Trouble getting flights
 

I have set my sites on Dominica for this years "girls trip". I can find several places I want to stay, but air is becoming difficult. It is running over $800 and takes an overnight for me from Iowa. I have tried laying over in Dallas, Wash. D.C., San Juan, etc. but still not great flights. Has anyone been there and have any pearls of wisdom? This particular forum is so quiet. Maybe Dominica hasn't quite "caught on" yet??

It's always more difficult (although becoming easier) to go to more of the out of the way Caribbean islands from much of the midwest.

I haven't been to Dominica but I hear it's unique with rivers, very nice people, etc. Put Dominica in the search box above & you should get some posts.

AA recently had a sale,. Don't know if it is still going on. A fair amount of blackouts applied. I boooked a flight to SLU and it ran me a little over $800. Did you check Orbitz, Kayak, Expedia, and Travelocity? Cheap Caribbean may offer some package deals.

I've been keeping the idea of a trip to Dominica on the back burner for the past 4 years. Every time I check on airfare there, it's between US $650-850, and that's even flying from the northeast!

It's definitely the type of island where your airfare would be your largest expense for the vacation.

You could try flying into one of the larger islands, less-expensive-to-get-to islands, ranging from Antigua in the north as far down as Barbados in the south. And then take a local carrier to get to Dominica. I'm pretty sure that's served by both Caribbean Star/Sun and LIAT. There may be others, too.

If you do choose Dominica, I doubt that you'll be able to get there from the midwest without overnighting somewhere along the way. But nearly everybody who makes the effort to get there says that it's worth it. Good luck!

The price of $800 is typical for Dominica, and unfortunately the bad connections are also typical, particularly if you are coming from the Midwest. I'd suggest you try flying to Antigua or San Juan and then connecting on Caribbean Star (Antigua is that airline's base of operations, but there are also direct flights from San Juan). Since San Juan is cheaper and since the daily nonstop from there is in the afternoon, you might be able to make the connection if you leave early enough from Iowa, but that's always going to be a problem. Just remember taht you will have to book both halves of your trip separately.

For my 20th anniversary a few years back, I set my heart on Dominica. Yes, it's not an easy island to get to, especially if you're like me and don't care for small planes. We ended up taking a charter through Apple Vacations, nonstop Detroit to St. Lucia. Stayed 3 gorgeous nights at Anse Chastanet, then flew Caribbean Star over for 4 nights. We loved Dominica, gorgeous island and fantastic active days. And it was very inexpensive once we got there.

I have been gone a few days and am just now looking at all of your replies. I did try Kayak, mobissimo, qixo, travelocity, expedia, etc. Tried overnighting in several different cities. I will try going into Antigua or St Lucia. I had thought about doing that and staying one or two nights before moving on. Thanks for the input.

Glad you checked back in here. Someone posted here a couple of days ago about the American Airlines fare sale to Dominica for this fall from various US cities. When are you planning to visit? If during the pertinent time period, it could well be worth buying two tickets--one for a domestic trip to an on-sale departure city and the other international one. Good luck to you!

The sale only goes to Dec. 13. :-( We are going either anytime in Jan. or during spring break, which for us is Mar. 16-25. I am still trying other options, however. If anyone has more ideas, keep them coming.

I am trying again for this year's trip. Last year we ended up going to Costa Rica. Air is still $800 or so to Dominica. We are going Nov.16 or 17 till the 24th or 25th to wherever we decide. I am hoping someone out there has some other ideas. I will try again today to go to San Juan and then check the small carriers. Thanks

With the smaller carriers, you'll probably still get a better deal if you fly nonstop to Antigua or perhaps Barbados. Caribbean Star has merged with LIAT, but the only nonstop that I'm aware of from San Juan is on American Eagle.

There is a long ferry that goes between Martinique, Dominica, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia (I believe). But I can't see how this would save you money and would certainly take longer.

Are you saying you suggest flying into Antigua or Barbados and then use LIAT from there? If American West goes from San Juan I could go American all the way.

I was just trying to give you some options that might reduce your costs. If you can get an American flight all the way to Dominica, that's certainly the easiest way to do the trip. These flights all connect in San Juan but they are not likely to cost less than $800 (but American is having a Caribbean fare sale RIGHT NOW ... if you buy in the next few days you might actually get a decent deal).

My friend went to Dominica a couple months ago. She and her friend spent a couple days on Antigua and then flew to Dominica. By the way, she wasn't real impressed with the hotel or the dive operator they used. I doubt that she'll return for more than a day trip anytime soon.