TitanCon 2012 - Belfast - 22 Sept

[deleted01]

There is also the option of travelling by coach rather than flying. Eurolines do a coach into Belfast. I know they go from London and Manchester - you'd have to look on their website to see if they go from another station close to you (as I don't know where abouts you're based). I know when I looked between Manchester/Belfast it would cost £50 - that's 3x less than what the airfare is going to cost.

I'd be coming from Devon most likely, and I looked at flights from Bristol to Belfast and they were around £27 each way. That was with EasyJet though, and I only know what I've heard :P I can imagine a coach taking a very long time, but I'll definitely look into it as an alternative, thank you :)

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Unconfrimed roumor has it the coach tour will cost a little more this year. But this won't be confirmed till they have all venues and the catering sorted out.

I know there was a few people staying at different hostels last year, I heard some of them where even reasonal.

Other options are a room share. I noticed Day's hotel does offer a tripple room - not sure if thats a double and a childs bed or its its a full sized single.

Or there may be some Bed and Breakfast type places nearby..

As to sleezly jet they are not that bad for a budget airline. just make sure you take 1 item of hand luggage of the correct size, and check in online and print your boarding passes out first. Also keep an eye on their website, I did manage to book a flight form Southend to Belfast for £1 included all taxes and fees. (I then did try to link the flight on the board, but they took it down) Have not yet booked my return as at the time that was over £40.

[deleted01]

£1? That's insane! I'll have to keep an eye out for Martin Money Saving Expert's emails too, he usually catches all the big sales ;)

Thanks for the tips, are there any other airlines you'd recommend? I checked Ryan Air but they don't do the journey I need. I noticed the £9 admin fee on Easy Jet, I was worried there'd be other things they want to add on but my friend said that's just taxes and stuff, so it's normal :dunno:

It looks like I can't fly from Exeter, which would be best, and can only get to Belfast International from Bristol. All these little legs of the journey are starting to add up but it shouldn't be too bad.

[Pebble thats Stubby]

Yeah I think I got the only £1 ticket on sale, or something. I've never managed to get one anywhere near that cheep before. I would say the cheepest you may find if your luck is flights for about £15 maybe £20 and they won't stay that price for long. (like a few hours) Its worth tracking prices over a couple of weeks to get an idea of what the average price is.

Rayanir is probably the worst budget airline. they will scew you 12 per flight per person if you don't pay with an prepaid mastercard. (andy try to screw you on just about everything else)

off the top of my head you could try Air lingus or flybe. Try using's the money saving experts cheep flight checker. its normally pritty good at finding the cheep ones. Check the flights to both Belfast city and the International. remember it may be cheeper to land in one and fly out of the other.

I think last year I used the International and the bus fair was £10? return from the airport. and its so easy, no hassel.

Easy get will charge you booking admin card fee unless you use an electron card.

If you don't want to watch out for these extra charges you will need to fly non-budget like BA and that costs a lot more.

[deleted01]

Yeah I've been reading through last year's thread and a few people said they got the bus from the International. It wouldn't be a big deal I guess, just need to keep track of it all :P

Ah okay, £9 isn't too bad I guess. I just checked the cheap flight checker, and it seems that EasyJet is the cheapest at the moment, but has still gone up since yesterday. Flybe can get me to Belfast City, but for just under £20 more, but with the bus from International it wouldn't matter much which option I took by the looks of it. And it's even more expensive to fly from Exeter, but again, the train to Bristol might be the same as the extra money for the flight, so it's just a point of working it all out. Why did they close Plymouth airport?!

Thanks for all your help :)

[Pebble thats Stubby]

I feel so privalliged I can theoretically choose between 6 airports to fly from without too much bother.

Fireand Blood, make a spreedsheeet, keeping track of all the different costs. tis the only way to work out which one really is cheeper.

[deleted01]

Good idea, otherwise I can see myself getting pretty confused! Glad I noticed this now, gives me time to make sure I get a decent deal.

I've never flown before, so everything about this is new to me! x) Turns out it's like £2 for a single on the train to Exeter City Centre, but how close it is to the airport I don't know yet. If I end up getting a taxi, it might be worth paying the £40 return to Bristol and getting a cheaper flight.

I'll look into coaches too, but I can imagine they take a really long time, if they come past my way at all.

ETA: It would be so much easier if I didn't have to go back to university the week before this is happening, I'd be close to London and Luton, so I can imagine I'd have more options.

[SamanthaofHodorsfield]

God you guys are lucky. I have a choice of two airports, both of which way more than what you guys are quoting. My two choices are:

Jet2: £95 flight + £16 for a suitcase + £10 to checkin online +£20 to get to Leeds Bradford +£8 to get into Belfast = £149

Flybe: £63 flight + £13 transaction fee (!!!!!!!) + £28 for a suitcase + £20 to get to Manchester Airport +£5 to get into Belfast +£14 fuel recovery = £143

Edit: Forgot about Easyjet: £54 flight +£14 transaction fee (!!!!!!) +20 for a suitcase + £30 to get to Manchester (on the way back will require a taxi as last bus will have left) + £5 to get into Belfast = £123

Good thing I remembered Easyjet as it's the cheapest by a mile. But still, £1 airfares. Why can't I have £1 airfares?

[deleted01]

Gods that is a lot, though I'm looking at around £100 for my flights at the moment, only taking hand luggage to try to save some more cash! Flybe charges £4.50 to use a debit card?! Nightmare. With my train tickets and the bus from International to the venue, my quote might end up being close to yours too. I guess I don't need to eat much while I'm there :P

Where will you stay? I'm looking at the Youth Hostel, simply because it's cheap - but hopefully not cheap and nasty - and I'm hoping to have a group of friends coming with me, so it seems like a logical choice.

I looked at coaches, they take far too long for me I think, and they're not even that much cheaper than flying.

[SamanthaofHodorsfield]

Flybe charge £8 for the booking plus £5 if you use a credit card. I tend to use credit cards so if **** hits the fan I've got a come back getting my money back wise. To be fair, what hikes up my costs is getting to the airport. I live out in the sticks so for Manchester it's a bus and train and Leeds it's a bus, train and then another bus.

Hotel wise - I stayed at Premier Inn Alfred St. last time (£29 a night if you book during a room sale) but it got a bit lonely as I was the only one there. This time I'll probably just book into the Days Inn - though I'm still holding out for a room sale.

Food wise, there is a Boots nearby which do the £3.50 meal deals or whatever they're priced these days, so you needn't starve And if you come on the tour there is a feast included in the price so that's your main meal for the Sunday.

[deleted01]

I think coming on the tour is a must, and getting fed is a bonus! Good to know, I'll be on the lookout for any decent cafes as well, I need my morning cup of tea! :P

Ah that seems logical if you're travelling alone, I wouldn't like to stay in a hostel on my own.

Yeah I can imagine all that travelling isn't cheap. My moaning about getting to Bristol seems silly now :P

My god, I missed the booking fee for Flybe! Bloody hidden charges *grumbles* I don't have a credit card, but I'll look into it. I'd hate to lose my money if the proverbial does hit the fan. Which of your options will you go for?

[SamanthaofHodorsfield]

Well you can pay for travel insurance rather than use a credit card. But for me it's cheaper to put it on my credit card as I already have one. Just remember for the CC protection to apply, you have to spend over £100 in a single transaction. So the Easyjet one I would have to buy travel insurance anyway which makes it:

Easyjet: £54 flight +£9 transaction fee + £9 travel insurance +20 for a suitcase + £30 to get to Manchester (on the way back will require a taxi as last bus will have left) + £5 to get into Belfast = £127

Options wise, most likely Easyjet which is the cheapest, though I'll keep an eye on the airlines for any bargains.

And nah, you're welcome to moan about getting to Bristol. You can join the Moaning about Travel Club. :D (I was going to call it the Travel Moaners Club but that suggests something entirely different! :rofl: )

[deleted01]

:lol: Moaning about Travel Club seems the wiser option! I considered driving but it's a good 8 hours to Belfast, and I imagine parking would be ridiculous. Just driving to and parking at the airport would be bad enough, and I'm paranoid about leaving my car in an unfamiliar place.

I'll look into travel insurance too then - I think I'd have been completely lost without all you guys' help, so thanks a lot! :D Easyjet looks the cheapest for me too, but I'll keep checking the MSE website. Now I need to persuade my friends that I'm serious about this, and get booking!

[Maltaran]

There's a bus from Dublin airport to Belfast city centre which IIRC costs about £20 return - maybe flying to Dublin and getting that bus might be a cheaper option for some people?

[SamanthaofHodorsfield]

Unfortunately for me it still rolls in at £140 flying into Dublin with Ryanair, so I might as well save myself the aggravation and fly into Belfast.

Might work for others though.

[deleted01]

Yeah, it looks like my best bet at the moment will be Bristol to Belfast City. The flights to Belfast International are cheaper but with the added bus journey, they both come out about the same price, so I'd rather have a direct journey in that case.

Hoping to buy my membership soon, just waiting for my mates to get back to me :D

[Derfel Cadarn]

I'm *hoping* to be able to make this, but I'll be back on my shifts then and the annual leave is pretty full at the moment. I might be able to arrange shift-swaps for the Saturday and Sunday - backshift and nightshift. The Sunday is quite possible since most of the hours fall in the Monday which is a public holiday and basically double time plus normal salary.

I'm kicking myself for applying for the leave through my 'normal' boss rather than my current boss (I'm on secondment) who would have pre-authorised it, which is what she did when I booked Eastercon. My secondment ends in a few weeks but it's likely it'll get renewed in the busy summer period which would give me the weekend back off.

[Slurms McKenzie]

Hey guys,

Just wondering, will anyone be making this trip from Wales perchance?? :)

[deleted01]

Also, allow me to fangirl for a moment, and politely request the possibility of Richard Madden being a guest? I will.. buy you a beer? And you can all wet yourselves laughing while I attempt to lick him or do something else extremely embarrassing :rofl:

[williamjm]

Also, allow me to fangirl for a moment, and politely request the possibility of Richard Madden being a guest? I will.. buy you a beer? And you can all wet yourselves laughing while I attempt to lick him or do something else extremely embarrassing :rofl:

Even if they're willing to consider attending whether particular actors can turn up or not is very dependent on their shooting schedule. Richard did show up at the Belfast moot for the original pilot back in 2009, hopefully we didn't scare him off ;)