canada). I believe there's one daily flight YYZ (Toronto)-LGW, so it's going to be a much longer and less-convenient option than a non-stop with BA unless the WJ flight is actually on a partner airline.

 

 

YVR airport is <10miles, ~30mins by cab or SkyTrain (transit light rail) from the pier. Since you'll want to stay in town for at least a few days (we have more stuff to see and do than all the ports in AK combined) it's more relevant how far away from your hotel the airport is. Since the pier is in the heart of downtown, most hotels are a very similar distance/time.

Thanks for the information. We hadn't considered staying in Vancouver but were flying straight home. However it is definitely something we would consider.

Anybody spent a few days in Vancouver. Any thoughts of thing to do, places to stay ?

Thanks you

Also found some flights to from Vancouver to UK for £225 which seems pretty reasonable ??

Thanks for the information. We hadn't considered staying in Vancouver but were flying straight home. However it is definitely something we would consider.

 

Anybody spent a few days in Vancouver. Any thoughts of thing to do, places to stay ?

 

Thanks you

There's far too much to do to go into in a thread about flights. Check the West Coast and Canada/Pacific boards as well as this Alaska board and you will find many, many questions and answers about Vancouver. Suffice to say the only stuff you CAN'T do here is historic-by-UK-standards buildings (we're just too young) and the full suite of High Culture activities (our ballet and opera are part-time, and large-scale theatre productions also few). Without knowing the kind of stuff you & your travel companions enjoy Lou, generic rating sites like Tripadvisor are a better bet for you than my or any other individual opinion - unless by sheer chance we both like exactly the same kind of stuff...

Also found some flights to from Vancouver to UK for £225 which seems pretty reasonable ??

One-way that's relatively fair - very much depends on route, airline as to exactly how good a deal. We're always on return or open jaw flights, as are our UK rellies, and we mostly pay about CAD$1000 (~£600) RT for nonstop flights on AC while the rellies prefer Air Transat which is cheaper but no-frills. From Vancouver the latter sometimes offer direct but not always non-stop (the plane may land in Calgary to drop/pick up more pax) for £50-100pp more than going via Toronto and changing planes.

For questions about value/cost and flights, CC isn't the best resource - try kayak, hopper, hipmunk for comparative current and historical pricing (i.e. is X a fair price, is it likely to go up or down from now). The last of these has a very simple 'agony' rating to choose the overall least-annoying flight factoring in price, time, number of stops that you may find useful.

We are from the UK and did the Alaska trip in August 2016. We didn't do a land portion in Alaska but did do the Rocky Mountaineer. We were very limited on holiday dates as my OH works in a school and I am employed part-time in a factory which closes for 2 weeks in the summer, so that's the 2 weeks we had to take. It involved a sprint for OH leaving school on the last day of term to get to Heathrow for the Friday evening flight!

I have the full spreadsheet of everything we did; I booked it all myself directly.

Fri 22/7/16 flight Heathrow to Calgary, stayed overnight Calgary.

Sat 23/7 transfer bus Calgary to Banff, stayed 1 night Banff.

Sun 24/7 board Rocky Mountaineer Banff to Kamloops, overnight Kamloops.

Mon 25/7 Rocky Mountaineer Kamloops to Vancouver.

Mon 25/7 to Sat 30/7 Vancouver. Did a lot, would be happy to go back again, loved Vancouver.

Sat 30/7 boarded Star Princess Northbound. Wonderful cruise, I booked activities for every port day.

Sat 6/8 left Star Princess, transfer to Anchorage, stay overnight.

Sun 7/8 fly Anchorage to Seattle, fly Seattle to Heathrow (arrive Mon 8/8)

Wed 10/8 back to work for me.

We decided to fly back via Seattle as we thought going from USA to Canada to UK could be more hassle than USA-USA-UK. Also more choice of flights. Flight out to Calgary was direct with BA, Anchorage to Seattle with Alaska Air, Seattle to Heathrow with BA.

It certainly wasn't cheap but was the holiday of a lifetime.