A few days ago, a reader emailed us and asked about airfare prices out of Philadelphia. We looked into our archives and realized it’s been a bit since we’ve written about airfare tips and tricks when traveling here to St. John. So we’re at it again, folks. Enjoy!
Ok, let’s start with the basics. You actually cannot fly into St. John. Years ago, seaplanes would land in Cruz Bay, but that ended on 1995 after Hurricane Marilyn. Today, we have to fly into St. Thomas. The airport code is STT.
Once you arrive on St. Thomas, you have one of two ways to get to St. John – ferry or helicopter. The majority of people traveling to St. John travel here by ferry. Click here to get information about the current ferry schedules.
Ok, now on to the airlines. Currently, Delta, American, United, JetBlue and Spirit are the major carriers that fly into St. Thomas. Two smaller airlines – Cape Air and Silver Airways (formerly Seaborne) – fly into St. Thomas via San Juan. Some of the major cities that fly directly to St. Thomas are: New York, Boston, Newark, Washington, DC, Charlotte, Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, Miami, Chicago, Houston and Dallas. Some of these cities operate seasonally. Not all operate daily.
Another trick is to buy one-way tickets. You can fly Delta to St. Thomas and then American back home, for example. I have found that you can save some money this way.
Some airlines – like Southwest and Frontier – fly into San Juan, but they do not fly into St. Thomas. You can buy a ticket on one of those airlines into San Juan and then buy a second ticket on either Cape Air or Silver Airways into St. Thomas. This is best when having carry on luggage, although I have done this when I have checked luggage. The downside is that you have to leave security to pick up your bag and then recheck to and go through security a second time. So this is only recommended when you have a decent layover time. You also have to pay to check your luggage twice, which is never fun. So again, this is best when having carry on luggage. One thing to note is that the Cape Air terminal is pretty far from the other airlines. It is easily a 10 minute walk, so please keep that in mind too.
It’s currently 83 degrees, sunny and our seas are the flattest I have seen in months. What are you waiting for? Use these airfare tips – go ahead and start looking for tickets!
You brushed quickly over what I spend a great deal of time contemplating over….the people ferry vs. the car ferry. If you do take the people ferry from the airport to Red Hook, what can you expect to pay for the taxi ride? How far is Red Hook from the airport? Are taxis lined up ready to grab us? It’s a big decision whether or not to rent your vehicle in St Thomas and put in on the car barge, or wait and pick it up in St. John, taking the people ferry over. HELP!!
The ride is about 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. Both the people ferry and car barges are located beside one another. And yes, taxis are always there waiting for you. The cost is about $15 per person. The barge is $25 one way. The people ferry is $8.15 per person. Regardless of which you choose, you should rent a vehicle with 4wd.
Not sure if this holds true always, but current vehicle rental rates are lower on STJ than on STT. Enough so, if there are only 1-2 of you travelling, it is worth renting on STJ.
After 25 plus trips to St. John I no longer rent a car for the whole stay; and I rent a car EVERYWHERE I go. On St. John there just isn’t a daily need for a car, and if you do take it out then you have to find a place to park it! So for the last 15-20 visits I rent a car on our last full day on the island, just for a day. That allows us to get around to the other sides of the island, Coral Bay, Lucy’s, etc., etc, and then the next morning I have a vehicle to transport my party and all their luggage to the ferry dock! After which I return the car and we sadly take the ferry to Red Hook.