qzseattle

I have been thinking of a short vacations to USVI with my wife and 2 children. We live in Seattle and we have never been to virgin islands. Looking at airfares, I wonder if it would be economical to fly to San Juan and then travel to USVI. However I have little idea about inter-island transportation options. What travel options are available between San Juan and St. Thomas in term of cost and time? What about inter-island options between St. Thomas and some of the BVI islands? We will be there only for 4 nights so I am not sure if that would leave us enough time for island hopping. Perhaps we should stay mainly at St. Thomas with a day trip to St. John?

Thanks for your help!

Digbydog

With only 4 days, I would pick just one island. You can fly from SJU to Virgin Gorda on Seaborne Airlines. Or you could take Seaborne from SJU to St. Thomas and then take a short ferry ride to St. John. Air Sunshine and Cape Air also fly from SJU to the Virgin Islands. We have found it to be less expensive to fly into SJU and then take Seaborne over. However, with your short trip, you might find it makes more sense to just fly into St. Thomas.

I would move on from St. Thomas though. It is much more developed than St. John or the BVI's.

RoamsAround

You'll have to fly between San Juan and St. Thomas (there is no other viable way to get between those two destinations). There are several airlines you can take including Jet Blue, Seaborne, Cape Air and Air Sunshine, to name a few. Prices vary depending on airline, time of year/day of week, etc. but are probably in the $140 to $160 per person EACH WAY. Flight takes about 30 minutes.

From Seattle you are going to have to get at least one or maybe even two connecting flight at some airport while on route to STT as there are no non-stop flights from the Pacific Northwest. You'll have to compare prices of your various routing options to see which one is "more economical". Keep in mind the more connections you have the longer it will take to reach your destination and the more opportunity there will be for you to encounter unwanted delays, lost baggage, cancelled flights, etc. For me, I'd choose the shortest most direct route rather than worry about saying a few dollars by adding an extra leg or two to my itinerary - you are going on vacation hopefully to relieve stress not add to it.

Getting between St. Thomas, St. John and many of the BVI's is quite easy as there's an extensive system of ferries servicing the islands. Fares and travel times vary depending on which island(s) you want to visit. Go here for fares, schedules and FAQ's about the service.: http://www.bestofbvi.com/info/info_bviferry.htm

FYI - Getting from STT to St. Croix (the other USVI) is a little more difficult and time consuming so I'd save that island for another trip.

Shanti

I will be vacationing in both Puerto Rico and St. John next month. So I can't tell you how it will work out. However, I have 13 days and wouldn't bother to go to St. John if I only had 4 nights.

We're flying JetBlue from San Juan to St. Thomas and then will take a taxi and ferry to St. John. The cost was about $150 ROUND TRIP per person not each way.

eastenderusvi

You can also fly directly to St Thomas from Atlanta via Delta and Miami or JFK via American. Both are preferable to PR, IMHO. Four days isn't very long after that LONG trip. Are you sure you can't stretch out your vacation?? ;-)