cheapest christmas airfare by destination

Old Sep 5th, 2014, 07:57 AM
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cheapest christmas airfare by destination

I am unexpectedly planning a family vacation for four grown ups for this Christmas (2014). My iniital search suggests that airfare will be a significant portion of the cost, costing as much or more than housing. I can't move the dates or the younger generation can't go. We will be flying from Denver and the east coast. Are there significant variations in airfares based on destination? This is our first carribean trip, excluding Mexico, so I expect that we will be happy with any destsination. We don't need luxury, but want to see nature while hiking, snorkling, kayaking, SUPping, etc.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 08:09 AM
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The more popular islands tend to have lower airfare overall because there are more airlines servicing those destinations, and more flights. Try St. Thomas which gives you the option of ferrying to more desirable islands like St. John and the BVIs. Try the Cayman Islands as well. Another option would be to fly to San Juan and either ferry to Vieques or Culebra or take a puddle jumper to another Caribbean Island. Also, check multiple airports to depart from in your area if that is an option. I check BWI, Reagan National & Philly when we fly anywhere as there are often fare differences of hundreds of dollars between them.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 08:43 AM
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Thank you, that makes sense. I will start studying up on ferries/puddle jumpers. San Juan is less than $1,000 from the East Coast.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 10:56 AM
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Airfares to the "larger" islands such as Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and the aforementioned Puerto Rico, will often be less expensive than flying to the smaller islands mainly because there's a lot more competition between the different airlines. That said, you are planning to travel during the busiest, most popular time in the Caribbean so "bargain airfares" may be hard to come by.

Likewise, expect to find the highest room rates of the year and many resorts/hotels have minimum stay requirements during the Christmas holidays so factor that into your planning.

Lastly, because the Christmas holiday period is such a busy time many resorts get booked up a year in advance which can limit your accommodation options so don't delay in finalizing your plans if you want to travel for Christmas 2014.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 12:23 PM
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Thanks, Roams. Understood. On the rooms, the only question is go or don't go. I fully expected to pay the highest rates and stay a full week somewhere that has stock left when the more desireable places may have been booked for several months, knowing that I could stay in the same place two weeks later for half the cost. But I didn't realize that 90 days out the airfares would so high.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 06:01 PM
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180 days months out, 90 days out, 30 days out - it doesn't really matter that much - airfares for Christmas Week are always at a premium.
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Old Sep 15th, 2014, 02:18 AM
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Christmas time is indeed the busiest and most expensive time of the year in the Caribbean and it's almost round the corner. Start looking for flight deals and travel packages, check out various flight ticket booking portals. You can check out caribbean-airlines.com They sometimes have great travel package deals. Hope this helps.
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Old Sep 22nd, 2014, 07:03 PM
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NBC just ran a segment last week suggesting that the "new" best time to search for lower airfares is Tuesdays at 3 PM. I can't remember the reason for it, but there was one! However, as suggested above, Christmas week is "always at a premium."
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