melody13

Hello,

Trying to plan first trip to St. Bart's for the summer and the airfare I'm getting just to reach St. Marteen is roughly $750!!!!! Then I still have to pay to get from SXM to St. Bart's... .This is crazy...

Does anyone know if fares go down closer to summer?? I'm willing to fly out of Newark, JFK, LGA.. But I was hoping ot keep my total airfare closer to $500 instead of $900!!! I could go to Australia for that price...

thanks in advance
Melody

KarenM

I would start checking 90 days before departure. That price is ridiculous for off season. I would bet they will be having sales in April and May for summer flights.

When you go to book the SXM/SBH/SXM part of the trip, Travelocity seems to have the best prices if the schedule they offer fits. Otherwise you will need to book WinAir thru their US Agent in Connecticut http://www.IslandHoppingExperts.com click on the Real WinAir Tickets heading.

1-800-634-4907 or 203-261-8603

The other altnerative is direct with WinAir in St. Maarten. I haven't had any success with return emails from them so you would have to call..011 599 545-4237, 011 599 545-4230, or 011 599 545-4210.

If your schedule is compatible, St. Barts Commuter might work, cheaper than WinAir but limited schedule.

http://www.stbarthcommuter.com/REGULIER_en.htm

I know the cost to get from St. Maarten to St. Barts is expensive and it drives me crazy too, but the flight alone is entertainment in itself. Your alternative is the ferry which, if you don't get seasick, would cost much less. The ferry can be a pretty rough 1 1/2 hour ride if you have a queazy stomach.

Statia

Summer will always be cheaper....and hotter. I think that low season starts about mid-April and fares should drop around that time. Try checking fares for mid-April and after. The fare from SXM to St. Barth's is about an additional $200 the last time I checked.

I have paid anywhere from $450-$750 doing the reverse trip (from SXM to JFK) over the past several years during spring time.

KarenM

FYI, I just booked our reservations thru U.S. Airways on WinAir for $377 for 2 people in April. That beat Travelocity which would be $396.

If you fly on US Airways from the states your baggage will go straight thru to St. Barts and you won't have to go thru customs in SXM. That doesn't work for us though since we are flying Continental out of Newark. WinAir has a special arrangement with US Airways.

According to US Airways reservations, WinAir changes times and flight numbers quite frequently, so the WinAir website schedule isn't dependable. I tried to book these flights on the US Airways website and what it was showing made no sense so I called reservations at US Airways.

Statia

I can vouch for WinAir constantly changing their schedule. So it's best to stay in touch with them by phone for both initial booking, as well as confirming before departure.

melody13

Thanks so much Karen and Statia,

I will take your advice and start checking again in April-May... I hope I can get a low fare in the $400 range, at least for the longer leg of the flight.... If US Airways is that much cheaper and convenient, I may have to drive the two hour sto the Phila. airport to get the flight...

Thanks much

Statia

Melody, I would start checking fares now, but don't check for "travel dates" before mid-April.

Good luck!

KarenM

Melody, US Airways flies out of Newark too. Don't worry about the EWR to SXM flight, take whichever one is the cheapest....but booking the WinAir thru US Airways will save you some bucks...just allow extra time if you fly anything other than US Airways from Newark to do the customs/immigration thingie in St. Maarten.

If I were you I would set check the airlines every 3 or 4 days and keep doing it. I noticed last year that they would put a sale up one day and it was gone the next. I also noticed that if I checked after midnight the price was cheaper. It's all in the game. I would shoot for as close to $400 as possible. Tourism is way down in the summer so they should be offering some goodies soon.

When I booked our flight from Newark on Continental using points, they show the configuration of the seats for you to choose your seat. More than 1/2 the plane is showing empty as of last Monday for a flight leaving April 23. They are going to want to fill those seats, so prices will go down.

KarenM

Forgot one thing, in case you don't already know about it, go to wwwsbhonline.com for the message board on St. Barts. Just about anything you want to know about the island you'll find there. It's been a great help for me planning our trip. The people on the board are very helpful and friendly. You can post questions and you'll get plenty of answers in no time.

melody13

Hi Karen,

So if I take US out of Newark, I have to connect in Phila. right??? I'm afraid that's a lot of connections for two little ones....Ugh..I'll keep checking Continental though.

If I could get the EWR to SXM leg down to $400, plus the $150 or so for Winnair, I can do this... The villa I fell in love with on SBH is above our budget for the trip, that's why I'm trying to save on the air...

Thanks so much again!

KarenM

Melody, you are right, US Airways either connects thru Philly or Charlotte. That's too many legs. Continental is direct from Newark I would go with that. American also flies there, you might want to check them too. The other thing you might want to try is Liberty Travel might have a charter flight going into St. Maarten thru their Apple Vacations connection. That might be worth a call or check their website. Here's the website for a consolidator that might be worth checking:

http://www.airlineconsolidator.com/

Also, there used to be bucket shops listed in the Sunday New York Times. My son used one I think was called Pan Am Travel for travel to Asia.