kelakwek

This will be my first trip to North America.

I'll be flying Singapore to Orlando. What's the best route for this journey?

Shall I take SQ to the West Coast, or East Coast and fly domestic.. or (as another thread suggested) fly to Manchester and transfer to Virgin Atlantic.

Any tips for the least tiring route and hopefully the most economical one too.

BTW, I will flying coach with 2 young children in tow.

yogi

In my opinion onnections are always the hardest part of traveling with small children.

I would take the SIN-EWR, and then a nonstop to MCO after a 3 hour and 15 minute (clear customs and let the kids run around) layover. The executive economy has more "wiggle" room (get a set of three seats in the middle) and there are lots of games and movies on the IFE. Leave Singapore at a reasonable 11:10 am, get into MCO at midnight, go to bed and get up in the morning and have fun.

qasr

I agree with yogi, SIN-EWR-MCO makes the most sense, with EWR-MCO on CO. This is not only the shortest route, but it gives you the most time on SQ.

Going through SFO/LAX gives you more transpac options, however all but one require an extra stop. Going through LAX does give more miles, but of course means longer travel time as well as more time in a domestic F cabin.

9V-JKL

While SIN-EWR-MCO does make the most sense in terms of time spent. Its is a little more expensive than SIN-MAN-MCO. S$2678 vs S$2310. (Fare quote from www.airfares.com.sg).

Also SIN-MAN-MCO vv. you can do away with the another check-in @ EWR. Something you may want to consider when having 2 young children in tow. And since MAN-MCOvv is a SQ code-share, miles earning is also more

faithgurl

Hi,

This is the 1st time I'm flying from Singapore to Orlando but I do not wish to visit only one state so probably will fly to New York 1st before heading to Orlando. Anyone can advise which flight is the best option from Singapore to New York? Thinking of taking SQ but hope to receive more advises. From New York, which flight to Orlando is better? Is it a good idea to fly to New York 1st before heading to Orlando? I will be traveling with 2 kids so hope to plan the best route out. Anyone can advise? Thanks!

kohswisscheese

Hi, SQ flies to New York JFK via Frankfurt on SQ26/SQ25. Other one-stop options to New York on Star Alliance include Swiss, Turkish and Lufthansa on the Trans-Atlantic route (usually more expensive) or United, Air China, Asiana and ANA on the Trans-Pacific route (usually cheaper). Cathay, Korean and Delta are alternative one-stop options in other alliances.

From JFK to Orlando (MCO), Jetblue (B6), Delta (DL) and American (AA) have direct flights. You should look at these airlines if you wish to connect immediately to Orlando as it will prevent the need to switch airports. Be sure to leave around 2.5 hours at the minimum for connections as you will need to clear Immigration and Customs which will have long lines unless you're a US citizen. SQ interlines with all 3 of these airlines so your baggage can be checked through.

If you are staying in New York before flying to Orlando, United and Jetblue have direct flights from Newark (EWR) to Orlando. You can get from downtown Manhattan to Newark using an airport shuttle or by using Amtrak (inconvenient if you're things and tots in tow). Jetblue and Delta also offer Direct flights from New York LaGuardia (LGA).

Do note that if you plan on stopping in New York on the way back from Orlando, you will likely have to pay US$25 per bag on the domestic flight if you have no elite status on DL/AA/UA. In this case, you may want to consider B6 which has free baggage allowance at the present (going to change sometime in 2015)

Hope this helps.

faithgurl

Hi kohswisscheese,

Thanks so much for your detailed sharing! As this is the 1st time to US, do you think it's advisable to travel to New York 1st before heading to Orlando? Any other places which are advisable? Do you have any idea how much is the SQ flight from Sin to New York? Which airline will you recommend? Appreciate for your help. Thanks!

kohswisscheese

It really depends on what you want to do in both cities, one possibility is to go to your 'main' attraction city first (which I understand to be Orlando) but it's really a matter of personal preference. If you're going to Orlando to hit the parks, I would choose to do when it's less crowded (that means avoiding weekends if possible, avoiding holidays etc.)

The US is very big- what else do you plan on doing? New York has a vibrant museum and sight-seeing scene while Orlando's better for it's theme parks (this is a huge generalization). Florida has beaches as well. I do think both these cities can easily take up a 2 week trip.

I can't comment on the price of the flights but you can plug your dates into Singapore Airlines' website at singaporeair.com for quotes. Another option is Skyscanner or ITA Matrix where you can compare prices across airlines. I would estimate it to be around S$2500 depending on your dates.

If you're travelling in Economy SQ has a very nice hard and soft product. In my earlier message I forgot to mention EVA (BR) via Taipei which has a decent Premium Economy product- as does Turkish. I personally like Tokyo as a stopover but that's largely just personal preference. If you can list your priorities (price, connections etc.) others will be able to advise further.

faithgurl

Hi,
Yes, our main objective is to let my 2 girls comb through the theme parks in Orlando but at the same time we will like to go for sightseeing and shopping as well. Estimated duration will probably be around 2 weeks or so. Orlando will take up almost 5 days so New York will take another 3 or 4 days? Any more rooms for other location? Budgeted air tickets to be less than S$2,500 per pax so hopefully SQ can fit into our budget. Any more advises or suggestions are deeply appreciated. Thanks!

kohswisscheese

You need to do a little research on your own to find the exact fares for the dates you intend on travelling. In general I highly doubt that S$2.5k will pay for SQ SIN-JFK plus domestic flights, you may want to look at the cheapest SIN-NYC flights for your dates so you have budget left for domestic flights. Short answer: I highly doubt SQ will fit within your budget but you need to check.

Depending on which parks you're going to hit in Orlando, it's possible to spend upwards of a week there (if you're doing both Universal and Disney). Orlando also has easily accessibly Premium Outlet Shopping (2 outlets, accessible by the Lynx public bus services) and the Florida Mall (out of the way but pretty decent). New York has many suburbs to explore and there's always Brooklyn and Long Island if you want to venture further. I do think these 2 cities are enough for 2 weeks.

But if you're looking at more, consider hitting a beach in Florida (depending on what season you arrive) or getting the Amtrak from New York down to Philly or Connecticut

faithgurl

Hi,

Thanks for your advices and deeply appreciated! I will try to do some research 1st before pinning down on my trip. Thanks!

johbeaker

I would recommend taking Amtrak between Orlando and New York City to see some of the countryside, rather than just Orlando and NYC. A sleeper would be highly recommended, but even long distance coach isn't bad for one night.