BallReviews
General Category => USBC Tournament => Topic started by: RLandreneau on January 15, 2013, 02:51:32 PM
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Hello all. My wife and I are considering driving to Reno instead of flying due to high cost of airline fare and bag fees. Has anyone done this? The drive will be 30 hours so its a long one...
I'm just wondering if anyone has done this and if they preferred driving to flying.
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I have driven it 3 times.
It is about 21 hours of driving time from here. It is better if you have some company.
I take I-70 to Denver I-25 then to Wyoming and I-80 across. Not a bad drive. But can get long in stretchs.
If I stop it is generally in Wendover Utah going out and Limon Colorado coming back.
I have run into weather near the Wyoming Utah border but generally not too bad.
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Did you find the price difference worth the hassle of the drive (assuming you've flown before there)
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Ryan your an idiot
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I'll ignore the grammar error when calling me an idiot :). I would fly for a few hundred extra, but since its over $1200 difference in considering it.
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Just fly southwest bags fly free thats what im doing did it last year and it was cheeper than some of the guys i played with payed to drive and it was only in Baton Rouge.
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Just fly southwest bags fly free thats what im doing did it last year and it was cheeper than some of the guys i played with payed to drive and it was only in Baton Rouge.
Last time I did that, when the tournament was in Vegas, the TSA broke my 4-ball carrier as they inspected it. I ended up getting a $100 check that had to put towards a new 4-ball roller.
If I were flying to another tournament, I would more than likely use BBE or take them carry-on.
As far as driving goes, it all depends on where the OP is starting from, as that wasn't mentioned. 30 hours drive time is one thing, but knowing where they are starting from would help.
BL.
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I booked my ticket this morning on Southwest for $244 round trip out of Atlanta. Sometimes you have to be patient and check every morning as when I checked a couple days ago, it was $470 round trip. My suggestion is to find the nearest place that flies Southwest and just keep checking their website each morning.
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Louisiana. Lake Charles specifically. I've had issues with airlines destroying bags and balls as well. And southwest right now is still over $1300 for two people. I'm not super in to the idea of driving 30 hours. But I can bring more room for equipment and not paying for cabs when I get there sounds pretty tempting.
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Wow 1300$ holy crap im flying out of tampa fl for 515 round trip for my wife and i. I booked it on Orbitz got a hotel 11 mins away and a car for 3 days for that.
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Are you bowling right handed or left handed this year? And I got my flight for 2 at $474 total round trip Ryan.
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My wife went a couple of times and doesn't like to fly. Out of Wichita you can't find airfare less than about $480 a piece. So with bags it would be about $1200 in airfare.
To fly southwest we have to drive at least 200 miles each way and currently it doesn't look like we save much for doing it.
Once I went with 2 other guys and we shared expenses and switched drivers so we drove straight thru.
I could drive out and back for about $400 in gas and a couple hundred more in additional expenses (hotel, food, etc).
In recent years I would take some of the others balls and bags with me for $20 a bag. They didn't have to pay $60 to the airlines and the stuff got there unbroken.
I also liked having a car once I got there.
I enjoy driving and like seeing the country so it is worth it to me.
One other suggestion is fill up with gas about 100 miles out or so from Reno. Gas seems to be about $1.00 a gallon higher there than anywhere else.
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Terry I'm back right handed.
And thanks to all. Luckily flight prices fluctuate a lot so if I good deal comes up I'll be good, but just wanted a back up plan incase.
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Louisiana. Lake Charles specifically. I've had issues with airlines destroying bags and balls as well. And southwest right now is still over $1300 for two people. I'm not super in to the idea of driving 30 hours. But I can bring more room for equipment and not paying for cabs when I get there sounds pretty tempting.
Wow.. Know that area too well.. There is no real shortcut to take from there, either. You'd have to take the 10 all the way across the fat part of Texas to Phoenix then cut up, or cut up to Amarillo and take 40 to Kingman then up.
In this case, flying might be better. Question now becomes, which one is closer to you: Hobby, or New Orleans? Or, if it is worth it, Jackson? You may get a better fare by driving a bit further out of the way, but Hobby may be your best bet.
BL.
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me and another guy drive out together, its a 24 hour run for us and if both share driving duties its not to bad
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From my house it's about 500 miles, so driving beats getting the equipment torn up by the airlines. Not a very picturesque drive, and mostly boring, but for me it's worth it.
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Some years ago,my wife and I operated a business at the Women's Nationals. We have driven to Reno twice. The distance is about 2600 miles for us. It is a long trip. With the price of gas today I would calculate your gas mileage and also take into consideration if you will need to stay overnight along the way.
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I drove there back in 2007, from Upper Michigan(Da U.P., eh). I took it slow(3 days out, 5 days there, 3 days back), and had the best time I've ever had at Nationals(YMMV, of course). If I were to go there again, I'd probably drive again, as the last 2 times I flew(Albuquerque and Las Vegas), and had miserable experiences with the airlines both times.
drillbit
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We have driven out to Reno multiple times and it take us on average about 24 hours driving from Des Moines, IA... The 3 of us usally take turns and drive straight through until we get there...Its a long drive but we have gotten so use to it... and overall its a lot cheaper then flying... I think we figured it out this year that for Gas and Hotel its gonna cost about $250 each... but this doesnt included food, gambling, brackets, and side events...
Hope this helps
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I considered driving from Cleveland, but I wasn't able to get the vacation week I needed. I'll fly and use BBE again (even though the rates are getting higher every year). I'm not a fan of the baggage handlers with the equipment, as others have noted.
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It's a 4-hour drive for me so it's a no-brainer.
I also pack my ball spinner :)
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9 hour drive from here, stop for petrol in Lone Pine, stop at Topaz Lake for a break and maybe brunch and a quick gambling stop, then the last run into Reno, there are worse drives, just make sure we slow down going through the small towns on the way up 395.