How are UK family holiday-makers at a Caribbean resort different from the North American guests lounging on the beach next to them? Well, in addition to flying further and staying longer, they've sometimes paid a lot more for the land portion of their family holiday.
Most UK visits buy convenient packages that combine airfare from their home city plus resort stay. Meanwhile, US visitors can grab terrific Caribbean vacation deals that originate from hub cities such as New York.
Can UK Visitors Save Money on Caribbean Family Holidays...
...by routing through the US, instead of buying packages through the UK?
Well, yes, if you break up your trip into two parts, i.e. first leg to the US, second leg to the Caribbean: an "a la carte" approach, and you'll have to do some work coordinating the flight to the US, the flight to the Caribbean, and the beach resort stay.
The best strategy is to build in a mini-stay in a US hub city that has lots of charters to the Caribbean (or Mexico) : New York City, for example.
Fly across the pond, enjoy the hub city for a day or two, then take the short flight to your Caribbean (or Mexico) family holiday.
You may want to use a US vacation packager who'll bundle together your Carribean flight, ground transfers, and resort. Alternatively, some resorts -- such as Beaches-- will help you add airfares.
Buying from a US vacation packager can be a little tricky for UK visitors. I asked Sally Black, of VacationKids.com, how this kind of booking might be accomplished. Here's what you need to know.
Booking with a US Vacation Packager
If customers want to book, for example, with popular packager Apple Vacations, "they must select a travel agent sorted by US zip code. If UK families don't know a US zip code then they won't be able to book." Other popular packagers probably work the same way. Why? Sally Black explains: "Wholesalers want travel agents in the loop to help with customer service issues. Many will not allow overseas addresses/postal codes in their credit card forms."
Trouble is, however, that "Many agents are reluctant to work with European clients... For example, they don't want to be responsible for shipping documents overseas."
Fortunately, most charter flights can be bought with etickets, "so if there is ever an issue or problems, you can always print tickets for pick up at the airport ticket counter... this is a much better safety net for overseas passengers." (Regular air tickets, however, will probably needed to be printed out and shipped.)
Sally's company, VacationKids.com, specializes in all-inclusive resort holidays for families, and sells popular vacation packagers: Apple Vacations, Funjet, etc. "We deal with all the big wholesalers and are well versed in dealing with neighbors across the pond."
For example: "Say a family requests to depart on July 10, for 14 nights...I'll look and perhaps there is a non stop charter from Gatwick that leaves on July 9th... I build my quote around that departure to make it easy for my families. I'll check the flight itinerary and prices and then add a link where they can book the flights themselves....then I price out the land portion of their trip. I make it very easy for them."
So: it can be done. And if you don't fancy New York as your stopover city, there are other options. Have a look at a big vacation package site, like Apple Vacations, and check departure cities.
Don't forget that you'll probably need to overnight again in your connection city on your way back. And neverschedule tight connection times. Your transatlantic tickets will be completely separate from your resort-vacation package: if you miss a flight, you're on your own.
How much time do you need, to make connecting flights?
Sally Black advises: "For international connections, families should allow a 4 hour minimum for lay overs. You have to clear customs, collect baggage, usually find transport to another terminal (always at the complete other side of the airport) check in, clear security...plus time to get food and have bathroom breaks for the kids."
All of which makes travel insurance even more important than usual for family holidays.
Sally's final tip: "It is VERY important that if any family -US, UK or otherwise-- books their vacation ala carte like this, they MUST obtain their own travel protection insurance. We usually recommend www.travelguard.com. This will cover them for airline issues, hotel issues, medical, etc. They can always call/work with their airlines if there is a problem as well as the company they use to arrange their land travels. The travel insurance companies also provide 24/7 emergency numbers."
