Originally Posted by factory81

Before covid, I wouldn’t travel internationally for a long weekend trip. Post-covid, I would have to be a masochist to consider a long weekend international trip. I suppose with the right flights (direct, no connections. Ideal departure/arrival times), right seats (lie-flat in both directions); some will tolerate it. I guess this depends on the definition of a long weekend. If a long weekend is 4 nights/5 days; then maybe a tactical trip meant to enjoy once city-center would be more possible.

I will throw a 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th option at you. They are obtainable, low barrier to entry, accessible, unique, picturesque, and all around delightful

• Traverse City, Michigan - wine, boating, golfing, window shopping
• Charleston, South Carolina - window shopping, golfing, boating, history
• Whitefish, Montana - glacier national park, golfing, boating, window shopping, hiking
• Jackson, Wyoming - Teton national park, golfing, window shopping, hiking

International travel is a double edge sword right now. Award tickets are back to cheap and plentiful; so a great time to redeem, although fares are being heavily discounted - so is it really a great time to redeem hard-earned miles? Then once on the ground; closures, early closure of attractions, early closure of restaurants, dynamic & ever changing government restrictions, and capacity limits make the trips incredibly frustrating. Not to mention the reduction in flights, and fragility of -everything- in a world where labor shortages are everywhere.

I will be following this thread to see what kind of shenanigans y’all are up to.

Originally Posted by Beachfun71

That stinks about the new restrictions. I was in the Netherlands a few weeks ago. As far as returning to U.S., it was really easy to get a rapid test over there.

If you are talking about the Hampton Amsterdam/Arena Blvd, I love that place. It’s pretty recently new, remodeled and has more of an American feel for size and amenities, as opposed to some of the tiny hotel rooms in the city. It’s in the suburbs with a few local bars and restaurants, and it’s just a quick train or taxi into the central city if you want that. It’s also got a small bar with a cool pizza oven in the lobby, and it’s the best Hampton breakfast I’ve ever had.

Originally Posted by enviroian

I have chosen an alternate route that is great for me and is a little less miles than what I had.

Out: dfw-mia-lhr
back: lhr-LAX-dfw

For the return I get to stay longer in the UK on the Monday with a 5 pm flight to LAX. Unlike the war zone JFK area I am staying at the Westin there on Century for $50 less than that dilapidated JFK Hampton.

1:30 PM flight out the next day allows me to work in my room all morning and grab a quick shuttle back to LAX for lunch then flight to dfw and home by 6:42 PM