Upside Down Under: Bismarck to St. Pete...

It’s been just short of a month, but it appears the hype isn’t backing down regarding direct flights from Bismarck to St. Pete/Clearwater, Fla.

Since May 15, Allegiant has added this flight twice a week, on Wednesday and Saturday. Numerous people are talking about this and even though it gets hot in the Tampa Bay region during the summer, those flights continue getting booked.

Maybe it’s such a “hot” topic because the flights are cheap right now as an introduction. You can get a one-way right now for $60. That’s less than you would pay for a good seat at a Tampa Bay Rays baseball game.

I can remember when people in North Dakota were ecstatic when Allegiant added its Fargo to St. Pete flight. It became more evident when a direct flight from Minot to Sanford/Orlando was added. Now, there is a whole new realm of possibilities opened up with Bismarck to St. Pete.

The other big thing is, despite Disney World, there is no beach in Orlando and let’s face it, when we go to Florida, we all want to go to the beach.

Orlando and Tampa are about 90 miles apart, so if you live in the Minot area and want to spend a week on the beach, you would have to drive either way from Sanford as it’s equidistant from Orlando to either coast. Or, worse yet, if you live anywhere in western North Dakota, you’d have to travel.

But let’s face it, it’s a lot easier driving across the state of North Dakota than it is to drive across the state of Florida on Interstate 4. We drove it in February. Bradenton, just south of St. Pete, was our destina-tion which is a 140-mile drive from Sanford. That can be an ugly trip in Florida traffic.

Allegiant has made it much more convenient to plan vacation and travel in Florida. These $60 flights from Bismarck to St. Pete aren’t going to last forever and summer may not be the best time to be in south Florida because of the heat and humidity.

But, they are available and that’s what’s important.

Many of us prefer the Gulf Coast so this new flight makes it a lot easier and convenient to travel the west side of Florida.

First of all, there’s a lot to see and do in the Tampa Bay metro. The city of Tampa has all the amenities of a much larger city. Two of the three professional sports teams play in Tampa that include the Lightning in hockey and the Buccaneers in football.

There are a lot of Buccaneers fans living in Bismarck and they are over the moon right now that this new flight has been added.

The Tampa Bay Rays are even closer. They play in St. Pete, not 10 miles from the airport.

Arts, dining, shopping, tours, Busch Gardens, Ybor City and the list goes on about things to do in Tampa.

St. Pete is a great vacation destination in and of itself. The St. Pete Pier is an incredible place where you can take a cruise on Tampa Bay. And, as you leave the pier, you see the Skyline Bridge ahead of you and the St. Pete skyline just behind you. There’s endless restaurants, pubs and shopping in downtown St. Pete.

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There’s Clearwater, Dundin, Bradenton, Sarasota, St. Pete Beach, Port Charlotte, Fort Myers, Naples and other small towns that all have something to offer on Florida’s Gulf Coast.

It’s pretty obvious that the time to be in Florida is the winter, so undoubtedly, the cost of tickets will increase when summer ends in North Dakota. And even if you are a snowbird and spend the entire winter in Florida, Allegiant has made it easier for you to get from point A to point B as well.

Up until recently, the Allegiant flights went west to Las Vegas and Phoenix. The company recognized there was also a demand for flights to Florida. Now, you can get direct flights from Grand Forks, Fargo, Bismarck or Minot.

It beats the dickens out of waiting for a connecting flight in Minneapolis, Denver, Salt Lake City or Dallas. Now, you can get to your vacation destination a lot quicker.

(Marvin Baker is a news writer for the Kenmare News and formerly Foster County Independent.)