"It's still too dangerous to attempt Apparating or Side-Along Apparation, and certainly not that far. At least one of you would almost certainly get Splinched!" Arthur had warned his son and the girl who would likely one day be his daughter-in-law. "The Ministry is still working to get the Floo networks back up from when they were shut down by Voldemort during the war. Portkeys are the only reliable transport available at the moment!" He handed Ron a rather large shoe.