Weekend to British Virgin Islands for $239 a Person
My son and I had been to the U.S. Virgin Islands on two previous occasions, so when we saw a free ticket on Spirit, we saw an opportunity to add another country to our country lists: The British Virgin Islands.
The itinerary and cost breakdown of our trip is below:
I booked the trip with three flight reservations in order to save miles on Spirit and to get the most free flights I could get. This resulted in being able to get three of the four flights for free and only having to pay full price for one flight. Since Spirit is known for being late, we flew to Florida on a Friday night just in case the early flight out of Detroit on Saturday was delayed which would have caused us to miss the connection to the U.S. Virgin Islands due to the short connection time.
We stayed at the cheapest hotel that I know of near the Fort Lauderdale Airport. I’ve chosen this hotel quite a few times. It’s just a crash pad; nothing fancy, but great for use on a layover-The EconoLodge, Hollywood.
I had prebooked our ferry tickets because I had read that they often wait list passengers. Since we only had less than a day to explore the British Virgin Islands, we didn’t want to take that risk. Tickets are easily booked at roadtownfastferry.com.
When we arrived at the airport, we took a waiting taxi straight to the ferry dock. I collected our tickets at will call and in less than an hour, we were on our way to The British Virgin Islands.
Hotels in Tortola, BVI are not cheap. We felt we splurged by paying nearly $207 for one night. Food was expensive also and was nothing too spectacular: nachos and chicken fingers were the best that we could find.
Upon departing the next morning to return to the US Islands, one must pay a departure tax in US dollars only.
We spent the remaining time in Charlotte Amalie, USVI. For me, it was too hot. I doubt I would return in September again. I found the weather in January to be much more pleasing.
Perhaps the most important item a first timer flying out of the USVI is that this area is NOT in the US Customs zone. This means one must clear customs at the airport before going to one’s departure gate. Be sure to get to the airport early to avoid missing your flight. The customs line can be long.
~Bella
