Getting to SBH

S

steelpe

SBH Insider
My wife and I are in the process of rounding out our January trip to SBH. This was a trip that was delayed from last January due to Irma (we decided to delay rather than cancel the trip). We are traveling from Boston and were originally scheduled to travel through SXM on Winair. We are not big fliers but we typically like to fly with jetBlue. This is nice because they used to have direct flights from Boston to SXM on Saturdays.

JetBlue will open up our travel dates this weekend. I am guessing that they will only have flights to SXM through JFK. I have done BOS-JFK-SXM before.... I wasn't a big fan of the route and the 5:30am flight from BOS to JFK. We have typically traveled direct back to BOS from SXM which is really nice (but more than likely will not be possible). I can tell you than I want no part of immigration in JFK. So my question is in regards to BOS-SJU-SBH, is this easiest route to take to get to SBH from Boston? and is it worth the extra money to go this route?

I can say that I am not afraid to go through SXM, I am just wanting to make the travel to/from SBH as smooth and quick as possible.
 
To answer the easy part- obviously changing planes only once is the easiest route no question. I haven’t been thru SXM since Irma so others will have to answer that.
 
If JetBlue has a nonstop to SJU that connects well with a Tradewind flight then that will work well. Likewise the reverse.
 
If we do SJU, how much time should you leave for making the transfer between flights? And should you leave more time in one direction than the other?
 
steelpe said:
If we do SJU, how much time should you leave for making the transfer between flights? And should you leave more time in one direction than the other?
Click to expand...
You need more time coming home. Immigration, bags, check in and all.
 
We are big fans of connecting through SJU...Tradewind is worth the extra penny...going down is easy, no security to deal with and little over an hour should be fine...coming home the Tradewind agents escort you through all the hoopla right to your check in gate...on a good day it is about an hour but as said things happen so give yourself a little more time...the TSA in SJU coming home could hold you up if there is a crowd...we have seen them close TSA Pre for no reason...
 
Forgot to mention on flight down if you have checked bags Tradewind with retrieve them for you to avoid going out of security...for an additional small fee
 
Going down, both JetBlue and Tradewind are in Terminal A, which makes for an easier connection. Coming home, Immigration and Customs are in Terminal D, so It’s a hike to JetBlue in A.
 
Walking isn’t an issue I just want to reduce the stress on the travel days. Mostly coming back.

Last winter we landed in Boston and I estimated it was 2 hours to get through immigration. I would prefer not to got through SJU due to the enormous cost and the fact that we have money tied up from last years reservations with WinAir. If we don’t use it, we will lose it. We could try to go through JFK, but I don’t want to be tied up in immigration and miss the connecting flight.

If we go through JFK, how much time would you leave between connecting flights to get through immigration?
 
shihadehs said:
Forgot to mention on flight down if you have checked bags Tradewind with retrieve them for you to avoid going out of security...for an additional small fee
Click to expand...
Small fee=$150.00

here is the suggested connection times

2F705C20-B221-4C01-B736-BAC48E9EE739.png
 
On this trip I came down on JetBlue, BOS-JFK-SXM, but there was a 3+ hour delay between our arrival and the first available Winair flight. I have no interest in clearing in at JFK, so I’m returning via SJU.
 
Andy,

That's great information thank you!

Kevin, I was thinking of doing something similar, but that makes for a long travel day going down, but we might end up on island at a similar time either way.

Whatever we decide, this thread has been a great help.
 
Is JFK really that bad? We cleared customs this past spring break (FLL) using the mobile passport app on my phone and it was a breeze. The lines were super long, but we didn't have to wait in any of them!
 
leep75,

That happened to us coming back from GCM this past winter. We used the App and were able to get through in about 20 min. It saved me from murdering someone in immigration. 2 People to check 5 planes. We had to figure out the mobile passport on the fly and thankfully we had enough juice in the phones to figure it out. I'm not sure I want to risk showing up and having the app be down/not working. Plus once people catch on the lines for the MMP will begin to grow.
 
Food for thought From Boston you can travel thru SXM to SBH for $360-400. Thru SJU to SBH with Tradewinds you will pay $800 or more, You will depart between 7:00 & 7:30 either way and arrive SBH 3:00 pm or 4:00pm. That's an $800 savings round trip per person...…………………………………………. What's in your wallet? :confused:
 
We just did JFK from Europe with Global Entry and it was a breeze...had an hour connection which we made with time to spare...even with checked bags.
 
Even though we think SJU is the only way to go, given the extra cost and that you have money with Win-Air which you will lose, it sounds like SXM is the prudent way to go, at least this time. Layover time in SXM recommended 2 hours both ways in case of flight delays either way- Win- Air can be delayed going to SXM and vice versa with incoming from USA to SXM. Same for JFK.
 
This approach works for us ref flying to SB's...we "tired" of the early, early morning flight to make the connection that would take us into SXM.....so we now leave the afternoon before our departure date and spend the evening in our connection/departure city (Charlotte) and then take the "sleep friendly" 9:30 AM flight to SXM. FYI..there is no flight upcharge for the flight as it falls within the airline's guideline for a continuous flight. By taking this approach it allows us to be "fresh" when we arrive in SB's vs being tired from a long day of travel...plus we visit and have a nice dinner with friends in Charlotte….plus it affords us time to drive to our departure city should our flight be cancelled from our city of origin...plus Charlotte, as airport's go, has less mayhem to endure.
 
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