So I was chatting it up with Mr. Michael Barry over at Virgin Fire the other evening (Michael owns both Virgin Fire and Sun Dog Cafe), and he mentioned something to me that simply boggled my mind. Michael told me that since the CDC issued a travel advisory for the Virgin islands due to the Zika virus, airline bookings to the USVI have been down 27 percent. What??!! I think the thing about this that is the most troublesome is that there is not one case of it here on St. John; however our economy is suffering.
So today, I’d like to encourage all of you to come on down and visit us. The weather is especially gorgeous this time of year – it’s warm, but not too hot, and sunny. Our beaches are beautiful. All of the restaurants and bars are open and waiting for you all. Oh and the whales are still here. How can you not go ahead and book a trip??!!
Just to help convince you a bit more, I did some research to show you that a last-minute trip here can be affordable. Here’s what I found:
If you’d like to travel to St. John for seven nights within the next 30 days, you can do so for as little as $272 round trip from Boston. You can fly here round trip for $329 from New York, $337 from Washington DC, $340 from Chicago, and from Dallas for a mere $287 … amazing!
All of those sample fares were pulled from Google’s Matrix Airfare website. You can see them yourself by visiting https://matrix.itasoftware.com. Input your airport code and then choose the calendar search option. It will allow you to see a 30-day calendar enabling you to choose the dates with the lowest airfares. Pretty neat, right?
Now you’ll need accommodations. My good friend Lori owns Alice By the Sea. It’s an incredible villa with spectacular views. For those of you who are able to travel here between April 9th and 16th, Lori is offering a 20 percent discount for that opening. Click here to check out the villa and see lots of pics.
Another friend of mine, Tammy, has openings at her villa Fish Tales. For those of you able to travel between March 31st and April 19th, you can stay at Fish Tales for low off season rates. Click here to learn more about Fish Tales.
These are just two properties here on island that are offering discounted rates. There are a ton more, and remember that villa owners and management companies typically will offer some sort of discount when travel is less than 30 days out. All you have to do is ask. 🙂
In the meantime, here are a few pics I’ve taken over the last few days here on island. How beautiful is it here…
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