I want to thank each and every one of you who left such thoughtful feedback on my question last week about where we should travel to next. Doors opened and doors shut for us…but our plans our now set and include quite a bit of economy class travel on the horizon.
Why We Chose Malta And How We Will Fly Home From Europe
After weighing the options and considering the comments, we chose Scotland for our trip.
Not only was there an inexpensive easyJet nonstop from Basel to Edinburgh, but I found United space from Edinburgh to Los Angeles via Chicago for the whole family.
And then Schloss Roxburghe sold out, the Hyatt property I wanted to review. There had been space and it literally disappeared. I reached out to the hotel and was told a “large group” had taken it.
Even so, I thought we could still go to Scotland. After all, the weather is much more tolerable there this time of year than in Egypt or Malta or Bulgaria. But Heidi and I discussed it and we realized that Scotland is a destination we want to take our time in. She only had a few more days to spare, which did not allow enough time to do anything more than Edinburgh. So we’ll do Scotland on a future trip.
Then “saver” space…in economy class…opened from Malta to Los Angeles via Frankfurt and Copenhagen. Inexpensive award space this month leaving Europe has been brutal, so when four saver seats opened we saw it as a sign to head home together. Managing two young children is much easier with two parents than with one.
That left just getting to Malta, which was cheap enough on Air Malta from Zurich.
So a few days in Malta and then a rather tortuous three-leg trip home, but you can look forward to a review of our time in Malta, our stay at the Hyatt Regency there, and then Lufthansa and SAS coming home, including the SAS A350-900 on an 11-hour flight in the rear of the aircraft…
CONCLUSION
Again, thank you all so much for helping us think through our destination choices this week. I love the LALF community and appreciate the wisdom. Eventually, we will visit Cairo, Scotland, and Bulgaria. But now is the time for Malta.
Be prepared to pay for everything on SAS. Aside from coffee, tea, and water, you only get 1 free nonalcoholic drink during each meal. Snacks, aside from a mid-flight snack service, are also extra.
I don’t mind it. I end up taking the snacks home (if it’s the bagged/sealed type) instead of eating them on board anyways.
Even though I paid the equivalent of $4 for a chocolate muffin on SAS, it was a pretty good muffin.
Malta is very high on the list of places I want to visit. I had Casa Ellul booked for July 2020, but alas, Covid. I’m looking forward to your review of the Hyatt Regency.
Don’t bother, Jerry. Elaine tried it and it wasn’t up to your standards.
I rather enjoyed Casa Ellul when I was there – the location was good for much of the sights, and the room itself had a very old Europe vibe to it. I would recommend it.
You’ll have to check out the Michelangelo Club in Malta. That’s where I first met Stuart.
A 2 stop-over trip from south Europe to the US west coast…in economy…with 2 kids. Ouch. Good luck.
Enjoy Malta, it’s a nice place to visit.
Don’t want to be a killjoy but three stop sounds horrendous. I’d skip malts and do an iceland trip. Europe to rejylabik to lax.
I remember booking my wife and kids on Cathay from ord to syd on Alaska miles and being so proud of the redemption. Then realizing that was so out of the way that it was ridiculous. Fun for me. Or me and wife. Just not worth it for kids
Looking forward to the reviews!
Why not Sicily instead of Malta. Malta is not the same as used to be; now often critucised as densely popoulated, expensive, lost its natural spin, and overbuilt.