Cheapest flight you ever got to SXM?
 

I am coming from ATL and would prob. be traveling in the end of November, but would be interested in hearing experiences from other gateways at other times, too, just to get an idea of what's possible. Also, has anyone ever done with route with miles but w/o having to use double miles? Thanks!

[p.s. for those who have seen my other posts, yes, I am still being indecisive as to where to go - but it is now narrowed to St. Barts, Harbour Island or Nevis. I think. But then again I drive DH crazy 'cause I can't ever even make up my mind what to order for dinner! How am I supposed to pick one island out of all these fabulous ones!]

I've used miles to get to St. Maarten, but on American, not Delta. You might find a round-trip flight in November for $299, but that's probably the best you'll see to any Caribbean destination except for Puerto Rico; granted, I fly from JFK rather than ATL, so you might find it a bit cheaper ... perhaps $249. I think $399 or $499 is a more likely fare these days.

Thanks for the reply Doug. Actually, the lowest fare I am finding any time in October or November is $663. On my preferred dates it is more like $775. I'm coming from ATL and Delta just cut a bunch of flights to SXM, which might be part of the problem - the best fares now route thru Charlotte on United! Ironic to have to go to a smaller airport to get a flight. Because of this I'm probably going to have to cross SBH (my ultimate destination from SXM) off my list . . . I just can't bear paying over $1400 (plus ferry to SBH) before DH and I even get to the island :(

That sounds like a high-season airfare. I do think you can do better than $700 to St. Maarten in November, but you're probably looking a bit too early. Definitely keep an eye on fares, but you might be able to get a better deal if you wait until September to book. Just a couple of hurricanes will inspire the airlines to offer some fare sales. The problem is that you are pretty much stuck with Delta if you live in Atlanta and have few other decently priced options. The positive side is that few hotels book up in the Caribbean in late November, so you can probably find a good room even if you wait a while to make the booking. I do feel your pain about St. Barts. But on the bright side, the airfare will look pretty cheap after you've spent a week on the island.

We are flying to SXM in June for our trip to Anguilla. We recently got our tickets and they were $450 going through Charlotte on US Air. Granted, it's low season so they are going to be lower than November.

Just used Northwest miles on Continental for roundtrip from Chicago to SXM in late June, 70,000 miles per ticket.

Ugh, amrach, I am jealous! That's an awesome fare. Have you flown US Air before? There is a US Air fare for $708 on the dates we're looking at, but we have to take a small plane to Charlotte and I've heard some negative things about US Air...hmmm.

Doug, I am torn about waiting. Now we are thinking we'd like to go the week of thanksgiving to minimize vacation time used at work. Right now I can get the $708 fare over thanksgiving, which is about the same as the non-thanksgiving times. I'm not so sure this fare will go down if I wait b/c its a holiday, the planes already look pretty full for those dates . . . and Delta has cut back its service to SXM(and as you said pretty much no one else flys out of ATL).

I flew US Air about 5 years ago, but hopefully it won't be bad. I know they just merged with America West, which I HATE, but we'll see how things go. It is a small plane from Houston to Charlotte and then a regular jet to SXM. There was also an American flight through Miami for the same price, but I'd rather fly through Charlotte than Miami!!

My step-daughter flies either AA or USAir from Houston to SXM each year and she always says she likes USAir better.

I'm afraid you're in a tight spot, and I don't know what to tell you. If you were coming from almost anywhere else, I'd say wait at least until August. Have you priced American Airlines, which does have some flights from Atlanta to Miami, where you could connect to a St. Maarten flight? Another alternative would be to try to find a cheap ticket to Puerto Rico and then get on Caribbean Star to St. Maarten. That might save you enough to be worth the trouble. If it's possible, I'd also suggest that you try pricing your flight on Thanksgiving Day itself to avoid the high prices coming back home after Thanksgiving weekend and flying out the weekend before.

Thanks for the info Statia! I was a little concerned about flying US Air but having not much experience flying US Air or AA, I opted for US Air due to the connection and times of flights. We usually fly Continental, but they had no good flights to SXM.

$199 CAD non-stop from Toronto to St. Maarten in April.