Help Please! New parents and only 4 months left to travel non-rev

Hello all! I'm new here. This site is so informative! My daughter was recently hired by Delta Community Credit Union here in Atlanta. When she was hired she was told that the Credit Union will be splitting from Delta in January 2015. Therefore, she and of course we as parents, will lose flight privileges at that time. So, my hubby and I have 4 months to live it up...so to speak ;). We have a trip planned to Paris & Rome at the end of this month. This would be our first time to Europe and it's been a dream destination of ours'. So we hope all goes well and as planned. We are also trying to do a couple of weekend domestic getaways. But my DH also has time off around Thanksgiving and we would love to take another trip at around that time but we don't know where to go. I know that is a tricky time to travel. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. We would like to do something with a flight time of 8-10 hours or less each way. We can leave on Thursday (11/27) or Friday and return on Tuesday or Wednesday of the following week. Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Departing on TGDay is usually a good option w/return on Wed after.
Interests? Budget, moderate or splurge? ATL offers lots of options.

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Originally Posted by mrs767er

Departing on TGDay is usually a good option w/return on Wed after.
Interests? Budget, moderate or splurge? ATL offers lots of options.

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Definitely budget. These travel were not even in the picture a couple of months ago. So we are open to type of trip. We thought about Alaska but November may not be the best time to go. We like mountain vacations but also enjoy the Caribbean and Mexico....really liked Cabo. Even open to Central or S. America. I know I'm all over the place.

You like mountain trips? Lots of mountains to go around in Central America. El Salvador is a nice mountainous place with neat restaurants up on the top of these mountains overlooking San Salvador for instance. Also, NEW MEXICO is very nice and mountainous. Try RUIDOSO. Not expensive at all and close by, a nice casino called "Inn of the Mountain of the Gods". Albuquerque is nice too. Inexpensive. You can rent a car, ride up to Santa Fe even Taos. All mountains and very nice. Casino's all over New Mexico on Indian land. Not many travelers there as in say Denver. Anchorage is beautiful for mountains, but I don't think November is good to go there. Mexico has a lot of mountains. In fact, Mexico City is basically on top of a mountain. Elevation from 8-10 thousand feet. Texas has no mountains. (Except west Texas out by El Paso.) Kind of lame being all flat, no character, just heat and big cities. I like to getaway to mountain places myself.

Europe is great. I like southern Spain in ANDALUSIA area, where the bullfighting and Flamenco dancing and what you think of "REAL" Spain is like.

Great suggestions 29palms! Thank you! We would probably enjoy any of those places. We did talk about Texas too for a weekend getaway. What do you think about San Antonio? In C. America, what do you think about Costa Rica? Do you think we would have any problems with the flights traveling there or to any of the destinations you mentioned around Thanksgiving? Also thought about Brazil. Sorry.....Lots of places running around my head :)

Welcome aboard MMbee, and welcome to the nerve racking world of non-rev travel.
You have definitely landed in the right place :cool:


For a first trip
Familiarize yourself with your airline travel rules and policies
Be flexible - Tue/Wed and holidays are usually the best travel days and the first /early flights usually give you your best shot.
Plan meticulously and always have backups - a plan A, B, C
Don’t check a bag- carry-on only. It will give you the flexibility to make a last minute dash.
Dress for success- business casual.
Never leave the gate until pushback (because you never know).
Never argue with on-duty staff.
Expect a curve - delays, diversions, weather, all can throw your trip for a loop -
Have A “What If “ Plan - Remember your bags are packed, you’re already at the airport and it’s always sunny somewhere.
Expect the middle seat and expect to seat separately.
Put a copy of the non-rev prayer http://nonrev.net/open-discussion/17...vs-prayer.html in your carry-on and repeat it on your way to the airport.
And finally relax , it’ll be fun.
Enjoy, you’re going to have a great four months of travel.:cool:

I love the Non-rev's prayer!:D Thanks so much for all the great tips! I'm getting prepared for the adventure. Of course I will continue to peruse this wonderful site for all of your generous tips and ideas. Wish I could give some in return. But after 4 months...who knows?;) "Thank you" to all you veterans for sharing!

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Originally Posted by Mommabee

Great suggestions 29palms! Thank you! We would probably enjoy any of those places. We did talk about Texas too for a weekend getaway. What do you think about San Antonio? In C. America, what do you think about Costa Rica? Do you think we would have any problems with the flights traveling there or to any of the destinations you mentioned around Thanksgiving? Also thought about Brazil. Sorry.....Lots of places running around my head :)

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San Antonio if you've never been there is GREAT! Gotta check out the river walk for sure. I would wait till it cools down a bit. Maybe end of September on. I could sit here all day long and tell you about San Antonio, but if you've never been there, you are missing the boat. It's cheap and LOTS to do there.

Costa Rica is GREAT too. I was first there in 1974 so things have changed drastically since, but its still a very neat place. It's nice and cool in San Jose at night, breezy in the day time, far more pleasant then the coastal areas. Pubic transportation is cheap, easy to get around. Go see VOLCAN POAS, which is the closest volcano to San Jose. Airport is in ALAJUELA which is some 12 miles to San Jose, and its closer to see the volcano from the AIRPORT since going to San Jose is the other way. Costa Rica has some neat looking markets and you really feel you are in a typical Central American town. Tropical juices, fruits and seafood all great. I don't think you would have problems flying there aside the weekends. Especially around now. Lots of European backpackers there. They go for that ECOTOURISM thing. Coffe is super.

Brazil, kind of stopped in Sao Paulo a few years back when I went to Argentina. It's very crowded build up. But you can find a lot of fun there and much to do there. I didn't check out anything outside of a mall and the hotel we stayed two nights. Mall had all these restaurants and lots of walking around. Kind of stayed in the general area. The food alone in Argentina and Brazil is reason enough to go there I think.

You gotta check out ROSTIPOLLO in ALAJUELA Costa Rica when you come in. Just take a cab, maybe 2 minute ride. All these hotels there too and a casino. You can spend the night there and go to San Jose by bus for a buck and a half.

MMMB--visa for Brazil for US citizens will set you back close to $200 each. ARG still has "fee" but online (about $150 for 10 yrs) Chile has dropped their reciprocal fee, I believe.
No dress code at Delta for several yrs as you're aware. Take a few copies of the nonrev prayer w/credit cited, of course, and nonrev.net mention. Emps appreciate the gift. (Spongebue should copyright it!)
Please report back with your choice, okay?
PS--Dublin is a good nonrev, too. Our fave is Prague in EU but seasonal. Highly recommend IST but that's prob seasonal in Nov.

Thank you! Thank you! I'm really even more excited about trying San Antonio and Costa Rica. I'm just a little bit concerned about the rainy season in Costa Rica around November. But then again, maybe the flights won't be so full either around that time. Might be worth giving a try even if we have to wear rain ponchos everywhere :D. I would absolutely love to go to Prague! Love the movie "Last Holiday". It looks so beautiful, even in the snow. So glad you mentioned that one! If you have any other suggestions, I'm open. When we decide, I'll report back. Thanks again!

Yea, San Antonio is probably one of my favorite cities in the U.S. I've kind of adopted that city because we go way back. (Like 1981) when I first went there, so there has been quite a few changes. But the charm is unprecedented. They have a Mexican Market place, unique to this city and probably the only one of its kind. It's called EL MERCADO. They sell all of these artisans, just like being in Mexico. They have a fancy as hell Mexican restaurant there called "MI TIERRA". With Mariachis playing along. You can take a trolley around there for maybe a buck. Takes you to the MERCADO to the riverwalk area. Food there is incredible. Best Mexican food you will EVER have. They have a "Space needle" there. It's called the "Tower of the Americas". It's been there back in 81 when I first went.
The biggest surprise to me in San Antonio is visiting the SPANISH MISSIONS. I took some photos of these. Try this link and explore around this page. You can fly to San Antonio, or if getting there is hard, fly into Houston and rent a car, drive there, only 3 hours. San Antonio has grown exponentially, and they do have a traffic hour and construction going on when I was last there, so don't expect all of San Antonio to look like the downtown touristy area along the riverwalk and Spanish Missions. I hear San Antonio is really nice during Christmas time. Of course, you have to check out the ALAMO. Great history.
"SAN ANTONIO MISSIONS" San Antonio Travelogue by Thestumps


Costa Rica in the rainy season can be pretty cold rain. Everyone there carries around an umbrella. The fog likes to roll in too. You're in the mountains there. In around San Jose. But don't let a little bit of water ruin your parade. It usually comes and goes. Sometimes it lingers but mostly, you can about set your watch on when it rains. That is why it is a tropical paradise and lush.

Attachment 516I found this image on line. I saw this in downtown San Antonio. Vietnam veterans memorial

Here are some pics of Costa Rica I took a few years back. I need to go back there, been a long time.


"Volcan Poas" Costa Rica by Thestumps

Be sure to click on the TRAVELOGUES too. There are more pictures of Costa Rica in there than the three you initially see on the page.

Wow!!! What a wealth of information 29palms and mrs767er! I need to print it all. Your pics are awesome too 29palms! You've traveled to so many fabulous places. I especially enjoyed seeing the pics from Costa Rica and San Antonio of course. I think I've got hubby on board to try both locations. Now just trying to decide on dates and having a plan B & C in place.

So no real dress code for the airport? We read in the Pass Riders handbook about what's expected in the way of dress and saw a brief slide show of what not to wear. We were planning on "stylish traveler" :cool:. But someone mentioned "business casual" so we thought we would lean in that direction. But either way... going to try to be comfortable. Thank you so much for sharing! I appreciate all the info.

I'm glad you liked it. I hope you find nonrev travel a pleasant experience. . It's gotten really laid back with the dress codes. Just no flip flops and tang tops, things like that. At least with UAL

The Handbook is for optimal dress guidelines. Nice jeans are fine--torn, dirty anything is not acceptable. No sleepwear/curlers/swimwear, muddy boots, nasty slogan Ts. They want nonrevs to look inconspicuous--wearing a sport coat and tie to Cancun screams "nonrev". Behavior is more important--changing seats, complaining about anything like meals, delays, etc can jeopardize your employee's privs. DL has a whole series of videos and some of them are really humorous/OTT but I've seen some odd behavior from NRs.
Just use common sense and you'll be fine!

Just don't dress like these guys...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7VIAZfOsfU

Gotcha! I think that the way we normally dress for flying will be fine. We're definitely not snobs but we never do pjs, torn jeans, dirty clothes, curlers or anything like that out in public in normal everyday life...lol and I think flip flops may be a bad idea when flying anyway. You never know what can happen :confused:. I thought about how it might be a little much and uncomfortable trying to wear office clothes on 8-14 hour flights. I didn't get that from Delta's info but just wanted to double check since it came up. Thanks again guys! My mouth is watering for that Mexican food in San Antonio :). Hope we make it. I'll definitely report back if we do.

Just want to clarify...definitely don't want to offend anyone. In my last post I wasn't trying to say there's anything wrong with torn jeans (my daughters wear them sometimes, just not my style :)) or flip-flops, etc. I'm pretty sure I've worn them to the airport in the past. Just want to err on the side of caution traveling as a non-rev. Have a great day everyone!

SAT , ABQ , AMS all safe and secure. CUN, MBJ also Excellent!!

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Originally Posted by Mommabee

Gotcha! I think that the way we normally dress for flying will be fine. We're definitely not snobs but we never do pjs, torn jeans, dirty clothes, curlers or anything like that out in public in normal everyday life...lol and I think flip flops may be a bad idea when flying anyway. You never know what can happen :confused:. I thought about how it might be a little much and uncomfortable trying to wear office clothes on 8-14 hour flights. I didn't get that from Delta's info but just wanted to double check since it came up. Thanks again guys! My mouth is watering for that Mexican food in San Antonio :). Hope we make it. I'll definitely report back if we do.

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Just think, if you only make it as far as HOUSTON or DALLAS or anywhere in Texas, the Mexican food just dam good all over to be frank. Just a hair better in San Antonio., don't know why, I think its proximity to Mexico.

The best part about the relaxed dress code for DL is that I don't have to pack a separate change of clothes just for nonrev. I rarely wear jeans but Boss does for vacations. Just casual khakis and T or sweater, slip-on shoes.