Caribbean - Island Hopping - Where to start and cheapest way to do it

I have an award for a free round trip on Spirit Airlines - I'm planning on flying into a nation that Spirit flies to, hopping between some nations (with a goal of seeing and checking off places I haven't been) at an inexpensive price, and then flying back out of one that is supported by Spirit.

The timeframe would be mid to late-September for about 7-9 days. Two places I've heard I need to see are Grenada and St. Lucia. Dominican Republic is not necessary, as I am already planning a separate trip to Santo Domingo/Puerto Plata.

My options from Spirit are (I know, some are Central America):

Aguadilla PR - Aruba AW - Kingston JM - Montego Bay JM - Nassau BS - Port-au-Prince HT - Punta Cana DO - San Juan PR - St Maarten AN - Santiago DO - Santo Domingo DO - St Thomas USVI - Guatemala C. GT - Managua NI - Panama City PA - San Jose CR - San Salvador SV - San Pedro Sula HN - Cartagena CO

Suggestions? Or should I just do Costa Rica and forget about the Carribbean?

how long do you have to stay to "collect" a city/country. some of those places named are pretty ugly(not in appearance), and there would be no reason to go other than to say you have been there.

i have only been in 6 of those places.

how long do you have to stay to "collect" a city/country. some of those places named are pretty ugly(not in appearance), and there would be no reason to go other than to say you have been there.

i have only been in 6 of those places.

I am ok with visiting a country for a day. I am not looking to visit everywhere in my initial post, those are my options to fly in or fly out with my reward miles.

I am ok with visiting a country for a day. I am not looking to visit everywhere in my initial post, those are my options to fly in or fly out with my reward miles.

Granted, it's AA, but I'm shortly doing:

into UVF (St Lucia)

then, on LIAT:

SVD (St Vincent)
GND (Grenada)
BGI (Barbados)
DOM (Dominica)
ANU (Antigua)

Out of Antigua on AA....

6 days, 6 countries!

Jason, thank you for responding, I am a fan of your blog! It is part of what inspired me to go out and see as many nations as possible.

If you don't mind my asking, how much did the Liat connections set you back? Did you do a multi-city booking or get some kind of pass?

If you don't mind my asking, how much did the Liat connections set you back? Did you do a multi-city booking or get some kind of pass?

First, thanks for the kind words.

I couldn't find any passes, or multi-city options. Tried calling LIAT, but that was an exercise in futility. They seem to only offer one-way fares, and booking overnight (i.e., the standard international < 24 hour connections) seemed to not work either. Thus, it was 6 one-way flights. They ranged between about $75 and $125 each. It added up, but considering it's a way to get to six countries in under a week - it was a pretty good value per country.

I'm doing SJU-SXM on B6
then SXM-AXA-SXM via ferry for a day trip
SXM-SBH-SXM via ferry for another day trip
SXM-EIS via LI
EIS-VIJ-EIS via Ferry
EIS-STT via Ferry
STT-SJU (back home) via B6

Obviously the B6 segments don't apply, but the beginning/end are completely doable on Spirit.

mkt has it right, imo. I hope Jason will comment about his trip when he returns. Especially interested in the amount of taxes paid during the week.

mkt has it right, imo. I hope Jason will comment about his trip when he returns. Especially interested in the amount of taxes paid during the week.

I returned yesterday! What do you mean by "taxes paid during the week?" I'll start blogging in the next day or two....

Curious what you paid to various governments in taxes/fees. Your airline tickets should provide a clue. How much was spent for getting to/from airports? Did the OP mention he was looking for a not too expensive way of island hopping? All travel is good and I like what you're doing.

Curious what you paid to various governments in taxes/fees. Your airline tickets should provide a clue. How much was spent for getting to/from airports? Did the OP mention he was looking for a not too expensive way of island hopping? All travel is good and I like what you're doing.

Ah, I understand now. I had 5 flights between the 6 islands with LIAT, and taxes totalled about $200 for the 5 flights. Also, both Dominica and Antigua had a $28 departure tax that was not included in the ticket.

As far as to/from airport costs, it varied between $5 and $30 each way depending on the island. For the most part, I felt the value for what I paid was quite good.

Did you make it to SXM? If so, did LI include the departure tax?

Did you make it to SXM? If so, did LI include the departure tax?

Sorry no, I did SXM about 5-6 years ago and didn't pay a departure tax at that time, but it's certainly possible things have changed.

Just a heads-up, I've started the trip report (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-reports/1364309-6-countries-6-days-caribbean-island-hopping-first-aa-experience.html). More to come and I hope to finish it up for the most-part this week.

http://www.liatairline.com/images/mapprint.jpg
LIAT route map

LIAT used to offer an Explorer pass - 9 countries ex-Antigua / ANU, their hub, but I think this is one of those used to deals. Call (http://www.liatairline.com/navSource.html?page_id=121).

September in Costa Rica? Not me - rainy season.