Airport Layover Contest Results: The Envelope, Please!
by Wendy Perrin
After much scrutiny of the more than 200 entries in our Airport Layover Contest, we've finally settled on the 6 finalists. Each has won a Palm Centro smartphone and has a chance at winning a trip to the Caribbean too: After Conde Nast Traveler contributor Michael Kinsley tests each of the winning layovers during his round-the-world trip next month, he'll tell us which one ended up being his favorite. The finalist who suggested it will win the grand prize: three nights for two at The Regent Palms Turks and Caicos (plus air fare from the U.S. or Canada).
Drumroll, please . . . . The six finalists are, in alphabetical order:
1. Jebabashak, who recommended stopping in Dubai to ski its indoor ski resort, then grabbing a drink at the Burj-al-Arab en route back to the airport.
2. LoriB, who suggested including Reykjavik so Mike can swim and enjoy a steambath (and maybe a mud mask) at the Blue Lagoon.
3. Ozinpa, who advised a stop at Heathrow so Mike can indulge in "molecular gastronomy" at The Fat Duck in nearby Bray.
4. Patricksw, who recommended grabbing a bus from LAX to Dockweiler State Beach, where Mike can enjoy the close-up views of planes taking off and landing and hone his aviation photography.
5. SCory, who advised including Auckland, where Mike can do a brief tour of New Zealand's largest city by segway.
6. Tonyinventuracal, who suggested Mike stop in Amsterdam, hop the train to the Red Light District, and smoke a joint.
Mike plans to do all this and more when he circumnavigates in September. He'll be blogging as he goes, so be sure to tune in to his updates on our sister site Daily Traveler.
Meanwhile, I'd like to express a giant thank-you to everyone who entered this contest. I was so impressed with the abundance of imaginative yet feasible layover suggestions worldwide and can't wait to test them myself during upcoming trips!
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Congrats to all the finalists. These look like amazing places to check out. I'd like to volunteer my services and join Mike in Amsterdam.
http://www.nancydbrown.com/
Posted by: WhataTrip | August 26, 2008 at 05:32 PM
Congratulations to all the finalists.
I couldn't help noticing that all the transits are in hubs (Reykjavik and Auckland on a much smaller scale the the others), albeit spread across the airline alliances. I look forward to the reports.
Posted by: TheGlobalTraveller | August 27, 2008 at 12:06 AM
BTW Auckland is New Zealand's largest city, not it's capital. Wellington is the capital city.
Posted by: TheGlobalTraveller | August 27, 2008 at 12:08 AM
Hi GlobalTraveller,
God, do I feel like an idiot! I should stop writing these blog posts at 3 a.m. when I'm too bleary-eyed to think straight. Of course I've been to both Auckland and Wellington, and of course I know Wellington's the capital! I've fixed it in my post now. Sorry for the screw-up!
Wendy
Posted by: WendyPerrin | August 27, 2008 at 10:28 AM
No worries - 3am is not a good time for me either.
Posted by: TheGlobalTraveller | August 27, 2008 at 01:24 PM
Thank you and good luck to everyone. I can't wait to read his travel diary. Lori B
Posted by: lorib | August 28, 2008 at 09:53 AM
Neither can I. He'll be blogging about it, starting circa Sept. 25 or 26, on Daily Traveler, and then we'll be publishing a feature about his trip in the magazine, probably next spring.
Now I have to book his RTW plane ticket! And our clever GlobalTraveller has noticed the big problem: His itin does not stick to any one airline alliance. Arrggh!
Posted by: WendyPerrin | August 28, 2008 at 12:17 PM
and I think I know the stop that does not fit ! lol
Posted by: lorib | August 28, 2008 at 05:06 PM
With a bit of effort most flights could be done on one alliance, on a single ticket, and credited to a single frequent flyer program.
I wonder if our paths will cross?
Posted by: TheGlobalTraveller | August 28, 2008 at 07:41 PM
Our travel agent is trying to book a round-the-world fare through Air New Zealand, in fact. Looks like she may have gotten a biz-class RTW fare for $9300. Whaddya think?
Will you be flying around the world too? Mike will probably be landing in NZ on Sept. 27th or 28th.
For those who don't know TheGlobalTraveller yet, here's how he knows so much about airline alliances and such:
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/blogs/perrinpost/2007/10/i-was-a-stop-on.html
Posted by: WendyPerrin | August 28, 2008 at 07:59 PM
That fare seems like it is a CRWSTAR2 (34,000 business class star alliance round the world). With the winning layovers it should be possible (just) to get mileage down to 29,000 miles and thus save over a thousand dollars. Of course there are other ways to save (eg by starting somewhere cheaper than USA).
Posted by: TheGlobalTraveller | August 29, 2008 at 04:15 PM