| Many
people like to fly directly into Nevis' beautiful new airport
terminal. To fly
directly to Nevis you must connect through a major Caribbean
airport hub.
** These
hubs are: San Juan, St Marten, and Antigua
- (1) San Juan:
The biggest Caribbean hub with a multitude of airline carriers,
schedules, and rates flying to/from America, Canada, and Europe.
--
Only one carrier (American Airlines "Eagle") flies
between San Juan and Nevis so it is essential to coordinate
flight times into and out of San Juan to avoid overnight stays.
Obviously the schedules are made to assist as much as possible.
Flights leave San Juan for Nevis daily at approximately 1:00
pm and 4:00 pm.. Return flights to San Juan also try to maximize
the opportunities for flights leaving San Juan.
--
Start by trying to get good fares and schedules using American's
www.aa.com web site.
If this is not working well, try to at least "hold"
some seats on the www.aa.com
site between San Juan (SJU) and Nevis (NEV). Then go
back to your list of multiple airline carriers (United, USAir,
JetBlue, Continental, and BWAI) and see if you can't get a
good round trip fare from your origination point to San Juan.
Choose flights that coordinate with the San Juan-Nevis flights.
Many people are quite successful using this strategy.
Still others like to fly out one day/night and stay in a hotel
in San Juan for the night. They check luggage all the way
through, but carry on a hand bag with enough to get them through
a night's stay in San Juan (mini vacation) before boarding
the next day's short flight to Nevis.
- (2) St Marten:
The island is trying hard to be a major Caribbean hub....
and the brand new (Nov 2006) passenger terminal sure has everyone
on the island beaming. It is beautiful. Flying
out of St Marten you need to use WinAir Airlines (www.fly-WinAir.com)
for the last leg to Nevis. WinAir has three to four
flights per day so a little more schedule flexibility from
this hub. You will find it nearly impossible to use
a large scale carrier's on-line reservation system to get
fare quotes from your point of origin to Nevis. Make
it simple on yourself. Book a separate round trip flight
from your origination to St Marten, and another round trip
on WinAir for the final leg between St Marten and Nevis.
- (3) Antigua: This
island is considered by many to be the hottest hub for both
the Canadian and European airline carriers. Antigua's
airport is beautiful and lands the big ones effortlessly.
Look at British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, British West Indies
Airways, Air France, and KLM. A few American carriers
also serve Antigua during the winter season. Nevis is
a short flight from Antigua, using Liat Airlines (www.liat.com).
Right now there are a couple flights a day, and evenly
spaced, so this might be a good option. As in the hubs
above, you almost have to work these reservations independently.
Review flights into Antigua, then match them up with daily
departures going out of Antigua.
There is something
to be said for flying into St Kitts and ferrying over
to Nevis, however.
How about money and time!
You heard me -- money and time. US Airways, American Airlines,
and Delta fly into St. Kitts from the United States (JFK,
Miami, Atlanta, and Charlotte). With a little diligence,
you can often get a great airfare into St Kitts. And
wonderful travel times, and DIRECT flights! Should
I say that again .... DIRECT flights! Did I mention
no need to worry about the prop planes having to sit on the
tarmac while rain clouds move out of the way. You can
spend the time waiting for a ferry in St Kitts followed by
a beautiful 45 minute ride to Nevis, or waiting in an airport
terminal. Hmmmm! And for those not inclined to the prop
experience, the aircraft flying into St Kitts from America
have JET engines.
Getting to Nevis from St Kitts
is like getting to the Statue of Liberty from New York City.
Only a lot cheaper... and warmer! Once you land in
St Kitts take a cab from the airport to the ferry port about
2 miles away. Since the
ferry leaves
from downtown Basseterre, you can shop and soak up the sun
until the ferry leaves for Nevis. Take one of the many $8
daily ferries (no need to reserve a ticket) and enjoy the
spectacular 45 minute ride to Charlestown, Nevis.
The ferries even have places to store all the luggage ...
trust us .... you won't be the only ones with luggage.
Cabs on Nevis are plentiful and can take you the 3 miles
to Sunset Heaven.
Another way to get yourself
to Nevis is to rent a car at the St Kitts airport and use
the brand new car ferry service operating daily between
St Kitts and Nevis. The ferry has been operational
since October 2007. From there, Sunset Heaven
is 2 miles away!
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Ready to Make Flight Reservations?
Before you start, make sure you have
a passport ... all Caribbean countries now require one.
To make flight reservations from
America, start with the following on-line systems:
1.
American Airlines.
They will have cheaper fares, and better
travel itineraries, to Nevis. Why? Because they fly
regularly into San Juan and use that airport as a portal to fly
onto Nevis via American Eagle Airlines.
- In addition to flying into Nevis, American Airlines has
flights, almost every day, between Miami and St
Kitts. If visiting Nevis from out west or the southern
states, this might be your best option.
- American Airlines also has direct flights from JFK to St
Kitts on Wednesdays and Sundays.
2. Jet
Blue. They have some excellent fares to San
Juan. Why? Because they fly from New York City and Newark,
New Jersey to San Juan every day! Then, you can easily transfer
to American Eagle and fly onto Nevis. Word is that Jet Blue
is going to also start service to St Marten soon.
3. US
Airways. They will have cheaper fares,
and better travel itineraries, to St Kitts. Why?
Because they have regularly scheduled DIRECT flights from
Charlotte to St Kitts. Try Saturdays -- always a direct
route day.
4. Delta Airways. Flights
between Atlanta and St Kitts are every Saturday beginning February
2008.
To make flight reservations from Canada
or Europe, start with the following on-line systems:
1.
Air
Canada.
They have some excellent DIRECT flights to Antigua.
Then, there is an airline called
LIAT that has inexpensive
daily flights between Antigua and Nevis.
2.
Virgin Atlantic.
They have excellent DIRECT flights to Antigua. Did
we already mention LIAT airlines from there!
3.
BMI Airlines.
They have some excellent DIRECT flights to Antigua.
Shall we mention LIAT again!
Tip:
Sometimes
it is better to check the above 6 airlines by "schedule"
rather than by "price." You get to chose really
good connection times and frequently the price is not that much
more.
The Nevis airport code is "NEV",
St Kitts is "SKB", San Juan is "SJU",
St Maarten is "SXM", and Antigua is "ANU."
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