I know someone that flew from Chicago to South Africa by way of Iceland because that made the trip much cheaper, really!
Why the Cancun Bag Drag still makes sense.
- Thread starter Dave Dillehay
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I know someone that flew from Chicago to South Africa by way of Iceland because that made the trip much cheaper, really!
Several years ago I could have flown from Austin to Cozumel by way of Toronto and Houston for the same fare as through Houston alone. If I had been super bored and just wanted the miles I might have done it. 
Chicago - Reykjavik -London - JNB is not that far out of the way. (But adds a lot of time to an already long trip).
I've been flying to South Africa at LEAST yearly for almost 30 years and prices are generally cheaper flying to Johannesburg from NYC than to Houston. My last trip cost me about $720 round trip.
JamesBon92007
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We once just-missed-out on a flight to Bonaire from Los Angeles for $300 ea/rt. It had layovers at airports I've never heard of and was 36 hours total. We still have not made it there mainly because the better flights are still 22 hours or more.
Scubagolf
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jonhall
Contributor
Some of these posts remind me of our trips to Fl from Indy.
"Drive or fly?"
"15 hours vs a couple of hours?"
"It's cheaper to drive"
"We can pack more in the van"
"We can drive straight through and sleep a little at the rest area before crossing into FL"
Today we may still drive some places that are a days drive but when traveling to Coz we fly directly there. Whether flying into Cancun or Coz, it will be a 1 stop flight. Paying $150 -$200 (really less when you consider transportation costs from Can to Coz) on just airfare is worth it to me for the following:
* getting to the location quicker and not losing a part of the day (to do more traveling)
* moving/carrying our luggage a lesser distance
* worry about transportation connections between Cancun and Coz and what I will have to pay for those
connections (although the folks who do the bag drag seem to have it worked out like a well oiled machine)
* being a little more refreshed after travel
Never having done a bag drag, and as I get older, I'm more inclined to limit any extra hassles and stress on my body.
"Drive or fly?"
"15 hours vs a couple of hours?"
"It's cheaper to drive"
"We can pack more in the van"
"We can drive straight through and sleep a little at the rest area before crossing into FL"
Today we may still drive some places that are a days drive but when traveling to Coz we fly directly there. Whether flying into Cancun or Coz, it will be a 1 stop flight. Paying $150 -$200 (really less when you consider transportation costs from Can to Coz) on just airfare is worth it to me for the following:
* getting to the location quicker and not losing a part of the day (to do more traveling)
* moving/carrying our luggage a lesser distance
* worry about transportation connections between Cancun and Coz and what I will have to pay for those
connections (although the folks who do the bag drag seem to have it worked out like a well oiled machine)
* being a little more refreshed after travel
Never having done a bag drag, and as I get older, I'm more inclined to limit any extra hassles and stress on my body.
Its all perspective. We got stuck coming in late to Houston on time out of Coz. We had to race and drag bags to make the connection. Much further than my walk from the van to the ferry. With non stop, no worries coming home, doesnt matter how long it takes to clear customs. (And I tell you the one time I didnt update my Global Entry with my new passport, I even got the Ag inspection!) If I had to make two stops to get to CUN, I might agree.
For me:
Private Van: $40 or so total.
Ferry: $13 or so PP. and hey, I like a boat ride and the seat are better than an airplane.
Beer from the OXXO. cheap.
Practicing my Spanish with the driver, free. And let me tell you he is WAY less critical of my Spanish than my wife. Of course she taught it....
I get off the ferry refreshed, (ie drinking those beers.)
I really am not fond of the doing the shared shuttle at CZM. Yea, I know its fine, and yea since our place is in El Centro, we get out first, but still I would walk off the airport and find a taxi to sneak into.
For me:
Private Van: $40 or so total.
Ferry: $13 or so PP. and hey, I like a boat ride and the seat are better than an airplane.
Beer from the OXXO. cheap.
Practicing my Spanish with the driver, free. And let me tell you he is WAY less critical of my Spanish than my wife. Of course she taught it....
I get off the ferry refreshed, (ie drinking those beers.)
I really am not fond of the doing the shared shuttle at CZM. Yea, I know its fine, and yea since our place is in El Centro, we get out first, but still I would walk off the airport and find a taxi to sneak into.
Dogbowl
Contributor
The pros and cons of the bag drag have been discussed here many times. But not having done both yourself, not sure how you can compare thyem.
Some of your concerns are not valid in some situations.
Connections can be more of a problem for many flying into Czm than Cun. The bus/ferry is a pretty reliable ground connection with busses every 20 minutes and ferries every hour. It's airport connections that often give people the most trouble. For most people, it's much more likely to have a nonstop flight to Cun than to Czm. Even if your town has nonstop to Coz, you surely don't have as many. I have 1 or 2 flights from IAH to CZM. A canceled or missed flight is a big problem. I have about a dozen nonstops to CUN. Last December, we missed baggage cutoff by 2 minutes. If we had been flying into CZM, we would have been rebooking for the next day and going back home. But since we were doing the bag drag, it cost us an hour delay.
Having more flights can mean getting to destination sooner, even if it means leaving the house earlier. Again, last December a nonstop into Czm would have had us landing at 3:45pm and at hotel around 4:30pm. But we could fly to Cun at 9am, 2 hrs flight and generous 3 hrs for the drag would have us at hotel around 2pm. Even with our missed flight, we got to hotel at 3:30pm which is before we would have even landed going into Czm.
Many of us consider travel to be refreshing not draining. There's almost no additional baggage handling as there are people wanting to do that for you (for tips) at every step. And we're looking at scenery and drinking.
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