The first package, their basic "Fly and Drive," includes roundtrip airfare to London (economy class, of course) and 7 days/6 nights economy car rental. The starting price? Just $389 per person based on double occupancy for departures. Bumping up the price a bit, but giving you additional benefits, is Virgin's "Fly/Drive & Stay in the UK." Obviously, "stay" is the added feature, and for an extra $240 person, you get vouchers good for participating B&B's and country inns throughout for the six nights you're there bringing the total to $629 per person. It's relatively easy to book a stay at a B&B or inn a single day before you arrive simply by calling them up. If your first choice is filled, there's always another close by. That's the beauty of this package, deciding your own itinerary day by day, if you're so inclined.
For these packages, you must be able to fly out of Newark, New York (JFK) or Boston for their lowest fare. Other departure cities have supplemental costs as follows:
Add $50 for Washington, Baltimore, Albany, Buffalo, Burlington, Hartford, Manchester, New Haven, Providence, Rochester, Syracuse.
Add $150 Miami, Orlando
Add $170 for Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Lexington, Louisville, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Roanoke and Wichita.
Add $200 for Las Vegas and $250 for Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Fort Lauderdale, Memphis, West Palm Beach, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Raleigh-Durham, San Diego, Seattle, Birmingham, Greenville, Jacksonville, Knoxville, Nashville, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Tampa, Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston and New Orleans.
Your rental car is your standard economy model with manual transmission. Upgrading to higher model cars or automatic cost more. Please note, as is typical with all car rentals almost anywhere, drivers must be at 25 years old and have a valid driver's license.
Don't think you can handle the whole "Oh my god, everyone is driving on the wrong side of the road!" experience? Then you can leave the driving to someone else in their third late winter package, "UK Sights by Rail," which includes roundtrip airfare, transportation between airport and London hotel (hotel and breakfast are part of the package), two Britrail passes good for roundtrip travel from London and your choice of six British towns and two "Guide Friday" tour passes (bus tours of your chosen city). The total? $679 for 4 days/3 nights.
All packages include travel guide books, maps, and discount coupons for selected restaurants.
Of course, restrictions apply. For complete details, visit www.virgin-vacations.com or call 888/YES-VIRGIN.
