Air travel tips: How to Find Cheap Caribbean Flights For Your Tropical Vacation!

When you choose to visit the Caribbean, you already know that it is going to be a spectacular escape. But first, you need to get there. Whilst you could just go online and book the first flight you see, a savvy traveler will use these airline hacks and flight tips to make sure that they get the cheapest Caribbean flights to their selected destination. 

Soar through this article and discover the best times to book your flights, the airline secrets to cost-effective travel, and the easiest ways to simplify your vacation plans. 

Book ahead or book last minute

Before we examine when to book, we need to know “when” to book. In other words, before we select the dates for your flight, we need to figure out the best time distance between booking and traveling. This leaves us with the question: Is it cheaper to book your flight ahead of time? Or will a last-minute flight deal be more cost-effective?

The answer to this question surprisingly is “Yes” to both. Each of these options can provide you with a better flight rate for your trip to the Caribbean. However, last-minute deals are practically impossible to predict ahead of time. This being the case, if you see a final moment deal, you should snatch it up, but booking ahead is a more reliable strategy for cheap flights to the Caribbean. 

Whilst you can book your resort up to 2 years in advance, most airlines only allow you to book about a year in advance. As such, it is recommended that you book your flight at least 6 months ahead of time to get a better rate. 

What is the cheapest time to fly to the Caribbean?

Let's take a look at which months are best for cheap Caribbean flights. For this, we need to know when the off-season starts in the Caribbean. Most tourists book their travels to the warm shores of the Caribbean between mid-December to mid-April. This means that if you want the cheapest flights and deals, you need to avoid these times.

Usually, the best deals and the quietest periods for your tropical vacations are in the low season which is from June 1st to November 30th. These dates do always run a slight risk of some inclement weather, but in the Caribbean, it never lasts for long. Additionally, during these times, not only will you have less to pay, but you will have more space and a more exclusive tropical vacation. 

The cheapest days to fly

What about the days on which you book your flights? Does that make any difference? Actually yes. Many travelers want to fly on the weekend because it is more convenient for them. This created a higher demand for weekend travel, which means higher rates. 

Alternatively, if you book less popular weekdays, you can find some cheaper travel deals to fly to the Caribbean. Several weekdays can work, but one day that consistently seems to have decent prices is Tuesday. 

Fly direct or with multiple stops?

Direct flights to the Caribbean are often preferred because they mean less travel time, less hassle with airport security, and simply a smoother trip. But unfortunately, they are also known to be more expensive. So the question is: Does a direct flight really cost much more than having multiple stops?

Yes, but there are a few important factors to consider. Let's say that you find a flight to the Caribbean with 3 stops that is a hundred dollars less than the direct flight. This means that you may be adding a lot more hours to your trip, you may have to wait for long periods in various airports, and you will be carrying your hand luggage around with you.  

The additional stops can result in the following:

• More money is spent on food and drink whilst you wait.
• Extra costs from the destination airport or customs fees
• An additional risk of luggage being lost through multiple flights
• More time in travel which equates to less time on vacation

In the end, you will need to evaluate the cost difference between a layover flight and a direct flight to see if the pros beat the cons. Either way, make sure that you book a round trip and not just a one-way flight so that you can be assured of an easy return after an amazing vacation. 

Find a flight package deal

What about flight deals and offers? What should you look out for? One thing that can help make the vacations much easier, whilst ensuring a good price is to get a Suite and Flight package deal. This is an offer that combines your air travel with your accommodations to simplify the booking process.

These offers can usually be found on the resort websites rather than the airline websites themselves. Check out your favorite resorts and see what the package deals are like to see if they work for your Caribbean travel plans. 

Monitor flight costs for the best price

Flight rates and deals will vary depending on your Caribbean destination. Therefore, whether you are headed to Cancun, Punta Cana, or Montego Bay, you should start looking at the flight prices online. However, remember that each time you search for plane tickets you should always delete your internet cookies afterward so that the airline does not raise the prices based on your multiple searches and interest in that flight. 

After you keep on the watch for the highest and lowest prices, you will get a better idea as to what cheap Caribbean flights actually are from your home destination.