Organising a trip to the States is not easy, there are alot of things to prepare and i have to consider the welfare of 5 old folks as well. Ever since last December...
1. Sourcing for cheap air tickets. Decide fast, book early!!!
I checked airline companies almost everyday in December, at that time, a few airline companies that offer really good deals were, Qatar, Cathay Pacific and Delta Air. Earlier on in October, i was informed that Cathay Pacific offered 1.6k+ for economy trip to New York. I thought there would be better deals coming up and decided to wait. That was a wrong move, as in December, i could not seem to find any better deals. It was after much searches that i found Qatar offering 1.7k+ but with an eight hour wait at the Qatar airport for the connecting flight and Delta airlines offering at 1,579 (inclusive of taxes) with just 2hour wait for the connecting flight. So after much discussion with the aunties, we decided on the cheaper Delta airline instead of the award winning Qatar air.
2. Searching for cheap land tours ( Chinese Speaking tours preferred)
As i am going with my mum, an uncle and 3 other aunties whose first language is mandarin, it would be better to look for Chinese speaking tours. Thanx to my cousin who was studying in State College, she sent me these links
http://www.tours4fun.com/6-day-us-east-coast-vacation-package-from-nyc.html#includes
http://www.tours4fun.com/7-day-deluxe-west-coast-tour-package.html
And because we are a big group of 7, there were so much discounts that each person only pays US 210 for the east tour and about US 290 for the west. Although all these only include the transport and hotel stay, but according to my twin is still considered cheap already.
3. Looking for cheap domestic flight tickets
This is another headache. We have confirmed on the tours in April when i was in Korea. And it was time to look for flights to the west. At that time, most of the domestic flights seemed to be booked already and tickets were expensive at US 450+ just to travel from New York to Los Angeles. I have to be by the laptop almost every night just to see if cheaper tickets were released from
http://www.orbitz.com/
There was one instance when tickets went down to US 371 per person (tax inclusive) and we decided to just go ahead. No checked in baggage is included though.
4. Deciding on accommodation and itinerary
So our accommodation is settled in the State college and also when we are joining the land tour. I have to find accommodation for the other 10 days. Since i started using Orbitz, i decided on the site to book most of my hotel stays. It seemed that they always have promo codes as compared to Agoda, so certain hotels would be relatively cheaper. Sometimes, it is really draining to the eye to compare so many hotel agents to see which is cheaper. I only compared 3 of my favourite hotel agents, Orbitz, Agoda and Booking.com. I booked quite a number of hotels, from Best Western Queens Court Hotel, Asiatiq Hotel, Red Roof Inn Flushing, Howard Johnson Newark, JFK Inn and also an apartment from Airbnb in Bronx. As we have 7 people, i always looked for the rooms with double beds. Those two beds are big enough to accommodate 4 people comfortably in the room.
5. Getting a US Sim Card
As i would be in US for almost a month, i decided to get a US Sim Card as recommended by twin. You can buy the card either on Amazon or on the website http://www.readysim.com/
My plan was a 2GB data plan with unlimited talk time, about US 55. I thought it would be more convenient with a US number, at least i can call for food delivery, cabs and also to contact another auntie in NY.
6. Miscellaneous
So when most of the bookings and reservations are settled, it is time for changing currency and packing, the rates at the money changers in Arcade ranges around 1.258 at that time. Recently, i decided to change currency there as i realised the rates there are really relatively much better than alot of places. The disadvantage is that you cannot bargain for more there unlike Chinatown.
Packing is a headache, especially when Delta only offer one checked in bag maximum 23kg, which is to say my purchases there have to be squeezed into the big luggage so i have to try not to bring too many clothes. Usually, my sleeping wear are old clothes which i will throw away there. I only brought about 7-8 tops and 2 pairs of jeans and with laundry wash available, manage to last through the 27 days. Ahem, i wear my pair of jeans for more than a week!!!
Oh keep in mind that the checked in luggage is fitted with a TSA lock. Lastly, for trips to US, we have to apply an online visa
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/
Ok that is all for now! Coming up next in my post would be more on the trip. Stay tuned.
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