Okay, so how much are we getting kicked in the pants on flights for this year?

I believe Delta are no longer flying out of Gatwick to Atlanta.

Annoying, as I live a 15 minute walk from the airport...

Hey

I'm planning on flying Wed > Mon from Manchester > Gainesville, looking around £570 return at the moment with 2 stops. Looks like they have gone up £50/60 from last year, probably gonna wait till June/July to see if they go down..

I just got my flights, paid £455 to Chicago and then road tripping down with some friends. If you want to save a bit of cash you could go to chicago and then get a greyhound and probably save a bit.

COUNT ME IN.

That would be amazing! Always wanted to road trip across the US, I have 2 young sons at home and have managed to get a five day pass from my wife so need to make the most of every minute!

It's not looking like it's going to be any less than £500 this year

I think 500 is reasonable considering I'd pay £30 travelling + ticket price for each of the bands. It's a Holiday abroad, everything is cheaper in america, loads of awesome new stuff to try. Last time I went to the US I brought home a ton of vinyl and paid a fraction of what it would have cost in the UK.

i think we're flying out to gnv and then back from new orleans.

i found flights from london on orbitz or maybe skyscanner for £576, which didn't seem a bad deal to me. i think return to orlando was about £100 cheaper.

im still trying to figure out if i should go to miami before gainesville, last year i went to Orlando one day, and it sucked because we didn't had much time, so this year i want to plan in advanced to maybe stay a couple of days in Miami, rent a car, head to orlando, stay another night there and then head to gainesville, any thoughts?

Not sure what I'm doing this year, it kind of depends on the Riot Fest line up in Chicago and what my Aussie friend wants to do but I'm considering London-Chicago-Vegas-Gainesville - New Orleans(with JessT) then home. Past trips suggests it's usually not a whole lot more money flight wise to do a whole bunch of places in one trip.

I plan to get into Gainesville Monday at the latest this year though, that's the only thing I'm fully set on. The few days prior to pre-fest last year were great. Just chilling, eating and gator spotting in the Florida sun was lovely!

i think my plan this year is try and fly out on the saturday before, go to orlando theme parks for a couple of days, then go to gainesville on the tuesday.

is everyone planning on the holiday inn if the hampton doesn't drop prices? what's the best out of town one anyone's stayed at? me and ian stayed in one for one night last year, which seemed nice, but all we did there was sleep and then leave after breakfast.

I stayed at the Paramount Plaza on SW13th last year and just booked again last night for this year ($470 - 5 nights wed/mon - room sleeps 4) . It's a pretty nice hotel with a great view of the lake and a pool that we spent plenty of time sat around drinking with other festers. It's a bit of a walk (30/40 mins) from downtown but there are plenty of buses that stop just outside and taxi's are pretty cheap split between a few people. Everyone who I know who stayed last year is going back this year and I guess that's a pretty good recommendation

I stayed at the Paramount about 5 years ago and it's pretty nice. Much nicer than anywhere else except perhaps the Hampton. We're booking the Holiday Inn this year though as I'm not doing all that walking shit ever again. The plan is (or at least my plan, it's not been fully discussed with my group yet) is if the Hampton prices drop to something more realistic we then may stay there instead assuming we can cancel/sell on our HI room but gonna book the HI and assume for now that that's where we'll be.

The walk is awesome in a morning, helps fight the hangover & gets you ready for a massive breakfast. The walk home after a hard days festing on the other hand

If you end up doing this is recommend signing up to couchsurfing (if you haven't already) And possibly checking out Hostel Cat in Vegas. It's a REALLY cheap hostel and it wasn't half bad considering, it's a 10 minute walk from the strip. Also as a cheapo swimming tip, go to the the stratosphere, get the lift to the 7th floor (i think) and just follow the speedos. They only ask for a room card if you request a towel which you won't need! When are you planning on Chicago?

Paramount is far and away the nicest hotel on SW13th. Whatever the Comfort Inn is now called (Quality Inn?) is absolutely fine, though, and heaps cheaper.