Here are some tips for stretching your travel budget to the islands.
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1. Compare package prices.
Savings are surprisingly often bigger for last-minute trips (partly because packages use a different airfare type).
For example, we priced a one-week vacation from New York to Curaçao for two people from Jan. 10 to 17, staying at the Marriott Beach Resort and Emerald Casino. A one-week JetBlue package priced at $2,576 per couple saved just $150 compared to what we found booking air and hotel separately on travel Web sites.
But a last-minute four-night package in November at the Club Med Turks and Caicos, which included airfare from New York, meals, sports activities, drinks and airport transfers, was $2,272 per couple, a savings of over $1000.
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2. Use Kayak.com’s flexible date search.
Click the “More search options” under the “Find flights” button, select the “flex month” option and enter a length of stay up to seven days long over a one-month period. We found some winter travel dates to various Caribbean destinations that were $300 to $400 less than others using flexible search.
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3. Choose to cruise.
For $1,381 per person, including port charges and tax, Royal Caribbean will sail you to the Eastern Caribbean roundtrip from Port Liberty, NJ, on an eight-night round-trip cruise in January aboard their new Quantum of the Seas megaship.
Or Travelocity offered a nine-night cruise on Norwegian Cruise Line’s Gem from New York for $849 per person in March. Considering that it includes meals and entertainment and doesn’t require flying, a cruise compares favorably with an air plus hotel price.
George Hobica is the founder of Airfarewatchdog. For more tips and low fares, follow him on Twitter @airfarewatchdog.