Me & my big mouth - Columbia SC questions

kj1nyr

So, last Thursday when the tour was announced I proposed an offer to my niece, who lives in Fayetteville, NC. I've been promising to take her to a PJ show since she was 4 (she's 19) but it never worked out. Last Thursday I asked her if she would like to go to the Columbia, SC show with me. She never got back to me so I decided to go to NYC / MSG with my husband (& luckily got MSG2 tix).

Tonight she called me, she wants to go to SC but she needs to get a babysitter so she'll call me back tomorrow. If tickets are still available tomorrow I feel kinda obligated, though I'm already broke between MSG tix & NYC flights X2 ppl.

My query to the all knowledgeable, helpful PJ fans: is there a major city I could fly into near Columbia, SC? The airfares from PHX to CAE are pretty high and the flight times suck. I was thinking Atlanta but it's a 3 hr drive, though the savings might be worth it. Any thoughts?

Appreciate any advice as to a reasonable hotel safe enough for two ladies as well?

OMG, I may be getting too old for this shit!

Much appreciated,
KJ

DriftingByTheStorm

kj1nyr wrote:

So, last Thursday when the tour was announced I proposed an offer to my niece, who lives in Fayetteville, NC. I've been promising to take her to a PJ show since she was 4 (she's 19) but it never worked out. Last Thursday I asked her if she would like to go to the Columbia, SC show with me. She never got back to me so I decided to go to NYC / MSG with my husband (& luckily got MSG2 tix).

Tonight she called me, she wants to go to SC but she needs to get a babysitter so she'll call me back tomorrow. If tickets are still available tomorrow I feel kinda obligated, though I'm already broke between MSG tix & NYC flights X2 ppl.

My query to the all knowledgeable, helpful PJ fans: is there a major city I could fly into near Columbia, SC? The airfares from PHX to CAE are pretty high and the flight times suck. I was thinking Atlanta but it's a 3 hr drive, though the savings might be worth it. Any thoughts?

Appreciate any advice as to a reasonable hotel safe enough for two ladies as well?

OMG, I may be getting too old for this shit!

Much appreciated,
KJ

Nearest MAJOR city would probably be CHARLOTTE, NC.

Its not exactly a cake walk drive, from what i remember.
Used to live in charlotte, and drove to Columbia for the 96 show.

Think like 4 or 5 hours, maybe? Maybe 3. I dunno.
Mapquest is your friend.

You could TRY flying in to Charleston, SC, too.

Just saw in your post you said ATL was 3 hours away ... if that is true, that is your best bet, i'm guessing.
Check Charlotte, though.

Porchsitter

Try Charlotte. It's only 90 miles away.

DriftingByTheStorm

Porchsitter wrote:

Try Charlotte. It's only 90 miles away.

Wow, it felt so much longer of a drive when i was 16.
lol.

the wolf

i with ya on the getting too old, i didnt even try for tix this round, cause i just didnt want to go throuh it , knowing that even if i did get tix, i had a good drive ahead of me.

next time though!!! : )

as far as feeling obligated, IDK, shit happens. im sure if you told her the deal, about her not getting back to you and such, she would understand.

skere26

Atlanta is about 3 hours away

You can also try augusta, GA (which is about 30 minutes away) or greenville, SC

or you can fly into athens, GA and ride with me in my S-10 pickup (i think athens gets like 1 flight a day in from charlotte haha)

i was wrong, augusta is an hour from columbia, but it looks like u can get a flight there for about 400...thats not too horrible.

pieceofdust

I would definitely go for Charlotte. In terms of easiest airport combined with shortest drive, I think it is by far the best option in the area...and the drive is really easy.

jimed14

Charlotte would be good, but I think it's a hub for US Air ... no? Not sure if you have a hub for US Air near you ... that usually makes it *much* easier.

I've been pimping these sites in most threads, try KAYAK.com or farecompare.com .... I think KAYAK scours more sites such as every airline site, all travel sites like expedia, orbitz, hotwire, travelocity ... etc.

farecompare will give you some historical graphs, and if you sign up, they'll send you sale alerts based on your travel.

So, you'll get a little of the south and the north ... nice. If things didn't work out for me today ... I was going to tour the south.

Abookamongstthemany

Greenville/Spartanburg

and it's only a little over an hour to Columbia.

intodeep

As someone who lives in Atlanta and has lived in Charlotte, Columbia, & Charleston i can tell you this

Charlotte to Columbia- 1.5 hours i've made it in less you hop on I-77 and take it all the way in it is easy. This is probably your best bet because it is the largest airport in the area.

Charleston to Columbia-1.5 hours hop on I-26 and it runs all the way into Columbia

Atlanta to Columbia- 3.5 hours i make this trip a lot it sucks. It is a long 3.5 hours on I-20

If you found a flight from Greenville it is about 1.5 hours as well straight down I-26.

you probalby have the best bet flying into charlotte if you can't find a good flight to columbia.

DrEthanPowell

They have airports...

Jamonit

Charlotte to Columbia = 1 hour drive. I do it all the time. Speed limit on I77 south from Char. to Cola is 70 85% of the way. 77 to 277 to Cola. Its a breeze. Come on down. Us here necks will be a waitin on unes.

markymark550

Definitely fly into Charlotte if you don't get a direct flight to Columbia. Charlotte-Douglass is the best and nicest airport in the Carolinas. The drive down I-77 is not bad at all, and I can attest to this as I drive most of that route quite often as my mother lives in Rock Hill (about 20 m south of downtown Charlotte). The actual interstate part is maybe just a few minutes over an hour if you don't drive like an 80 year old granny (or maybe I just speed too much?).

Drew263

intodeep wrote:

26 and it runs all the way into Columbia

Atlanta to Columbia- 3.5 hours i make this trip a lot it sucks. It is a long 3.5 hours on I-20

NOT what I wanted to hear. :eek:

mindi

I'm going to fly into Columbia since I won't be doing any driving, so will have to take a cab to my hotel. Any recommendations on a hotel? It will be me and my 19 year old daughter.

Drew263

mindi wrote:

I'm going to fly into Columbia since I won't be doing any driving, so will have to take a cab to my hotel. Any recommendations on a hotel? It will be me and my 19 year old daughter.

My fiance and I are staying at the Hampton Inn. It's 1/2 mile from the venue.

kj1nyr

Thank you everyone for the great advice. Based on a quick search on kayak.com Charlottle looks like the way to go. Now I just need to find out if my niece really wants to go and how the heck I'm going to pay for it all!

jimed14 wrote:

Charlotte would be good, but I think it's a hub for US Air ... no? Not sure if you have a hub for US Air near you ... that usually makes it *much* easier.

I've been pimping these sites in most threads, try KAYAK.com or farecompare.com .... I think KAYAK scours more sites such as every airline site, all travel sites like expedia, orbitz, hotwire, travelocity ... etc.

Phoenix used to be an America West hub until they merged with US Air so it looks like they have non stops between the two (non stops rule!). I test travel websites for a living so I'm very familiar with Kayak and Farecompare and I agree with you, they're awesome for planning travel.

Hope to see some of you in Columbia!

Peace,
KJ

encompassing trip

Just fly into Columbia CAE.
or drive from Fayetteville. It's only 2-2.5 hours.
Charlotte is also a good option. It's on the south side of Charlotte o you will be in SC in about 10 minutes then 1 hour to the venue. ALL INTERSTATE! It could actually be a day trip and avoid the hotel costs.
Yes the ATL trip sucks. Just bring lots of music, it makes it shorter.