Flight prices to SXM/Caribbean
Jan 24th, 2008, 09:54 AM
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Flight prices to SXM/Caribbean
My SO and I are planning a trip to SXM at the end of May (graduation celebration!)--thank you, Fodorians, for all of your help and advice--- and have yet to buy our plane tickets (already booked a room at L' Esplanade).
Have any opinions on the best time to buy? The sooner the better? Or cheaper two months out? I have heard many theories about two weeks/two months, but curious what your experiences have been!? (Prices haven't seemed to change much over the last few weeks.)
Have any opinions on the best time to buy? The sooner the better? Or cheaper two months out? I have heard many theories about two weeks/two months, but curious what your experiences have been!? (Prices haven't seemed to change much over the last few weeks.)
Jan 24th, 2008, 10:29 AM
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It's very difficult to predict airfares. Typically the airlines have "sales" several times a year but to get those fares you have to fly within certain time periods. You best bet is to monitor prices for your planned dates of travel then when you see what looks like a good price be prepared to book your flight right away as good fares disappear quickly. You could sign up with your preferred airlines to get notification of special fares to your planned destination. Others here will have more hints.
Jan 25th, 2008, 05:15 AM
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I certainly agree with RoamsArounds opinion on airfares. That's all very sound advice.
Please remember that airfares are currently trending up, not down, and they will be higher than last year. Any airfare to St. Maarten between $400 and $500 should be considered pretty good for May. If you see something closer to or less than $400 then jump on it immediately. I think people may find $600 Caribbean airfares not at all unusual this Spring, especially if you're not flying from NYC, Miami, or Ft. Lauderdale.
Please remember that airfares are currently trending up, not down, and they will be higher than last year. Any airfare to St. Maarten between $400 and $500 should be considered pretty good for May. If you see something closer to or less than $400 then jump on it immediately. I think people may find $600 Caribbean airfares not at all unusual this Spring, especially if you're not flying from NYC, Miami, or Ft. Lauderdale.
Jan 25th, 2008, 07:51 PM
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I'm goint to St. Martin in March, and I found a round trip flight from NYC for just under $300 on Continental. Not sure if it's much more expensive in May, but there are some reasonably priced options out there (and the flight I got is direct, no layovers).
A couple of good travel sites that may help you: www.kayak.com This site lets you input your desired travel to/from destinations and dates, and pulls up a list of all flights available in order of price, as well as all websites that you can purchase the ticket from (directly from airline, expedia, etc.). I have found some great priced flights from this site (in fact, I found my flight to St. Martin from there!). Second great resource, but only if you've already found a specific flight that you are looking at and want to track the price of it is www.yapta.com They track airfares of specific flights for you (you can track more than one flight at a time) and send you an email alert when the flight increases or decreases in price (you also get emails about price drops, if applicable, after you purchase your ticket...most airlines will give you a travel voucher for the difference).
If you're afraid that the price of a flight you have your eye on might increase, you could go ahead and buy it and then track it on Yapta to see if the fare decreases after purchase so that you can get reimbursed in some way. Hope this helps!
A couple of good travel sites that may help you: www.kayak.com This site lets you input your desired travel to/from destinations and dates, and pulls up a list of all flights available in order of price, as well as all websites that you can purchase the ticket from (directly from airline, expedia, etc.). I have found some great priced flights from this site (in fact, I found my flight to St. Martin from there!). Second great resource, but only if you've already found a specific flight that you are looking at and want to track the price of it is www.yapta.com They track airfares of specific flights for you (you can track more than one flight at a time) and send you an email alert when the flight increases or decreases in price (you also get emails about price drops, if applicable, after you purchase your ticket...most airlines will give you a travel voucher for the difference).
If you're afraid that the price of a flight you have your eye on might increase, you could go ahead and buy it and then track it on Yapta to see if the fare decreases after purchase so that you can get reimbursed in some way. Hope this helps!
