I was playing trivia at Dog House Pub with a few of my girlfriends last night when one of them, Brittany MacNealy who owns Island Abodes here on island, mentioned how her guests often ask her how they can find the best airfare to St. Thomas. Brittany also mentioned how she came across a website that listed all of the US cities that fly direct here. So you know what? That prompted me to do a little research for all of you.
I know it’s getting colder up North, which means many of you have likely started planning or dreaming about your next St. John vacation. And to be honest, it’s a great time to visit St. John. The beaches remain relatively uncrowded. The water is still warm. The majority of the restaurants that closed for season have reopened, and vacation rentals are still priced low as the 2015-2016 high season has yet to arrive. So you know what all of that means? Book a trip!
For those of you living on the East Coast, you’re in luck. If you’re living in the Boston area, you’re the luckiest because you can get here roundtrip for under $400 … yes, under $400 round trip! Here’s what we found…
Boston: You guys take the cake. Leave on October 25th (which happens to be Papa News of St. John’s 60th birthday!!) and pay only $399 for a direct, roundtrip flight. Leave a few days later on the 28th and it will cost a mere $316 with one stop … and you can be here for Halloween, which we all know is a big deal here on island.
Atlanta: For those of you who prefer nonstop flights, the cheapest we found in the next 30 days is $625 roundtrip from November 12th through November 19th. Looking to save some cash, fly a day later and make one stop for only $418. Not too shabby.
Ft. Lauderdale: For those of you living in sunny South Florida, you can get here for $269 roundtrip … and that’s direct! That’s a pretty good price! The downside: you’ll be flying on Sprit. Boo to that. But for those of you willing to take the Spirit risk, you can do so for that price from November 13th through November 20th.
Miami: You all are what, like 45 minutes from Ft. Lauderdale? Well it’d be worth it to make the drive because the cheapest roundtrip, nonstop flight we found for you all is $466. But that’s on America and not Spirit, so it may be worth it to pay a bit more on this one. This price is good for travel on November 3rd through November 10th, which happens to be my birthday!!
New York City: I know for a fact that it’s getting chilly all the way up there. But you know what, you can escape the cold for a pretty decent price … and soon! Leave either this Friday or Sunday and you can fly for $485 roundtrip, direct. Just think, your toes could be in the water at Maho by the end of the weekend.
Philadelphia: I’m sorry to say that we don’t have good news for those of you living near Philly. The best price we could find was a whopping $867 for a roundtrip flight within the next 30 days. For those of you willing to pay that price, you would have to fly on November 9th. The bright side – you’d be on island for my birthday. 🙂
Ways to Find the Cheapest Airfare:
The website I use is called the Matrix Airfare Search, which is powered by Google. This website allows you to see a calendar of the lowest fares for all of the airlines, all in one place.
Another pretty cool website is Yapta.com. Once you purchase your tickets, add your flight details on Yapta’s site. They’ll track the prices, and if a ticket ever drops below the price you paid (on participating airlines), you will get an email alert. You then call the airline and you’ll get a credit. It’s that simple.
Now that you’ve got the airfare down, it’s time to find a place to stay. Check out our Island Information page for information on places to stay. Happy travel planning!
Not sure that Jet Blue still offers the price drop credit. I do hope you’re right. I used to get the price drop credit, then they changed their policy.
They did? I was not aware. Thank you for the heads up. I’ll make the edit.
It’s more confusing than that. If the Jet Blue ticket price is reduced within 14 days of purchase, they issue a full credit to you (not automatic, you have to call for the credit). After 14 days, if the ticket price is reduced, you will get a credit (not automatic) and the fee, $50 – $70 will be deducted from the lower price ticket. You could still save money. I do still use yapta.com but have’nt been lucky in 1 1/2 years.
“also mentioned how she came across a website that listed all of the US cities that fly direct here”
– What website lists direct flight cities?
Looks like ticket prices are also low for winter travel. We scored $264 round trip on Delta from Boston with a stop in NYC. Staying at Dove Cottage on East end!! Can’t wait….
Ah come on…what about us west coasters~!~?
I didn’t have any good news for you guys unfortunately. Super pricey from the West Coast.