We are hoping to rent a Caribbean Villa next January, and trying to decide which best suits us. We are intrigued by St. John, but wonder if it adds significantly to travel time to go there as opposed to an island w/an airport to fly directly into. How difficult is it to get to St. John travelling from the NYC area? Any one have any experience who could tell us how much time is involved? One of the couples is very limited to time (1 week total) and wants to be sure to make the most of the vacation. Thank you!

this is not a bad choice considering your time limits. there is a nonstop AA flight from JFK at 8:15 to St.T arriving 1:06. then you take a taxi 25 mins to the smaller town of red hook on the east end of st. t. there you will catch the ferry to st. john. its a 15-20 min ride. ferry goes every hour on the hour. OR you can take a ferry from char. amalie at 3:00 that takes about 45 mins. either way you should be in your villa by 3-4.

Thanks, that doesn't sound too bad at all!

Continental also offers a direct flight from EWR.

KathyM,

Check in time for most of the villas are between
3:00-4:00. We flew out on a Sunday and traffic was
light going to the ferry. We arrived at noon and made it to the 1:00 ferry in Red Hook with time to spare. We flew AA from JFK to STT direct. Try to get a 4:00 return flight home so you don't have to rush on day of departure.
Have a great trip.

What about taking one of the "budget" airlines ---- Southwest or Jet Blue, etc. to Florida and leaving from there? If it adds too much time, that is a big trade-off, but if it doesn't, it could be an option.

I've looked many times at the airfare approach you're suggesting, and the problem is that fares from Fla. to St. Thomas are fairly high. It's cheaper to fly from EWR or JFK to STT.

Sometimes you can get really good deals to San Juan and then a fairly cheap fare from SJU to STT.

Thanks, haven't gone this way before and looking for tips from more seasoned travellers. I appreciate the advice; one would "logically" think it would be cheaper to fly from Florida, but I guess not!

KathyM

Try to fly direct from NYC to STT. Not worth losing luggage for a few saved $$$. You will be handling your luggage once. We fly only direct. USAIR is having sales right now. Check their website.

Good Luck. St John is beautiful. Enjoy.

We travel from EWR to STT via Continental, it is fast, easy and fares right now have been reasonable. Where time is a concern flying to FL and then on to STT will not be saving you anything. Fly Direct. Take the ferry from CA to Cruz Bay (I personally hate the car sickness inducing ride to Red Hook).

You'll be cocktailing on STJ before you know it! Have a great trip!