Finally booked our airfare - so excited!!!!

Hawaii · Post by **Hawaii** » Wed Feb 06, 2013 10:24 pm

Yes - after looking for many weeks maybe months booked our airfare. I got a great price $368.00 per person and a non-stop flight out of JFK

. Two years ago we flew out of EWR and that was more convenient but with the price savings and a non-stop it could not get any better. So excited for our July trip. Now to book jeep rental and our one night stay on STT.

betsyv · Post by **betsyv** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 8:14 am

That is GREAT!... So exciting to get the flights done, isn't it?
We are also going in July out of JFK. AND are from Pa.
We will have an overnight stay somewhere by the airport, as our flight leaves at 8AM, and we live 3ish hrs. away. Looking into park/stay/fly places.

I hate to wish away my summer, but my vacation time cant get here soon enough.
Cant wait!

toni · Post by **toni** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:00 pm

Don't you just love making airplane reservations? (After all the headaches of researching them of course!). Congrats!

waterguy · Post by **waterguy** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 12:24 pm

Try parkslepfly.com for your lodging they are always the best deal when I have to stay over night.

Hawaii · Post by **Hawaii** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:10 pm

Thanks everyone.

Betsy - Yes, we are taking that same 8am flight so will probably stay over night.

Water guy - thanks for the link for hotels.

mindehankins · Post by **mindehankins** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 3:25 pm

Congratulations! The second trip was even better than the first, for us, and each gets progressively better, somehow. We use parksleepfly (dot com, I think) as well.
Happy planning!

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Thu Feb 07, 2013 4:05 pm

Hawaii, I am also just finishing up my booking details for a July trip.

We usually stay on STT on our first night, but this time I'm trying something different - a night in Cruz Bay instead. That will get us across the water and that much closer to our final destination on the first day but without the added stress of trying to deal with car rental and villa check-in.

Although I was thrilled to book my first-choice villa for the rest of our stay, I'm surprisingly excited about the night in Cruz Bay. It's a very appealing little town, but somehow I've never spent much time there. I hate driving on those teeny, crowded streets, even just passing through. But I love the idea of exploring the town on foot with a nice hotel to go back to! We usually have our one self-indulgent dinner of the trip in St. Thomas as a reward for making it through the travel day, and it's always such a pleasure. But then we have to walk back to our hotel through the dingy streets of Charlotte Amalie *ugh*. I can hardly wait to spend that first evening in Cruz Bay instead! You might want to consider the same thing if you haven't already booked in STT.

I just grabbed the last room in the Cruz Bay Boutique Hotel for July 10 (sorry), but there are still rooms available for other days in July. And there are a couple of other hotels and B&Bs in town.

Hawaii · Post by **Hawaii** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:03 am

Dreamshark - Thank you for your reply. I did consider Cruz Bay but after getting up very early for a flight and my husband who will have to put in very long hours before our trip (he is a self employed electrician)he will be exhausted. In fact, last time we got to the villa and he crashed for a couple of hours after not much sleep the night before. We also have two kids who will be 16 and 12 and I think they will enjoy the pool. Have not ruled out STJ for the night but think I am leaning more towards STT for one night. Either way I figure we can not go wrong. I am so excited so now on to more planning with Jeep Rental and trip insurance, etc. Oh and yes Palm tree charters trip - we all had a great time on our last trip with John.

dreamshark · Post by **dreamshark** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 12:53 pm

Yeah, i get it, Hawaii. Our last trip we arrived at 6:30pm after a grueling 3-hop trip on an airline that was experiencing a "work slowdown," and the last thing we felt like doing was increasing our travel day.

Here's what we like to do when we stay in STT. We stay at The Galleon, a pleasantly ramshackle B&B high on the bluff over Charlotte Amalie. It's very inexpensive but feels safe and cozy being up so high above town. The rooms are pretty minimal, but there's a cute little pool surrounded by vintage island stonework. The best part is the home-cooked breakfast served on a big terrace overlooking the town and the harbor.

The only downside is that you have to drag your luggage up 80-90 quaint stone stairs. Then you have to navigate the stairs one more time when you venture out for dinner. On the plus side, it does get the circulation going again after a day in the airport.

There used to be an upscale restaurant up on the bluff next to the hotels, but sadly it was out of business on our trip last year. We took the recommendation of the friendly gal on night desk and hiked down to Tavern on the Waterfront, which turned out to be a highlight of our trip. Great food, live jazz, AC and mostly local people celebrating special occasions. Highly recommended and surprisingly affordable. I think we spent about $70 before tip, and that included 3 fancy drinks. We've spent more at neighborhood bistros in Minneapolis.

Hawaii · Post by **Hawaii** » Fri Feb 08, 2013 5:01 pm

Dreamshark - Thanks for the info. will take a look later.

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