Do you book flights or villa first?
Do you book flights or villa first?
Always in a quandary as to which to nail down first, air or accomodations.
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
I book the villa first and then the air. We usually end up going down a day or two earlier then the villa arrival date and then stay at Estate Lindholm until we can get into the villa.
If you're not set on one particular villa you can do the air first and put your tickets on hold for a week or two and then decide on the villa based on your flights.
If you're not set on one particular villa you can do the air first and put your tickets on hold for a week or two and then decide on the villa based on your flights.
- susan & herb
- Posts: 450
- Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 5:02 pm
- Location: northern nj
I think it depends also on the time of year you are going. We head down to the caribbean after April 15th when the prices drop. We use frequent flyer miles and fly first class,our yearly extravagence, and so far have not had a problem getting seats. We get our villa first, because the popular ones get booked a year in advance we have found.
Air Or Accommodations First That Is The Question
After 8 trips to St John we have found over time coming out of Denver that booking air is first priority. We always have been able to book accomodations somewhere somehow. For us it is just being able to be there no matter what it takes.
Villa First
We tend the book the villa a year out. Getting decent airfare is rather a stalk for us. For November, we got $450 rt out of Washington/Dulles about 5 months after we booked the villa. Over 24 people (we are bringing the full herd for Thankgiving) the savings were significant.
Cheers, RickG
Cheers, RickG
Villa First
I book carefully coordinate so that I am booking both at the same time - usually working around the best villa deals and then trying to match that with decent airfare. The villa deal will trump airfare becuase the villa is much more expensive of the two and I can save much more by working out a great villa deal.
Bluwater
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- Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Aug 19, 2006 7:30 pm
- Location: Fair Haven, NJ
We book villa first and then wait for the airfare. It drives me crazy, but John likes to try and find that deal. 2005's trip it worked out great--we got airfare for $249/RT with a stop in Philly. This past trip I balked and made him get the tickets for around $400 r/t through Charlotte.
I think it is amazing that we actually pay less for airfare than some areas of the US that are closer to the USVIs. My aunt and unlce sold their timeshare at Coconut Coast a couple of years ago because the flights from Florida (where they now live) to STT are (according to their account) so outrageous--way more than ours from Boston.
I think it is amazing that we actually pay less for airfare than some areas of the US that are closer to the USVIs. My aunt and unlce sold their timeshare at Coconut Coast a couple of years ago because the flights from Florida (where they now live) to STT are (according to their account) so outrageous--way more than ours from Boston.
It's like looking in your soup and finding a whole different alphabet.
Thanks everyone for the feedback.
This is a huge dilema for me.
My husband gets crazy if I book the villa first and do not have air. I prefer to do both at the same time, so there is no question or problems.
This year, I booked a villa on Virgin Gorda first, watched air prices until I felt they were reasonable, then after securing air, booked the villa for the second week on St John.
In the past, depending on availability, I have waited until the last minute and got a last-minute discount for the villa rental.
I am surprised at how many of you book the villa first. I would have thought it would have been the other way around.
89 days 'til wheels up!
This is a huge dilema for me.
My husband gets crazy if I book the villa first and do not have air. I prefer to do both at the same time, so there is no question or problems.
This year, I booked a villa on Virgin Gorda first, watched air prices until I felt they were reasonable, then after securing air, booked the villa for the second week on St John.
In the past, depending on availability, I have waited until the last minute and got a last-minute discount for the villa rental.
I am surprised at how many of you book the villa first. I would have thought it would have been the other way around.
89 days 'til wheels up!
Patr
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~
~~Longing to be back on St. John~~