Flying to Bandon from NY Metro Area

[kro88]

Cant seem to find the Bandon thread here.  can anyone help me out.  I'd like to know the best/most efficient way to fly out and get to Bandon from NYC area.  to/from which airports, airlines etc...

 

plan is to fly in Friday, our rounds are scheduled for sat-mon and we leave Tuesday. 

[oneunderbogey]

Check the northwest forums, but Eugene will be the recommendation.  Just use google flights and find something that works... its about 2.5 hr drive.  

[jvincent]

1 hour ago, kro88 said:

Cant seem to find the Bandon thread here.  can anyone help me out.  I'd like to know the best/most efficient way to fly out and get to Bandon from NYC area.  to/from which airports, airlines etc...

 

plan is to fly in Friday, our rounds are scheduled for sat-mon and we leave Tuesday. 

If you can get a good connection into Eugene that will be the quickest.2.5 hours from Eugene to Bandon.

 

Otherwise you have to fly into Portland and drive from there, which is 4.5 hours.

 

In the summer you can fly into North Bend via Denver but that only flys on Sun/Wed.

[golfortennis]

3 hours ago, oneunderbogey said:

Check the northwest forums, but Eugene will be the recommendation.  Just use google flights and find something that works... its about 2.5 hr drive.  

 

You'll have to point out which Bandon thread in there.  🤪

 

There is also the private plane option that was discussed in a thread as well.

[Mullenboy]

If your heart or the plans are set on Bandon, then great.  You'll love it.  But I always wonder why east coast people want to go there, given the pain in the a** logistics... you could get to Ireland or the UK quicker and easier and play real links golf....

 

 

[kro88]

4 minutes ago, Mullenboy said:

If your heart or the plans are set on Bandon, then great.  You'll love it.  But I always wonder why east coast people want to go there, given the pain in the a** logistics... you could get to Ireland or the UK quicker and easier and play real links golf....

 

 

Will be hitting both Ireland and the UK.  We have those planned for a few years further out

[jvincent]

2 hours ago, Mullenboy said:

If your heart or the plans are set on Bandon, then great.  You'll love it.  But I always wonder why east coast people want to go there, given the pain in the a** logistics... you could get to Ireland or the UK quicker and easier and play real links golf....

 

 

Because Bandon is worth it.

 

5 fantastic courses without ever having to drive your car once you are on the property.

 

Other than Trails the other courses are just as linksy as the UK.

[hbrar99]

I think you have a few options, not in any particular order. 

 

- Fly into SFO and take the connection to coos bay / North bend. United flight and only once a day. coos bay is 30 min from the resort and there is a few transport companies that can take you there.

- Fly direct into Portand, rent a car and drive the 4.5+ hours. 

- Fly into Eugene, rent a car and drive the 2.5 hours. Doubtful you get a direct flight, so you have to figure out what is the best connection for you. 

- I have met some who have flown to Seattle and either driven the 7+ hours (I haven't done it, so I can be sure if its not a bit longer than that) or they have chartered a plane from Seattle and flown down. 

 

Those are the options that I would know of. 

 

I would advise that if you don't fly direct, shipsticks your clubs and luggage. The resort is great about receiving and storing them. With tight connections, nothing worse than arriving and not having your gear. 

 

 

 

 

[spud3]

17 hours ago, jvincent said:

Because Bandon is worth it.

 

5 fantastic courses without ever having to drive your car once you are on the property.

 

Other than Trails the other courses are just as linksy as the UK.

 

Not to mention that, at least for the foreseeable future, Americans aren't allowed in Ireland or the UK...

[jvincent]

4 minutes ago, spud3 said:

 

Not to mention that, at least for the foreseeable future, Americans aren't allowed in Ireland or the UK...

 

True right now but I got the impression this was a more general comment.

 

He's not wrong. From the time I left my house to the time I tee'd it up in Ireland was probably around 10 hours so it's definitely easier to get to.

 

But for pure golf your brains out convenience and quality you can't top Bandon.

[mallrat]

From NY I would fly into Seattle, as that’s probably the easiest direct flight you’ll find. From Seattle there are a ton of commuter flights to Eugene and it’s only an hour and a half flight max. From there rent a car and drive. It’s an easy drive that goes by pretty quick. 

[Lefty_89]

Take it from a guy that traveled from Houston into Portland (by way of Denver), then took the 6.5 hour drive down the coast to get to Bandon...it's WELL worth all of the travel, and then some. I played in Scotland and Ireland (albeit minimal) in March and I'm more looking forward to the day I get back to Bandon Dunes.

 

For the sake of this thread though, if you are crunched for time, I would fly into Eugene and take the 2hr drive down. Much more scenic (if that's of any interest) and obviously closer than PDX. I did remember reading some people were having issues with rental car availability in Eugene, however, so make sure to look into that prior.

 

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have an epic trip!

Edited October 30, 2020 by Lefty_89

[spud3]

Agree with the rec to fly into Eugene.  For the time that you would save (a couple hours, if any, depending on connections into North Bend), you get quite a few benefits:

 

- No chance of being delayed/cancelled due to weather in NB

- No need for arranging an airport to resort shuttle service

- No need for using the resort shuttle service (though it is excellent)

- Your car serves as a moving locker room, eliminating visits back to your room between rounds

- opens up the option to drive into town (or along the coast itself) and explore

- One less airport connection to deal with

- It really is the nicest part of the drive.  The drive from Portland to Eugene is pretty boring

- My guess is that the cost of the rental car from Eugene for the week wouldn't be that much more than the cost of the extra flight to NB + shuttle from the airport to the resort and back

 

No brainer to me.

 

[VNutz]

Both times (from Chicago) I've flown into San Fran and then to North Bend; I hate the idea of catching an early flight, relying on a connection, and then driving 2 hours once I touch down. But admittedly I've gotten very lucky with both my flights out of San Fran into North Bend each time I've gone. San Fran can be socked with fog, and North Bend can have rain and/or fog. My last trip had the flight going back home cancelled and I realized how frequently North Bend has issues, and it's the only commercial flight in and out of that airport so it's not like you can catch something later. The drive from North Bend to Eugene, or vice versa, was pretty cool, but very stressful if you're in a matchbox sized rental in a rain storm on bald tires with cars in the ditch all around you.

 

So, in other words, pick your poison. You can roll the dice and go NY-SF-North Bend and if everything goes to plan you can be on the ground and at Bandon 45 minutes after your flight, or you can catch weather delays and have to scramble. Eugene is the safest route, but will be longer and require more effort. Catching a taxi or shuttle was remarkably easy from the North Bend airport, and once you're on site you don't need a car anyway.

 

Going back, last November, Eugene had a midnight flight on Monday that touched down at 5am in Chicago, so you might have some decent options getting from Eugene to NY, but I have no idea if flights have been scaled back since then.

Edited October 30, 2020 by VNutz

[mci711]

2 hours ago, Lefty_89 said:

Take it from a guy that traveled from Houston into Portland (by way of Denver), then took the 6.5 hour drive down the coast to get to Bandon...it's WELL worth all of the travel, and then some. I played in Scotland and Ireland (albeit minimal) in March and I'm more looking forward to the day I get back to Bandon Dunes.

 

For the sake of this thread though, if you are crunched for time, I would fly into Eugene and take the 2hr drive down. Much more scenic (if that's of any interest) and obviously closer than PDX. I did remember reading some people were having issues with rental car availability in Eugene, however, so make sure to look into that prior.

 

Whatever you decide, I'm sure you'll have an epic trip!

 

Why did it take you 6.5 hours? Did you stop a bunch of places or go West from Portland to the coast before going South on 101?

Edited October 30, 2020 by mci711

[Lefty_89]

17 minutes ago, mci711 said:

 

Why did it take you 6.5 hours? Did you stop a bunch of places or go West from Portland to the coast before going South on 101?

Yup! My wife was with me so we just made an entire day out of the drive, heading West immediately out of Portland. Absolutely loved it - stopped at a handful of different scenic spots along the way down, a great prelude to Bandon.

[mci711]

13 minutes ago, Lefty_89 said:

Yup! My wife was with me so we just made an entire day out of the drive, heading West immediately out of Portland. Absolutely loved it - stopped at a handful of different scenic spots along the way down, a great prelude to Bandon.

 

One of the most beautiful parts of the country. Last time I went to Bandon I road a bicycle from Seattle all the way down the coast. My wife has never been, I am tempted in taking the 101 all the way down as well for our scheduled trip this winter. 

[thechief16]

Just did this early October.  I'd recommend Eugene and drive.  As mentioned, you have a lot of options from Seattle to Eugene in case of weather or mechanical issues. Eugene airport is small enough that it's easy to get in and out of.  We were on the road within 25 minutes of touching down. The drive to Bandon is easy, maybe four turns? 

 

Ditto on having the "traveling locker room." Turned out that we didn't need it, as we had at least 90 minutes between when we finished our morning round and teed off our afternoon round.  But it was reassuring to have a car.  I used it twice, once to make a beer run (for the room) into town and the second when we were having lunch at Sheep Ranch and it started raining, I was back to my room to get my rain gear and then back to SR in less than 20 minutes.

 

As a 2some, we got paired with several other groups during our trip.  One had flown into SFO and got stuck there for a day to weather (and thus lost a day at Bandon) and the other has been a half dozen times and had enough trouble flying into NB the first couple times that he now always flies into Eugene.  

[Lefty_89]

16 hours ago, mci711 said:

 

One of the most beautiful parts of the country. Last time I went to Bandon I road a bicycle from Seattle all the way down the coast. My wife has never been, I am tempted in taking the 101 all the way down as well for our scheduled trip this winter. 

Couldn’t agree with you more! I wanted to keep the video on my phone running the entire time, such a beautiful drive. My wife doesn’t golf so seeing the coast and stopping at places like Devil’s Punchbowl and Thor’s Well made the journey much more memorable for us. Enjoy your upcoming trip!

[Mullenboy]

My question about logistics from the east coast was general.  Of course so long as travel to UK/Ireland is restricted due to pandemic, then Bandon it is!  The question was more about the timing.  It really seems to me you can get to UK/Ireland more simply and quickly.  But of course there are other considerations and if one-stop American resort style links golf is the goal... well you cannot do better than Bandon!  I was just there a few weeks ago.

[CDM]

Shortest drive from a "full access" airport would be Eugene as noted unless you fly private 

 

The best prices, number flights, etc would be into Portland.  So 2.5 hr drive or 4.0 hr drive roughly depending.

 

[Serenity Now]

Eugene is the best place to fly into. Lots of connections from diff cities. Can't state enough how important it is to use Ship Stix. Resort will have them ready for you as soon as you arrive and make it really easy to ship home after your last round. My buddy got to Bandon ok thru SFO but his clubs did not arrive for 2 days. Trip of a lifetime, don't try to do it on the cheap. 

 

Every golfer who loves golf needs to experience Bandon. I tell my wife not t buy me anything for my birthday or Christmas. Just let me go to Bandon! It is that special

[TK3]

I thought I read somewhere (take it a while ago) that Denver had direct flights to Bandon - leaving on Thursdays and returning on Sunday or Monday.

 

[Edaw68]

2 hours ago, TK3 said:

I thought I read somewhere (take it a while ago) that Denver had direct flights to Bandon - leaving on Thursdays and returning on Sunday or Monday.

 

They advertise it on the Bandon website, but I think it's seasonal, not sure of the exact dates.

 

 

https://www.bandondunesgolf.com/resort/getting-here?utm_source=Footer_GettingHere&utm_medium=Footer_GettingHere&utm_campaign=Footer_GettingHere

Edited November 23, 2020 by Edaw68

[MongoSmash]

Also, due to Corona, airlines have cut service. 😕😢

[hammergolf]

Bandon is great, but honestly you can go to Scotland or Ireland for less money. Travel time would be about the same. However if you’re dead set on going to Bandon you can fly into North Bend, but it’s a very small airport so not many flights. From Coos Bay it’s about a 30 mins drive to the resort from there. Or you can fly into Portland or Eugene and drive from there. It’s about 4.5 hours from Portland or 2.5 from Eugene. 

[mci711]

13 hours ago, hammergolf said:

Bandon is great, but honestly you can go to Scotland or Ireland for less money. Travel time would be about the same. However if you’re dead set on going to Bandon you can fly into North Bend, but it’s a very small airport so not many flights. From Coos Bay it’s about a 30 mins drive to the resort from there. Or you can fly into Portland or Eugene and drive from there. It’s about 4.5 hours from Portland or 2.5 from Eugene. 

Travel time would be the same until you got there* As some who has been to both once your feet hit bandon the only work that has to be done is hitting golf balls. Obviously there are parts of Scotland that have a good grouping of courses - not sure there is any single area with 5 world class courses though. Fife would probably be the "easiest" but even then driving from EDU then to course to course, parking all on the wrong side isn't the most fun. Ireland is a ton of driving if you want to play the top courses, much more difficult than Scotland and Bandon. Bandon is 1 flight, 1 drive and you can basically pack your car keys away for the week. And like it or not the courses at Bandon are some of the best in the world even if they aren't hundreds of years old. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by mci711

[hammergolf]

1 hour ago, mci711 said:

Travel time would be the same until you got there* As some who has been to both once your feet hit bandon the only work that has to be done is hitting golf balls. Obviously there are parts of Scotland that have a good grouping of courses - not sure there is any single area with 5 world class courses though. Fife would probably be the "easiest" but even then driving from EDU then to course to course, parking all on the wrong side isn't the most fun. Ireland is a ton of driving if you want to play the top courses, much more difficult than Scotland and Bandon. Bandon is 1 flight, 1 drive and you can basically pack your car keys away for the week. And like it or not the courses at Bandon are some of the best in the world even if they aren't hundreds of years old. 

Bandon is great. I enjoy The golf there, however the trip to get there is just such a P.I.T.A. With less aggrivation I can fly to Shannon, play Adare Manor, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Tralee. Or I can fly into Edinburgh drive 45 mins to St. Andrews and play The Old Course, The New Course, The Castle Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns. The travel time for flights and driving is about the same to maybe even less for St. Andrews. In addition the money is about the same or less. All three are great options with great courses. 

[mci711]

10 minutes ago, hammergolf said:

Bandon is great. I enjoy The golf there, however the trip to get there is just such a P.I.T.A. With less aggrivation I can fly to Shannon, play Adare Manor, Lahinch, Ballybunion, and Tralee. Or I can fly into Edinburgh drive 45 mins to St. Andrews and play The Old Course, The New Course, The Castle Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns. The travel time for flights and driving is about the same to maybe even less for St. Andrews. In addition the money is about the same or less. All three are great options with great courses. 

Yea, I don't disagree. If I could be anywhere in the world right now playing golf (in playable weather) it would be St Andrews. I just think flying to Oregon, driving a couple of hours, then being in 1 place for days is super easy/no stress. I think quite a bit more goes into a trip to the UK or Ireland. Unless you have global entry (I highly suggest it if not) the airport mess alone is enough to not want to go abroad - at least here in Chicago, O'hare is terrible to come back to internationally. 

[hammergolf]

Just now, mci711 said:

Yea, I don't disagree. If I could be anywhere in the world right now playing golf (in playable weather) it would be St Andrews. I just think flying to Oregon, driving a couple of hours, then being in 1 place for days is super easy/no stress. I think quite a bit more goes into a trip to the UK or Ireland. Unless you have global entry (I highly suggest it if not) the airport mess alone is enough to not want to go abroad - at least here in Chicago, O'hare is terrible to come back to internationally. 

Our last trip to Scotland was pretty easy. I travel a lot, and lived in the UK for 8 yrs so driving on the wrong side of the road isnt a big deal to me. I rented a house in St. Andrews and we played the courses around town. Only drive longer than 10 mis was to Carnoustie, which was about 45 mins each way. We were supposed to go to Ireland again a couple months ago but had to postpone to next year. Love the courses at Bandon, I just wish it was more convenient to get there. I hear you about O'Hare, I'm in Southern Illinois and actually try to go out of JFK instead when I'm flying abroud since it's less hassle. The good news is now you can go through US Customs in Shannon before you fly back so it is so much easier. Hopefully Scotland and GB wil follow suit. Wanting to plan a NW England trip and a Portugal trip in the coming years so hopefully it get's better.