The Caribbean - Airline Flight to St.Martin

Looking the best way or time to book a flight to St.Martin for a vacation week in Feb. 2008? Is it best to wait to the last minute or book well in advance. Could leave from Toronto or Detroit. Any help would be appreciated.

Welcome to FlyerTalk! :)

February is high season. It is also a long way off (and the second half if it isn't even yet loaded into airline booking engines).

Farecompare (www.farecompare.com) provides a useful look at fare histories. Check this out to get an idea of what is and isn't a good price.

Do you care which airline you fly? Do you even care if you receive miles? (I ask because there are charters to SXM out of Toronto).

Two things to bear in mind when booking a long way out:

1. Prices can come down. AA, for example, will still let you roll over an international fare when there is a fare drop (call them up and get a refund for the difference). I am not sure what the other airlines will do for you in a similar situation these days.

2. Schedules change. You may have the perfect DTW-MIA-SXM itinerary, getting you into SXM early in the afternoon. It just takes one change to make your MIA connection illegal and get you rerouted through San Juan for a late night arrival. Of course when the schedule changes you can always get a refund or obtain a different routing (on the same airline). Just don't get too invested in a routing to SXM you obtain this far out.

Good luck, and enjoy SXM!

A technicalilty: You will be booking a flight to St Maarten, the Dutch side of the island where international flights arrive. You can book a flight to the Esperance airport on St Martin, but only from a few other Caribbean points.

Is ther a cost to using FareCompare?

Is ther a cost to using FareCompare?

There is no cost to use farecompare. Any cost is assessed if you book the ticket through a website that assesses a fee (like Orbitz). I use farecompare to compare, then try to book on the airline websites directly.

SXM rarely has cheap flights...like most other vacation destinations.

SXM rarely has cheap flights...like most other vacation destinations.

Not always...I've got an upcoming 4 day / 3 night trip (flight and hotel), staying at the Wyndham in one of the ocean view rooms (with balcony jacuzzi) for just over $1000. It is booked through Expedia, and the combo deal is what brought the price down.

Not always...I've got an upcoming 4 day / 3 night trip (flight and hotel), staying at the Wyndham in one of the ocean view rooms (with balcony jacuzzi) for just over $1000. It is booked through Expedia, and the combo deal is what brought the price down.

Wow! That sounds good.

I guess there are deals to be had, but they're not commonplace...especially airline tickets on their own.

Our experience last year (booking for this March break to another island in the Caribbean) was quite good fares were available from AA out of Detroit around the end of October ($1,280 Cdn $ taxes all in for four of us DTW - GCM). Not sure if the conections through AA's hub in MIA will be as good for 2008 winter as they are showing a reduced DTW-MIA schedule at this time.

Do you want a package air and hotel offer? There are a few out of YYZ (Air Transat and AC) and would generally become available for purchase in early autumn. If flying from YYZ this would likley be your best value. Whether they become cheaper closer to departure is based on seats available but February is prime season.