this web site may help: http://www.b-v-i.com/Transportation/SanJuanAirport/default.htm

You should have bought them on the same ticket. The Continental and American Eagle terminals are not that far in proximity, so walking distance is not a problem (10-15 mins max). A backpack is allowed as a carry-on with American Eagle (I've flown with them before). Do you have luggage? If so, you will have to exit the terminal, recheck them, and re-enter through security which would be pushing it, in terms of time. The airport isn't too crowded for night departures, though.

However, there could be a serious problem: see, that flight to St. Croix is the last flight of the night. If your flight with Continental is late, you might have to spend the night in the terminal, because American Eagle would not responsible for putting you in a hotel, because it's Continental's fault for being late. Maybe Continental could help if such a problem arises? I don't know.

Another thing is the separate tickets. You should call AA (1-800-433-7300) and ask if the counter at the gate can print your boarding pass for your SJU-STX ticket. If not, you would have to exit the terminal, go to the ticket counters for your boarding pass, and re-enter through security which, again, would be pushing it, in terms of time.

Hope this helps...

Hello Colorado Boy,

I gather you aren't taking regular luggage but rather a big back packing pack. I have used mine as 'luggage' before and carried it on the plane as a carry on. On smaller planes the attendants will take it from you when boarding and do plane side check in - they give you a little slip, the matching slip is fastened to your bag and you wait for it just outside the plane at landing. If you mean a regular back pack - no problem as a carry on.

I would call Continental, they are partners with AA, and find out whether the bag can be checked straight through to St. Croix (should they not allow it to be a carry on)...

Also when you get the AA ticket, find out what their minimum check in before departure time is... indicate its a connection for you... sometimes they can be real sticklers and other times they are helpful.

Your plan is close if you have to pick up luggage and check in, ok but close.
--Islander

I'm not sure if it can be checked straight to St. Croix, because they are on two separate tickets. If he bought them on a website like Orbitz or Travelocity on one single itinerary, it might not be a problem... but, I'm not 100% sure on this one, though.

Thank you very very much for all of your responses!
I am very appreciated 🙂

About my tickets
- I bought the {Denver-San Juan} section from www.continental.com a while ago because it’s cheap. (Roundtrip = $190 + tax, fee = $242). I did not know anything much about San Juan / Virgin Island when I bought the ticket. I did not know where to go after San Juan. So, I didn’t buy any tickets after that. All I knew was that San Juan has a great potential for being a base to travel to the Caribbean islands, and I thought about spending some times in Old San Juan and fly to the great islands close to it. (It’s like spending for 1 transportation and getting 2 travel destinations. That’s my early thought)

- After doing some research, I realized that Old San Juan + St. Thomas + St. John + Buck Island (of St. Croix) is too much for my 7days vacation. So, I decided to cut Old San Juan out of my itinerary, and focused on only the Virgin Islands.

- Thus, I am now thinking to buy a multi-destination ticket from AA.com. The ticket from SJU to STX and coming back from STT to SJU cost the same as any RT ticket from SJU to STT or STX, which is about $203. I was thinking about a RT ticket from “Caribbean Sun” for $103, but decided not to do that because of the limited schedule, and the final costs to my final destinations factoring in the Taxi and hotel (for the overnight stay in San Juan) is not much cheaper.

- About 1-2 weeks ago, I saw the flight schedule of 1212 (the last flight from SJU to STX) from aa.com departing at 9:50pm, which is very good for my arriving flight at 8:17pm. I was having confidence with that time that I can make it. Anyway, I think AA.com just changed to departure time to 9:20pm when I looked at it again couple days ago. Now the connecting time reduces from 1 hr 30 min to 1 hr ! (this is the major reason for me to create this topic)

- I haven’t bought the ticket from AA.com yet, but I think I will buy it soon.

About boarding pass
- I think it should not be the problem because now we can print the boarding pass right from our office printer from AA.com. (not worldwide, just in the areas of US mainland + Alaska + Hawaii + the Caribbean)

About my backpack-luggage
- In this trip, I will be a backpacker :-). My luggage is my backpack. I think it will be fun to sleep right on a great beach, and eat good food. So, I’ve already booked a cheap campsite on Cinnamon, and I plan to hit many restaurants using the money I saved on accommodation. Due to the weather in that area, (a speedo would be more than enough), I think I don’t need much of clothing. So, my backpack will not be very big.

About staying overnight at SJU
- Can you recommend me any cheap hotels near the airport? (Just incase I want to use it)

Well, this is a much longer writing than I expect…. Thanks for reading, replying…., and of course, more opinions, responses are very welcome.

Have a great day!

Colorado Boy

PS: The reason behind cutting Old San Juan off is that I just spent 6 weeks traveling in Europe last summer. Many of the pictures of the Old San Juan area that I have seen look somewhat similar to many old towns in many parts of Europe. So, I just decide to skip it this time.

Make sure you bring bug spray. They will have a field day with you and your speedo if you intend to sleep on the beach.

there is a new hotel inside the SJU airport, just up the stairs from baggage claim. don't know what the rates are because we had hotel vouchers from AA, but the rooms were very nice.

OK I get the picture. You probably will NOT need to spend the night. It's probably OK to buy the AA SJU-STX tix now. Just make sure you print the SJU-STX boarding pass in Colorado. When you get off the plane in SJU, walk to the American Eagle terminal (10-15 mins max), and show up for the flight. You should be fine as long as you're not checking in luggage.