Who has flown out of Manchester,NH?

[Bea]

I would love to hear from anyone who has driven from NS and flown out of Manchester airport . We are looking at mid August but the "cheaper flights" (there are 5 of us) don't leave until 5:30 or 8:00 pm. Not sure if we should drive 1/2 way the day before and the other 1/2 the day we fly out, or drive down, spend the night in Manchester, and spend the day there looking around until early evening.

Does anyone have experience with hotels there? Somewhere that we can leave the car and has a free shuttle? Free breakfast would be great to!

Any tips would be wonderful.

 

[Rellagirl]

I wish I could help you with hotels. We drove to Manchester from NS/NB. It was a direct flight, which was great as the 14 y/o was terrified of flying. We had an early morning flight so we drove all night. It was a very long drive as we encountered a bit of a snow storm and freezing rain when we reached Maine, which slowed us down. At least you won't have that problem! We were very tired the day of our flight but it was worth it I think for the price of the flight. Next time I would definitely fly the whole way from either Moncton or Halifax, etc. because we basically lost 2 days of our vacation. We drove across the border since the 14 y/o didn't have a passport yet.

 

[CanadianGuy]

Is the Manchester flight THAT much cheaper or more convenient that the direct flights from Portland to Orlando? I ask this sincerely - I don't know.

JetBlue averages around 109$ each way for a total of about 240$ return from Portland..

Similarly priced fares can even be had on non-direct flights from Bangor..

Just a thought.

Knox

 

[Bea]

Southwest flies from Manchester and their flights start at $89.00 and that includes some direct flights . We aren't going til August and can't book until beginning of May so for planning purposes, I am going with this airport.Although have been keeping an eye on Portland and Bangor but the prices are about $100.00 more per person (x 5 people) . If they come down before we book, I would definately go to with either of them. I would LOVE to find something out of Bangor for cheaper.

We have driven to Florida 3 times (3 days in a car with kids ) so only having to drive one day to get to the airport is a luxury for us!!

We have flown from Halifax twice, but both times was using points. It was nice but to actually have to buy tickets would be around $3000.00 for all 5 of us as opposed to just over $1000.00 from Manchester.

 

[MinnieMommy]

We will be flying from Manchester SOON! I'll be able to offer details on the experience mid-May.

We also chose Southwest because of their $89 fares (after they first came out some flights dropped to $79, but they had stops, and the times weren't as ideal for us, and the overall price was similar because of the stops). So, for 4 non-stop flights we paid $783. So that's apprx. $195 return per person (including all taxes). At the time, there were some reasonable prices ($99, $109) from Portland, but they weren't direct, which adds on a few extra $$. If it was just 1 or 2 of us, I would probably have chosen to fly from Portland... but the more people you add, the more $$$$.

There are many park & fly hotel options. The prices are reasonable. We have always done the park & fly with the Hilton Garden Inn at the Halifax Airport and the prices seem comparable to that.

When we were trying to decide which hotel to go with, we came across many positive suggestions from the transportation board regarding the Highlander Inn. I kept looking, and found the Holiday Inn $159.99, the Holiday Inn Express, and the Sheraton $135 +tx (to name a few). [note: those are prices I had scribbled down in my planning binder, I think they are with the CAA discount]

Everyone's needs are different. It was important for us to have a free shuttle, a place that allowed unlimited parking and an indoor pool ('cause I REALLY need the kids to burn off some energy and get a good night's sleep)! Free breakfast is also a nice bonus when you can get it!

Also, regarding the driving distance. We are still a little undecided about how far we will drive. So far, we are planning to leave early am and possible drive to Portland and spend the night there, just so we can do a little bit of shopping at the outlets in Kittery the next morning before heading to Manchester. On the way back, we get in at 5:30pm and are planning on driving that night to bangor and staying at the Super 8. Then we'll get up the next morning and drive the rest of the way home.

Hope that helps a bit, I'll try to post about the to/from experience when we get back!

 

[cvs2kids]

We've flown out of Manchester twice and others in my family several times..

For a nice motel with a decent price, try the Sleep Inn in Londonderry, which is about 10 minutes from the airport. It has an indoor pool and a complimentary breakfast. Also a shuttle, but its a minivan, so you need to book it early. They began charging a bit more for parking during your vacation, but it worked out to $3 or $4 per day. Considering you can get a room for $70-$75, its a great place.

I have also stayed at the Four Points Sheraton. Its very nice and the staff were great, but it is pricey (we lucked out on a great deal when it first opened).

I've caught both early morning (6:30 what was I thinking?) and mid morning (10:00 AM). Both times, I flew through security and check-in in less than 20 minutes. It's up to you, but I wouldn't go any earlier than 1.5-2.0 hours before. There's a Mcdonalds and a nicer restaraunt in there if you want to eat while you wait. I flew out in September both times.

As a side note, I found out the hard way that Portland has a bylaw that doesn't allow cots. They aren't supposed to sleep more than 4 to a room. We had 5 and had a hard time finding a spot last summer. Finally, look for rooms in South Portland, as thats near pleny of shopping and right off the interstate. be warned, the traffic between Portland and Manchester can be harrowing since your so close to Boston. Also bring a lot of US Dollar bills. There's a ton of road tolls on that drive ($7.50-$9.00 worth if I recall). Even if you ferry over to Portland, you still get hit for $5.00 or better.

The direct flight is quick and you won't regret that decision.

 

[cvs2kids]

deleted double posting.