When to consider connecting flights
November 29th, 2021
Here in Halifax, we are fortunate to (normally) have a number of direct flights, some year round, some seasonal. While it remains to be seen what flights will return for sure as we ease out of the pandemic, in the past we've had direct flights to some cool places:
New York City (to New York and/or Newark NJ)
Orlando, Florida (year-round!)
London, England
Edinburgh, Scotland
Reykjavík, Iceland
Frankfurt and Munich, Germany
not to mention the "sun season" destinations:
Cancun, Mexico
Montego Bay, Jamaica
Varadero, Cayo Coco, Cayo Santa Maria, and Holguin in Cuba
Punta Cana, Puerto Plata, and Samana in Dominican Republic
Freeport, Bahamas
The lists above are certainly not exhaustive. Whether you live here in Nova Scotia or in another area that has easy access to the world with direct flights, consider yourself lucky. More often than not, direct is the easiest option. So why would you want to connect?
For starters, the world is a big, beautiful place, and there's plenty to see. Maybe you've "been there, done that" in the places your local airlines have direct access to. If you still want a tropical vacation, but something new, think outside the box, and think outside of the local Departures list when it comes to your vacation. How about the other islands in the Caribbean? The Pacific side of Mexico? What about venturing a little further down to Central or South America? Or, even further: Hawaii, and yet even further to the South Pacific?
Direct flights are easier, yes, but if you want to see more places, you're going to have to connect at some point.
There are other reasons people may choose to connect as well. Perhaps someone has medical reasons that they shouldn't sit for more than a few hours. Yes, we should all be getting up and walking around on the plane, but not many people actually do. A layover might be useful for someone who wants to have some time to walk around properly. If not medical, consider:
Break It Up
The kids (or you!) may just need a break. This kind of goes along with the above in relation to just needing some time to walk around. While connecting can have its own headaches, it may be better in the long run for the kids to have a break instead of being cooped up for hours.
Extend Your Vacation
Paul and I had to do overnights both ways on our trip to Hard Rock Riviera Maya in July 2017. I had won a trip through Transat, flight included, but we could only make July work for us that year. Transat doesn't fly from Halifax in July, so we had to make our way to and from Toronto. We just thought of it as an extended vacation and got to check out two different hotels.
This can get tricky with airline rules about how long you can stay, and it does add additional cost, but you can extend your vacation with an overnight layover. You may be able to take advantage of local attractions between flights, or it might just be nice to have one more night with room service before getting back to reality.
The bottom line is that while direct flights are usually easiest, don't be afraid of connections. They may take you to a newfound paradise, or just make your overall trip a bit less stressful in the long run.
Ready to book your vacation? jen.m@gotravelcompany.com
Please note that I do not book standalone flights. I book flights only as components of a whole vacation booking.
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