Getting to HH

[disney junky]

My wife and I live in Central PA. Our nearest airport is Harrisburg, but we more often fly out of BWI because it's a Southwest airport. We'd like to take a quick trip to check out the HH resort but driving would tie up so much time. Does anyone have thoughts about flights or trains or other options?

 

[mazoo77]

I was checking into this a few months back. Savannah, GA is the closest airport to HHI and Charleston, SC is a second option.

You can fly direct to Savannah from Philadelphia via US Air. Another option since you already use BWI is to fly SW to Charleston, SC. The Charleston, SC airport is approx 2 hours north of HHI but it may be more cost effective. I never looked into the train option.

We are planning to go around the Christmas holiday so we have some extra days allocated as travel time. I am still not crazy about the long drive so hope it will be worth it and that we don't kill each other on the drive. My husband and I always agree to disagree on the route to be taken when traveling anywhere.

There are other options flying/train and I am certain others will comment on this.

Good luck and have a great time!

 

[Anal Annie]

Doing a quick search on kayak.com for a weekend (Sat-Sun) in Sept. it looks like prices are nearly 2x as much to fly from BWI as it would be to fly from Dulles or National. National Airport is the only one in the DC area that offers direct flights (on US Air) and they're about $236. Flights from BWI are running around $420 or so and go thru either Philly or Charlotte. Flights from Dulles are only about $224 and go primarily go thru ATL. We live in the DC area and while we prefer BWI over the other 2 airports in the area it is generally more expensive since SW bought AT. I've always heard that flights to Savannah are pricey. It's about a 9-10 hour drive from the DC area depending on traffic & your stopping. Flying from Harrisburg they also don't offer anything direct - looks like you'd have to go thru ATL and it would cost about the same as thru BWI. So I guess you'd have to figure out how long it takes for you to drive to BWI. The flights from Harrisburg are running around $425 on Delta and take anywhere from 3 hrs 48 min to 5-6 hrs depending on the layover selected. I think if I was willing to pay that much pp and if I was willing to transfer I'd go from my closest airport. (US Air also offers non-stop from Philly for $277 if that's not much further to drive to.) If I was looking for the best deal and the quickest flight I'd go to National or Philly. I didn't look at mid-week travel, only a quick weekend trip. If you fiddle with the dates you may find better deals.

 

[Simba's Mom]

I was checking into this a few months back. Savannah, GA is the closest airport to HHI and Charleston, SC is a second option.

You can fly direct to Savannah from Philadelphia via US Air. Another option since you already use BWI is to fly SW to Charleston, SC. The Charleston, SC airport is approx 2 hours north of HHI but it may be more cost effective. I never looked into the train option.

We are planning to go around the Christmas holiday so we have some extra days allocated as travel time. I am still not crazy about the long drive so hope it will be worth it and that we don't kill each other on the drive. My husband and I always agree to disagree on the route to be taken when traveling anywhere.

There are other options flying/train and I am certain others will comment on this.

Good luck and have a great time!

Since you mentioned Southwest, you might want to know that Southwest flies in and out of Charleston. The next closest airport that they use is Jacksonville, FLA. Last time we used that airport was several years ago, and while it was 3 1/2 hours away, there was a lot of construction which may be gone and the route shorter.

 

[Dean]

My wife and I live in Central PA. Our nearest airport is Harrisburg, but we more often fly out of BWI because it's a Southwest airport. We'd like to take a quick trip to check out the HH resort but driving would tie up so much time. Does anyone have thoughts about flights or trains or other options?

I assume you'd be renting a car so you may want to consider the car rental, flight cost and timing as well as the time spent by driving from a distant airport. The flights from Harrisburg to HHI directly with 1 stop on US air are not that much more. That'd be my first option unless it's a large family for the economy of scale. Flying in to Savannah would be my second but mostly if I could get a direct flight. Driving an extra 3-4 hours total to save the difference on two people doesn't make sense unless there are other significant benefits as well such as free parking at the departure airport, a dramatic difference in rental car options, etc.

 

[ganban]

We're also central PA and usually fly out of Philly. By the time drive we drive an hour and a half to the airport (plus leaving a half hour early in case of traffic), waiting an hour at the airport, doing the 2 hour flight, picking up luggage and rental car at the other end, then driving to the resort, we'd have 5-6 hours into the trip. I'd rather just drive the 10 hours and save money on the flight, rental car, and airport parking. Just me ... I don't mind the drive.

 

[disney junky]

We're also central PA and usually fly out of Philly. By the time drive we drive an hour and a half to the airport (plus leaving a half hour early in case of traffic), waiting an hour at the airport, doing the 2 hour flight, picking up luggage and rental car at the other end, then driving to the resort, we'd have 5-6 hours into the trip. I'd rather just drive the 10 hours and save money on the flight, rental car, and airport parking. Just me ... I don't mind the drive.

That's sort of the way I'm looking at it. Once you start piling on the time and cost of rental cars, it may just be easier to drive. I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

We just got back from DHHIR last night. We flew PVD to Charleston (with connecting flights at BWI) and it was a 2 1/4 hour drive form the airport to the resort. We were able to get a rental car for $223 for the week, a SUV.
Last year, we flew into BWI from PVD and rented a car from there. We figured it saved us the worst of the NE corridor and we visited friends along the way, with a Red Sox game at Campden Yards before flying home. Getting through Richmond took forever, but then it was an easy drive.

We may drive all the way next year. Just consider gas, tolls and meals on the road when figuring out the comparative costs.

 

[MinnieGi]

We also always drive to HHI. We are in DE so 11 - 12 hour drive. But when going to a beach area it seems way easier and cheaper to bring the beach stuff we already have instead of renting chairs, umbrella, boogie boards etc.. Not to mention you really need a car at HHI to get around and explore the island. So it would be way more expensive for us to fly and rent a car. From where you are in central PA, I think you'd need a day to travel each way wether you drive or do the airport.

 

[ldo]

we are in the DC area--so a few hrs south of you. We leave the night before after dinner and rush hour and drive about 4 hrs and stay at a motel. Usually you can find decent places for around $100. Coming home, we leave early and drive it back in 1 day. Driving the beltway around DC is not bad at all after 7:30pm. Prior to that--no way!

 

[sleepydog25]

That's sort of the way I'm looking at it. Once you start piling on the time and cost of rental cars, it may just be easier to drive. I appreciate everyone's input.

One more vote for driving. As ldo suggests, driving part way, spending the night, then driving on in the next day is the option we most often choose, as well. Between the airline tickets, fees, rental car, being detailed about packing, and the cattle call aspect of flying these days, driving just makes more sense for us and provides us more flexibility with our plans.