I'm trying to plan a last minute trip to the Caribbean. I'm looking for a very low key, private vacation where I can just spend a week on the beach and decompress. I have a fairly limited budget and would like to use NWA points for at least part of my flight (out of Des Moines, IA or Minneapolis, MN).

Getting There: Since NWA doesn't fly to many of the smaller islands, I'm open to going to a major island i.e. St. Lucia, St. Croix, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, then pay to get to a smaller, more secluded area.

Lodging: I found a couple places I liked in Grenada, but I'm open to suggestions. I'd prefer something private with beach access and less than $150 a night. I don't need many amenities, just clean, safe, and beach access.

I would greatly appreciate any tips. This will be my first trip to the Caribbean, so I definitely need suggestions.

Thanks!

If it were me and I had points to use on an airline, I would first contact the airline and get a date of when the miles are available for use and to where.

That in and of itself may narrow down your choices.

Thank you for your response. I can use my points anytime right up to the flight as long as there are seats available. I'm not so worried about that part of the trip as I am finding out how to get between the islands at a reasonable cost.

Grenada is an excellent choice, and I'd definitely second that. Excellent beaches, beautiful island, nice people, and some very good and cheap hotels. You can probably get to Grenada easily from either Jamaica, Antigua, St. Maarten, or Barbados. American Eagle has flights from Puerto Rico, but those tend to be expensive. If you want to save money, choose a Caribbean-based airline like LIAT, which just merged with Caribbean Star and offers a pretty wide range of flights for reasonable prices.

Grenada is wonderful for what you described. If you haven't already noticed it, look at La Sagesse Nature Center, which has a very small hotel right on an unspoiled beach. Looks like you're back to the beginning of time. www.lasagesse.com

Grenada is a fantastic idea and flying out of MSP to San Juan on Northwest and then connecting on the Grenada via American Eagle might even get you there on the same day.

Grenada is quickly becoming my favorite island as it offers everything in a destination that I want. La Sagesse is great, as other have said, and for your needs you might also like the looks of True Blue Bay resort and Twelve Degrees North, a cottage enclave with self-catering facilities and your own housekeeper who will cook breakfast for you each morning.

HOWEVER, you need to be aware that accommodations and flights in and out of Grenada are just about fully booked for the month of April because of the World Cricket Cup. It wouldn't offer much seclusion by anybody's standards during that time!

If you can go now, or if you can hold off until May, by all means go and experience that wonder that is Grenada.


If you cannot, why not try flying into St. Thomas and ferrying over to Virgin Gorda for your vacation? www.guavaberryspringbay.com offers some quaint cottages close to a beach in your price range.

Last minute and using your NWA points - those are not two compatible statements, I'd think. Good luck.

We use AA frequent flyer miles and always book 10 months out to insure we get the seats for all five of us. St Thomas has a lot of seats usually. The more island hopper planes you have to be on the more chance that the frequent flyer seats will already be taken. I would recommend going to st thomas and taking the ferry over to st john. Second choice would be grenada as it is beautiful, budget friendly, however harder to get to.

You definitely could fly easily to St. thomas (and there is more chance the seats are still available to STT) and the ferry is the way you have to get to St John anyway. That would be a great place. It is 70% national park. You could stay probably in the Coral bay area of St john for more seclusion, however there is a fantastic bed and breakfast in Cruz bay -Estate Lindholm. I have looked at Grenada also, but you generally have to overnight to make it there if you are leaving from somewhere more obscure (Des Moines). (I am originaly from Ames, so I know about this. I take St. Louis flights now as I now live in Illlinois). St. Croix is place I wasn't as interested in. St. Lucia would be nicer on a larger budget. Grenada has several good budget friendly places, Blue Horizons off the top of my head. If you go to St. Martin, I like the Grand Case beach club. Good luck.