LIAT recent experiences
 

Hi, I am planning to travel to Young Island in April, 2005. It look like I will have to use LIAT to get from Barbados to St Vincent. Do they really enforce the 44 lbs per person weight limit? Also, any recent experiences you have would be helpful.
Thanks

YOu should take the weight restrictions seriously. When push comes to shove and they need to leave bags behind, usually, the overweight and biggest get left behind.

It's a safety issue. The last thing you want is an overweight plane.

Thanks for the info. I am trying to figure out how I will pack for 2 weeks in only 44 lbs, but I guess I'll do it some way

Lucky, you can do it !

I regularly go to SVG for 4-6 weeks and have yet to exceed the 44 lb limit. All you need by way of clothes is 2-3 swimsuits, a few tops and shorts/skirts/pants, lightweight sweater or shawl, sandals, one dressy outfit, and a rain jacket with hood. A couple of pareos also come in handy both as beach wraps and as lightweight beach towels. Use the rest of your packing space for books, toiletries/medication, and toys (like your snorkelling gear).

The alternative is to pay the weight overage which is, I think, $1US per lb. And, as Derek says, the heavy bags are the first to get left behind.

You already got some very good advice, and so I will only reinforce what the other posters said.

DO pay attention to the weight limit as if your bag gets left behind, you may not see it for a few days. Also, it is very expensive to pay for the overweight and it is quite likely it will not be making the trip with you.

We travel for two to three weeks at a time in the Caribbean and have been going for 12 years. I can tell you that you will only need 1/2 of what you think you will.

I used to take 5 or 6 swimsuits with matching cover ups, 6 or 7 pairs of shoes, three or four different outfits for each day... Not necessary and a big hassle to schlep all that stuff around.

Young Island is chic but casual, and you can get many light cotton tops and skirts and capris in one suitcase. You'll probably not need more than one pair of heels, and you can wear those to travel if you like. Shoes take up a lot of space and are heavy.

Something that helps me is to kind of pick a "color" theme. That way, one pair of shoes will match almost all of what you brought. I usually wear one and bring one pair of heels, one dressy pair of sandals, one pair of Teva's - that's it for shoes.

After having done both, it's liberating to not have to worry about and lug around a bunch of heavy luggage.

Boy, have I gotten lot's of good advice from this board. In any case, for those of you who have travelled to Young Island before, any advice regarding the right cottage (I am planning on the lowest price one) or definite things to do, what you think is best/worst about Young Island, etc.
Thanks in advance

You've gotten some great advice on how to pack light. Try to limit your items to things you can't do without rather than worrying about things you might need. Also plan on having the resort do laundry for you a couple of times during your stay. That will help keep you packing light. Follow the old adage, take less clothes and more money. Seriously, set out the clothes you think you'll need, put half of them away and pack the rest. My spouse and I travel to the Caribbean several times a year and never take more than one standard "roll-on" each.

Here's details on what we take for our 2 week trips to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. I agree with the others, you really don't need that much stuff!

http://www.scubamom.com/grenadines/traveltips.htm

I happened to be looking at the Young Island website today (and daydreaming about going there). I noticed that laundry is included in the price so if you don't mind wearing the same outfit a few times (I don't) you can reduce what you take. We were married on the patio of cottage 8 in 1992 - if I go back would definitely request that cottage again. It was fairly secluded, and had a large patio which we ate breakfast on every morning.