Air travel to Dominica

[metastasis_d]

So we've pushed our wedding/honeymoon back, and we're looking at travel to Dominica in December. We have 2 airlines to choose from to route from Houston through Puerto Rico to get to Dominica: Liat and Seaborne.

We keep hearing terrible things about Liat (she read on here that it apparently stands for "Luggage In Another Terminal") and we're prepared for the worst, but we haven't heard anything about Seaborne. Does anyone here know about them?

And should I delete this post and post to the Caribbean forum, or is it okay here?

 

[KeithG]

We keep hearing terrible things about Liat (she read on here that it apparently stands for "Luggage In Another Terminal") and we're prepared for the worst, but we haven't heard anything about Seaborne. Does anyone here know about them?

LIAT? You mean "leaving island any time"? not sure where you heard about that luggage thing...there is no other "terminal".

Rule #1 of Caribbean travel: relax. You are on vacation. Go with the flow and enjoy the experience.

Rule #2 of travel anywhere: bring a change of clothes in your carry on.

Dominica is a great destination. Your flight connections may be a little erratic, but in my experience always safe. So the "worst" is really not that bad. Delayed flights and delayed luggage can be worked around. You are on vacation, which beats working any day.

So do not sweat about the things you can not control, but control the things you can. Enjoy your honeymoon. Be on the lookout for "mountain chicken".

P.S. make sure you have sunscreen and a bathing suit in your carry on!

 

[Damselfish]

LIAT? You mean "leaving island any time"? not sure where you heard about that luggage thing...there is no other "terminal".

sure there is...on another island. :cool2:

If you haven't found the thread there are some promising comments about Seaborne here

 

[mikeycanuk]

I gave up on Dominica, for the next few years anyway. I needed a same day arrival and the only connection I could make was BVI air through SXM. I sent two or three emails asking if 45minutes was too tight a connection. Never got a reply and gave up on Dominica. Shame really, one day we will get down there.

 

[metastasis_d]

That was a very useful thread; thanks.

 

[Donnah]

Dominica had some interesting dive sites, but there is much more than diving. When we were there, we dove in the am some days, hiked in the pm. For eco lovers, it was great. Flying LIAT is an experience. You just have to realize that when the plane is full, it leaves. If it still has empty seats. it may not until the plane is full. On the islands, you just have to go with the flow. Grab a beer or a nap. That's just the way things are sometimes.

 

[diver 85]

When we traveled there summer of '09, we took the red eye non-stop from Houston to PR & arrived in PR ~5 AM..........Then had a ~8 hour lay over & visited Old San Juan during the lay over......NOW-----PR to Dominica was something else, after making 2 island stops(& deboarding the plane each time--& we thought we had a NON STOP into Dominica!!!----lol)we landed on Dominica a couple hours before sunset......We were a group of 19 with ?~23 pieces of(checked in) luggage, 17 of them did NOT make it to Dominica......Who knows what happened BUT by noon the next day all 17 pieces made it to Castle Comfort Lodge, our stay for the week.......

Was this worth it???..........HECK YES, a place I've got to get back to---AGAIN......You can go about 18/6 & still not do/see everything there is to see/do......Good luck....

 

[metastasis_d]

Yeah, we were looking at a nice long layover in PR during which we were going to try to do a kayak trip up a bio-luminescent river, but I'm not sure if we'll get that opportunity.

And we plan to go with the flow once we're departing Houston, but we'd like to know what kind of flow we're aiming for first, then adjust fire as necessary.

 

[SimonWalsh]

Seaborne is a great airline, no worries at all. The main issue with them is they leave SJU earlier than LIAT and you might not be able to make it in one day. If you can I recommend that route.
I suggest you also look into connecting through St Martin, its cheaper and access is almost always in one day. Use WINAIR to get from ST Martin (SXM) to Dominica. They have an interline agreement with US AIrways and United so if you fly on them its one ticket with bags going straight through. You also will go through the transit lounge in SXM and not have got through security, collect your bags, check in and then come back through security. You just go to the WINIAR window before immigration, get your boarding pass and go through the transit door.
LIAT have a certain reputation based on peoples experiences. They have new planes and are attempting to increase their reliability. They are safe and friendly once you get on the plane!
Whatever access route you choose you will love Dominica and its diving and topside activities.
Just for reference, I am biased as I live here and am President of the Dominica Watersports Association.

So we've pushed our wedding/honeymoon back, and we're looking at travel to Dominica in December. We have 2 airlines to choose from to route from Houston through Puerto Rico to get to Dominica: Liat and Seaborne.

We keep hearing terrible things about Liat (she read on here that it apparently stands for "Luggage In Another Terminal") and we're prepared for the worst, but we haven't heard anything about Seaborne. Does anyone here know about them?

And should I delete this post and post to the Caribbean forum, or is it okay here?