I took advantage of a TWA promotion last fall where booking a few tickets online earned two free 1st-class tickets to the Caribbean. Only catch is that the free tix are only valid on TWA jets (not TW Connection) - so I've booked tickets to SJU for a long weekend in May.

We're looking for a side trip to another island, and I'm interested in hearing your suggestions and experiences in the Caribbean. So far, it looks like St. Thomas, Tortola, and St. Maarten look like they have the best connections that would match my times.

We will probably purchase AA tickets for the SJU-??? segments. I'd potentially use another airline to save money, as long as it didn't involve (1) a 16-year-old kid flying a 50-year-old airplane, or (2) sharing the cabin with goats.

Also: do any major airlines have reduced mileage awards (10k or 15k) for intra-Caribbean flights? It seems that the 15K TWA short-haul award won't work on TW Connection...

It'll be my first trip to the area...I'm looking forward to it. Also, I'm going to miss TWA and their wonderful promotions. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

LIAT and BWIA are decent regional carriers that might be worth looking into. Of your three island choices (St.Thomas, Tortola, St.Maarten) I'd probably go with Tortola if I was looking for a relaxing beach atmosphere and St. Maarten for a combination of beaches and shopping.

[This message has been edited by El Cochinito (edited 03-06-2001).]

You could try St John via St Thomas. It's a 45 minute ferry ride from St Thomas (Charlotte Amalie) over to Cruz Bay, St John. Cost is $7 one-way. Very relaxing and a great island if you enjoy hiking. Great beaches and good snorkeling too.
http://www.st-john.com/

Thanks for the info...I finally found a couple of (working) websites with BVI information. I think Tortola is about what we are looking for, probably moreso than St. Thomas. I can't get the www.st-john.com (http://www.st-john.com) link to work, but I still might look for more information about this island, too.

If you only have a long weekend and are not spending the whole time on Puerto Rico, you are wasting your time travelling. Puerto Rico is THE BEST ISLAND in the Caribbean. WHY? It has GREAT food, In San Juan you can party all night or you can get only 20 minutes out of San Jaun and spend your time on secluded tranquil towns or beaches. Because Peurto Rico is a US territory, there are NO customs to go through AND they use the good ole US dollar, yet because of the spanish influence, it feels as though you are in a different country. PR has the only tropical rainforest in the US and is great to hike or horseback in. The SW side of the island is almost desert like. PR has the oldest church in the western hemisphere.
If you need awesome restaurant advice or Puerto Rican island activities, email me, I'll be happy to help out.


[This message has been edited by Sweet Willie (edited 06-28-2003).]

From Beef Island Airport in Tortola, you can catch resort-provided water taxis to two fine Virgin Gorda resorts -- Little Dix Bay and Biras Creek. Consider staying on the island of Puerto Rico, however, and jumping the resort bus to El Conquistador, about one hour east of SJU. My two favorite San Juan beachfront hotels are El San Juan and Ritz-Carlton.

I am also looking for advice re: inter-island air - - Cape Air appears to have the best fares from SJU to St. Thomas and Tortola, but I know very little about them. Let us know what you decide to do.

rmccamy - - take a look at www.traveltalkonline.com (http://www.traveltalkonline.com) for a lot of good info on BVI.

Thanks cactus, I'll check out the link. We've decided to go to Tortola. The three air options to the islands in that area are Cape, Liat, and American Eagle. Cape and Liat operate Cessna equipment (not sure of size) and are less expensive than AE's ATR flights. Because I'll be an AA Plat by then, we decided to go with Eagle, simply to increase the chances that we'll be taken care of if flights are delayed/canceled or if we need to contact the airline for any reason during our trip.