Doing self directed, overseas golf travel

[David_Tepper]

For those thinking of traveling to the Scottish Highlands, be aware that KLM next May will start a daily flight between Schiphol Airport/ Amsterdam and Inverness. Flybe also flies between those 2 airports.

British Airport will also be starting a flight in May between London Heathrow and Inverness.

[Thomas Dai]

.....
The first time I played County Down in 1982 it was in a horrendous downpour and I stuffed all my soaked clothes in my golf bag, only to meet a road block by the RUC on the way to Belfast Intl. (it was the 1st anniversary of Bobby Sands' death....).  The police guy asked me to get out of my car and demanded to show him what was in my golf bag carrier.  So, I open up the "package" and the stench hits the cop like a ton of bricks....
Rich

atb

[Thomas Dai]

Headed to New Zealand in February.
What are the nongolf must sees?
.....

Going in Feb, phew, if it were June I'd be hellish jealous as non-golf must sees would then include NZ-Wales playing three Tests matches. They'll be 'tests' for the boyo's in red too, probably not so for the All Blacks, although you never know....fingers crossed.


Any golf stop-overs planned for on the way there or on the way way back?


Have great time.


Atb

[Ash Towe]

Jeff,


In Arrowtown, have lunch at the Amisfield winery.


North of Auckland the place to go is the Bay of Islands.  West of Auckland is Piha surf beach. Let me know how much time and driving you want to do and I can narrow the options down for you.

[jeffwarne]

Jeff,


In Arrowtown, have lunch at the Amisfield winery.


North of Auckland the place to go is the Bay of Islands.  West of Auckland is Piha surf beach. Let me know how much time and driving you want to do and I can narrow the options down for you.

Thanks Ash
will send a PM

[Daryl David]

Jeff,


In Arrowtown, have lunch at the Amisfield winery.

+1 on Amisfield. Make sure you get advance reservation. Tables at lunch are scarce.

[Mark Chaplin]

eBay is full of nearly new GPS, I buy one for around £50 use it for two weeks in the USA and sell it for the same. All it costs is a bit of commission and postage, far better than $100 in hire fees to the car hire company.

[jeffwarne]

eBay is full of nearly new GPS, I buy one for around £50 use it for two weeks in the USA and sell it for the same. All it costs is a bit of commission and postage, far better than $100 in hire fees to the car hire company.

Interestingly the last 3-4 cars I've rented have had GPS built in, and one was actually clever enough to talk me into renting a unit anyway.
After discovering I already had working I GPS I went back in and got the GPS rental charge removed, and the clerk asked laughingly why I would rent a GPS unit in a car that already had one! GRRRRRR.....


I also downloaded($49) the UK and Ireland maps to a US unit which worked nicely, but again my car had it anyway.But I still have the unit for future trips.

[Mark Chaplin]

I had two decent SUVs this month in the US and neither had gps fitted.

[JJShanley]

This thread contained some great information, so I thought I'd bump it rather than start my own.


I plan on taking my new clubs to Scotia in two weeks.  I've a travel bag and a StiffArm, but I wondered what tips you had for international travel with your clubs.  Should I buy iron covers?  (For the flight.)  Could I pack a bottle of something in a ClubGlove style bag without it breaking?  (Doubtful.)

[Charles Lund]

This thread contained some great information, so I thought I'd bump it rather than start my own.


I plan on taking my new clubs to Scotia in two weeks.  I've a travel bag and a StiffArm, but I wondered what tips you had for international travel with your clubs.  Should I buy iron covers?  (For the flight.)  Could I pack a bottle of something in a ClubGlove style bag without it breaking?  (Doubtful.)

I have put liquid toiletries in a golf travel bag but they were in plastic containers.  I have not traveled with liquids in glass containers.   Think you are asking for problems unless you wrap glass in a towel to cushion impact.

TSA often opens golf travel bags.  The more extraneous material you have that cal fall on the floor, the more you are likely to lose something.

I generally put an plastic electrical twist tie on the zipper of my golf travel bag.  If it is missing when I get my bag, I open the bag and check contents.

I wrap a towel or a jacket around the top part of my clubs to cushion impact.  It is often in that area when I open my clubs.  I think many TSA staff who handle golf clubs and semi-fragile sports items do a decent job at getting things back in if they take anything out.  I pack shoes in plastic bags.  I often pack one change of clothing in a golf travel bag and other clothing in a separate bag. I have not had clubs damaged in over 40 intercontinental flights and hundreds of flights in the U.S.  I have golf travel bags with padding like Club Glove.  I like the protective device you have for absorbing impact.  I usually travel with a backup driver.  I think the modern driver covers offer good protection.

As another issue, I double tag each bag with an ID tag attached with an electrical twist tie.  I went to Fed Ex and laminated cards with my name, home address, mobile phone and email.  I use a label printer and add destination addresses and phone to the back of each laminated tag.  I often go for four to six weeks at a time.

I have been separated from luggage one time on an overseas flight.  It was at London Heathrow on a British Air connection,  coming and going.  The bag arrived in Dublin on the next flight.   On the way home, two bags didn't make it.  I was paged in Seattle and told they were coming the next day.  They delivered them to the address I provided.

By the way, what airline and from what airport are you departing from?

Charles

[JJShanley]

Charles,


Thanks for those details!  I have a TSA lock that shows me if security has opened the lock.  I typically pack towels in around the clubhead, but having just bought new forged irons, I wonder whether ClubGlove's headcovers will protect them more in transit.


I will fly ORD-EWR-EDI on the way out with United, and direct EDI-ORD with them on the return.


It looks like the kummel import business will need to wait a few years.  Alas. 


JJS

[David_Tepper]

In case anyone is interested, British Air is currently running a 2-for-1 Business Class ticket sale for  travel from the U.S. to London from now till May 31, 2017. A very good deal!

http://www.britishairways.com/en-us/destinations/uk-ireland?DM1_Channel=DIS&DM1_Campaign=AMER_US_EN_PROSP_runway_JulyBusinessCompanionUS&DM1_Site=runway&utm_source=runway&utm_medium=Display&utm_campaign=AMER_US_EN_PROSP_runway_JulyBusinessCompanionUS

I AM AFRAID THIS WAS NOT A 2-for-1 SALE! My mistake. Sorry for any confusion.

[Michael Whitaker]

If you are visiting the UK or Ireland and have an unlocked iPhone you can purchase a "pay as you go" SIM card from the Three network for around £30. Cards are available through vending machines at the airport or from any phone service store, such as Car Phone Warehouse.

These SIMs will provide you 500 minutes of local calls, 3000 text messages and, most importantly, UNLIMITED data for 30 days! 

With one of these local SIM cards you can surf the web, use GSP, and make FaceTime calls to The States without worrying about returning home to an outrageous roaming bill.

Also, under the Euro pricing scheme all incoming calls are at "no charge" and do not count against your plan. So, your family and friends can call you from The States and it won't cost you anything... of course they will pay long distance from their end UNLESS they use FaceTime or some other VOIP service to place the call.

The "all you can eat" data feature has proved a Godsend for me, especially when traveling alone. Being able to use Google Maps, SIRI, search for B&Bs, search for restaurant recommendations, use the "hotspot" feature to connect my iPad has been a trip saver for me at times.

[Joe_Tucholski]

My wife and I have been saying we're going to Ireland for some time.  Lots of recent threads about week long trips to Ireland as well.

This weekend Delta started running a promotion to Dublin.  Round trip tickets for roughly $300.  We ended up getting a flight from LA to Dublin (will be in LA at time of departure) and then returning home to Ohio for under $400.

Also booked a second trip.  Crazy how airline prices can go that low.

[Charles Lund]

Good job.  Thanks for reporting.

Dublin has a nice arrangement for customs and immigration pre clearance where you go through U.S. Customs and Immigration at the Dublin Airport before you get on the plane.  No waiting in line at JFK or where you fly into in the U.S.

Entering Ireland is pretty straightforward.  When I tell them I am on a golf holiday and the courses I am going to, I have often been asked what I play off as the officer stamps my passport.

Charles Lund

[Buck Wolter]

Starting in June, Norwegian Air Chief Executive Bjørn Kjos promises the cheapest trans-Atlantic airfares U.S. travelers have ever seen — as low as $75 one way, flying on a new Boeing 737 MAX between Ireland or Scotland and the U.S. East Coast.
http://www.seattletimes.com/business/boeing-aerospace/norwegian-air-ceo-pledges-rock-bottom-transatlantic-fares-with-his-growing-boeing-fleet/

[David_Tepper]

Has anyone flown Norwegian across the Atlantic yet? If so, how was the flight?

[John Kavanaugh]

Has anyone flown Norwegian across the Atlantic yet? If so, how was the flight?

Greatest thing ever in Premium seating. I flew from JFK to Stockholm and then back from Gatwick in London to Boston. I would call it close to addictive. We did also take a quick flight from Helsinki to Paris in economy and it was sardinesque.


The 787 Dreamliner is a marvel of modern engineering, you almost want turbulence just to see the wings touch above your head. If you can book an overnight flight it beats most hotels, never had a maid fix me drinks and room service ain't never free.

[David_Tepper]

John K -

Thanks for the report.

DT

[Adam Lowes]

Has anyone flown Norwegian across the Atlantic yet? If so, how was the flight?

Another vote here, flew with them from Boston to London. Couldn't fault the airline and the price was unbeatable.

[Tom_Doak]

TSA often opens golf travel bags. 

TSA pretty much always opens golf travel bags if you have a pair of golf shoes [or any extra pair of shoes] in there.  I've gotten so many of their little inspection notices over the years, if I'd kept them all I could print a copy of one of my books on them.

[Charles Lund]

Certainly they almost always do on domestic flights.

My golf travel bag has not been routinely opened on flights to Australia.  When I have flown from Canada to Asia,  my golf travel bag has not been opened.

But virtually every flight I do between Seattle and San Diego, it is opened.

Charles Lund

[Charles Lund]

I saw some comments about the Airbus A380.

I have flown it a few times on Qantas to and from Australia in both Premium Economy and Business.  I also flew it on British Air between San Francisco and London on a trip last year to Ireland, in Business on the way over and Premium Economy on the way back (I was flying using British Air miles so I took the classes offered).

The plane is quiet and very stable.  This coming summer I am opting to go to Vancouver to fly to London on British Air on the 380 instead of flying from Seattle where the flight is a 747. 

I did one Australia trip on an Airbus A380 to Australia in Business on the way over and the 747 in Business on the way back. I was sentimentally tied to the 747 being from Seattle, but the 380 and 777 are much quieter than the 747. I have also been bounced around pretty severely between Japan and Honolulu coming and going on a 747.

This year I will try the Airbus A350 for the first time and the 787 for the first time.

I would try Norwegian Air but I am pretty tied into accumulating miles and points and leveraging bonus miles with status bonuses.  I have been doing five international trips a year the past few years and recently started doing more multiple destination trips involving more than one continent.

I am trying Icelandair from Seattle to Glasgow with 50 minute stopover in Reykjavik on my way to Ireland.  I will fly from Dublin to Copenhagen and spend 10 nights in Malmo,  Fasterbo and Lund, Sweden before flying from Copenhagen to Reykjavik for three nights on my way back to Seattle.  I am accepting the fact that I will be on the 757, but I can get miles from the flight because they partner with Alaska. But the flight time from Seattle to Reykjavik is a relatively short 7.5 hours.

By the way,  thanks to those who responded many months ago to the thread about golf in Sweden.  Besides getting to stay in a city named Lund, I will get a chance to play a number of courses in that area.

I also had a thread about the Devon/Cornwall Coast.  For the Vancouver to London flight I will go from London to Saunton GC, Royal North Devon - Westward Ho, and St. Enodoc.

For Asia trips, Cathay Pacific often has much better fares flying from Toronto or Vancouver to Hong Kong than from LAX or SFO.  The same seems to be true for flights between Vancouver and Narita on Japan Air.  I will fly their 787 to Narita from Vancouver in October.  Both Cathay and Japan Air have less harsh cancellation penalties than other airlines I have flown.

Cathay offers stopover options in Hong Kong on the way to Thailand or Vietnam that are very user friendly.   Essentially, the fare onward to the next destination city is very slightly higher than the fare to and from Hong Kong.  I have stayed over multiple nights in Hong Kong going and returning.

So I guess that the revival of the thread gives me a chance to pass on some other travel and flight experiences.

Charles Lund

[Doug_Feeney]

Wide awake at 4am after returning from Ireland yesterday, so what better time to start researching my next trip!


Although I admit I was initially skeptical, I flew Ethiopian Airlines direct from DUB-LAX on their 787 and had an absolutely terrific experience.  Booked in business class using Aeroplan miles, transferred from American Express points, so cannot speak to what it is like in the back, but a combination of lie flat seats, very good entertainment choices, and good (although interesting) food options will make this my choice whenever I can get it.


As an FYI Ethiopian leaves from Terminal 1 in DUB so no pre-clearance.  I have Global Entry and actually don't like using preclearance as I am not one to arrive at airports early.  And LAX was immigration was dead on this particular Sunday AM