I will be going to the Virgin Islands in September and have never taken a flight with a stopover. My question is would it be preferable to stop in Puerto Rico or Miami. Considering passport requirements and all I'm wondering which would be easier. Also I will be traveling with my 7 year old nephew and the stopover is about 5 hours in P.R. and 3 in Miami.
2007-06-27 05:23:11 · 8 answers · asked by Elizabeth C 2 in Travel ➔ Caribbean ➔ Virgin Islands
Departing From Chicago. But thanks for your input.
2007-06-27 06:00:38 · update #1
U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas and all the flights on the airline I'm taking have stops either in Puerto Rico or Miami. My concern was for my nephew sitting in an airport for five hours. It's his first flight.
2007-06-27 06:02:22 · update #2
It is a tossup! Sometimes flights are delayed and you get into your next airport late and the layover you thought would be 3 hrs is only 10 min. And it can happen that your connecting flight is late and your wait is longer. These things are common.You will have no passport concerns since at no time will you be out of U.S. territory. I guess I would vote for Miami! Your nephew will probably be fascinated with all the things to see in the airport. Be sure to have sufficient cash to buy some trinkets in the gift shops and some junk food...cause that is what he will want to do! Have a great trip.
2007-06-27 06:55:46 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Need some more information!!!
It would depends on where you are coming from and what type of fare you are traveling on. Some fares do not allow a stopover.
Also, which Virgin Island are you traveling to? US Virgin Islands or British Virgin Islands.
The normal itinerary would stop in Puerto Rico, a U.S. possession. If you are a US citizen, no passport is required. If you are destined for any of the US Virgin Island, St. Thomas, St. John or St. Croix, likewise.
3 hours is not a lot of time for a stopover in Miami as sometimes you are coming from an international flight to a domestic and that alone can take 3 hours with changing terminals etc.
Now if I had to choose, I would breakup the journey in Miami. San Juan to St. Thomas is a 20 minute flight. You might as well fly to The Virgin Islands rather than do a stopover there unless you want to experience San Juan. Miami you are 1,000 miles from San Juan so the breakup seems more beneficial.
2007-06-27 12:43:04 · answer #2 · answered by Richard 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
having lived in St Thomas for 35 years and flown in and out of here umpteen million times I will never ever ever ever fly through San Juan ever.........the commuter terminal in San Juan for flights to the other Caribbean islands, on a good day, looks like the Titanic an hour after the iceberg....
Long time residents believe the SE corner of the Bermuda Triangle is the San Juan airport......
if you're American,by the way, no passport required for PR or the US VI
now Miami is a full fledged zoo, but at least interesting and somewhat organized...
too late to change your reservations? United flies direct from Chicago in season, don't know about Sept; Spirit does a nice job from Ft Lauderdale......
2007-06-27 16:32:41 · answer #3 · answered by yankee_sailor 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would go for Miami... just because the layover is shorter. There is no other reason to choose one over the other.
I would double check the passport requirements. They made some changes in January. It's a good idea to get one anyway (especially since you'll probably need one someday) and it makes the security checkpoint stop faster.
On another note.... Make sure you visit Magen's Bay... absolutely gorgeous!!! If I didn't have family here... I would move there!!
2007-07-01 09:26:55 · answer #4 · answered by fender1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Please do let me know when you find the best/easiest route because i am looking into taking a trip their myself so far the Miami stop seem to sound great if you take in mind the length the 3 hour wait only next question is how long of a ride from either of the two and that should sum it all up from there i guess.
2007-06-29 11:45:04 · answer #5 · answered by EGYPT 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well i would say go to miami
bc when a friend of mine went to puerto rico she had to go through texas stop there and then puerto rico and the flight seemed much longer
but people prefer to go from whichever state to miami
and if u end up going through puerto rico the flight can seem very long because if u picture it from dallas to san juan it is fairly long so i would say stop in miami
2007-06-27 13:55:12 · answer #6 · answered by tenone2010 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Both are fine. I do know that when I lived in the V.I. that sometimes luggage would end up lost or arrive late. But it's never happened to me. Both airports are nice and clean. In PR you can shop Duty-Free while you wait.
2007-06-28 18:17:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
i usually stop in san juan and take american eagle . its about 20 minutes over .
2007-06-27 15:20:08 · answer #8 · answered by SEXYGYAL 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋