Debden

Is that a reasonable fare for off-season?
Will it go down as it gets closer to October or will it stay about the same? I've never kept track of fares to Jamaica before so I'm not sure how or if they flunctuate much?
Anybody?
Thanks.
Debbie

tom42

I think that is a pretty good fare from ALbany. I lived in Albany a few years back and I traveled to San Juan a number of times. The airfare was usually higher than that - and I would imagine that Jamaica would be even worse. Hard to get really cheap flights from Albany.

Debden

It would be nice if it was about $100 less.Then I would find it to be reasonable fare.Maybe I'll just wait this one out and see what happens.
Thanks.
Debbie

Debden

Will I did find Spirit Air has a special going on to Montego Bay.$114 each way.I found my dates and they did have the special but once they added the taxes/fees/surcharge it totalled $341.50 pp round-trip.Again,wow.Those are some hefty fees.
You can tell I haven't gone on vacation in a while.Everything seems pretty expensive to me.
Debbie

tivertonhouse

US$400-475 after all the taxes surcharges is about standard into MoBay RT in Oct. You can find fares in high
300s. Careful on Spirit which routes via Lauderdale and often has connection probs, despite the cheapo rates. Continental, US Air, American, Air Jamaica, Delta fly into Sangster Intl.
Online, fares are reposted just about
midnight on many sites;this far out tho you'll probably not see much change.
American, US Air and AJ do promote off-season with sales. Check NYTimes daily
and Sundays.

tom42

She is departing from Albany, not NYC. I have never flown on Spirit but $341 r/t from Albany is an excellent fare. You will not do better than that.

Debden

Sorry I did not state in my post that the airfare from Spirit was out of Laguardia,NY...not Albany.It's $468.90 rt pp out of Albany,NY.
Debbie

caribtraveler

That Spirit Air rate sounds pretty good, but you have to factor in the additional cost to get to LaGuardia from Albany area.
We paid $300 (before taxes) non-stop Continental Newark to Montego last August. I was very happy with that rate.

Debden

caribtraveler,Yes that is a good rate.I checked from Newark,NY to MBJ and on Air Jamaica it's $327 rt.That includes taxes/fees.That's an excellent price.Like you said we have to drive 3 1/2 hours to get there but to save almost $300 it seems worth it to me.I know I have to factor in gas and parking.Still a really good deal.And both flights are direct to and fro!
Debbie

ejcrowe

You really think it's worth it to drive 3.5 hours, pay for parking (which must be close to $100 alone), pay for gas, pay for your time? How early in the day would you have to be on the road to make it to the airport a full two hours before departure for your international flight?

I would gladly pay that fare out of Albany (which I consider a good fare) to save the hassle of driving and flying out of a major airport.

Debden

The flight doesn't leave out until 2:50pm so we would be heading out around 8am.So we would be there around noon.We looked into the parking and they do have alot of optional parking outside the airport for around $8 a day with shuttle service to your gate.
I agree that driving time and hassels involved should be taken into consideration.I have not totally ruled leaving out of Albany yet.
Debbie

ejcrowe

Ahh, that departure time changes things a bit. I was expecting a morning departure and that you'd have to get on the road at 3:00 am or similar.

CaribbeanSoul

We paid about the same on Continental from Seattle for our upcoming trip in May. I booked back in July, however. Glad I did! I haven't seen airfares drop at all over the past 6 months.

caribtraveler

If I may ask, how long are you planning to stay in Jamaica? A long travel day may not be worth it if it's a short trip. I think your savings will have to really be good to justify the long travel day. Are you planning to stay in Montego or are you heading to Negril? If Negril, factor in another hour of drive time from Montego.
I'm glad to see that you're aware of the other parking options. The airport parking at LGA and EWR are not cheap.
Good luck.

Debden

Yes CaribbeanSoul I figured there was not much chance of the airfare going down.As ejcrowe said it is probably the best fare I'll find out of Albany,NY.
Carib Traveler we are only going for 4 nights and we are heading out to Negril.
I wanted to do two nights at Idle Awhile and 2 nights Catcha Falling Star but I'm not sure what the transfer time is between the two resorts?Or should we just stay in one place for the 4 nights?
Any suggestions? Comments?
Thanks for the all the help.
Debbie

caribtraveler

For such a short trip, I'd stay at one place. Is there a particular reason you want to split your stay between 2 places? I'm only familiar with Idle Awhile. Which room are you looking into? Even though Idle Awhile is a cute boutique hotel, I had a huge issue with them. I'm a light sleeper and their windows don't block noise. Here's my trip report with pictures.
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34850389

Please bear in mind that I wrote this report the day after our return. I was still tired from the lack of sleep and pissed off about it all. The hotel is cute, the beach and the staff are great. But if you're a light sleeper like me, listen to my advice on which room to choose.

CaribbeanSoul

I'd stay in one place, on the beach, at Idle Awhile. Hands down, the best hotel on the beach. Try to land the upper level 1 BR beachfront unit. Worth every penny. October is a great time to visit Negril. Very quiet. We honeymooned there in Oct 2002 and we had the beach to ourselves (for the most part). I wish we were going back to Negril for our May trip, but thought it'd be wise to check out a new area. I love Negril and my wife loves it even more.

Debden

OMG! Caribtraveler,First a few things:I loved your trip report!Such beautiful pictures.The beach is gorgeous!!And the room looks good to me too!Sorry you had such a difficult time sleeping.
Now I have to tell you that you wrote a fabulous reveiw. I just laughed so hard thru your reveiw.Especially about all the insects churping and then the no iron/ironing board,no hair dryer thing..
You made my day!You sound exactly like me!I think the only thing that might bother me is people walking by the room constantly at night when your trying to sleep.To be honest I'm a heavy sleeper but my travel companion is not so I would really like to know what room you think would be best!
Thanks for the great revew,pictures and info! I love it already!
Debbie

Debden

CaribbeanSoul,Idle Awhile just looks fabulous!I love the pictures caribtraveler put in her reveiw!Your right,being there such a short period of time staying at one place is a better idea.We were going to go in October but now we love the pictures and information everyone is giving so much we are now thinking May!!Yay...I hope we can go in May.I'm crossing my fingers.I've travelled to many,many places and look forward to my first visit to Jamaica.
Thanks.
Debbie

CaribbeanSoul

Debden, I hope it works out for you. Please keep us updated on your travel plans. Many of us would love to read about your trip upon your return.