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I am going to the island for a beach wedding, i want to do something afterwards noon until 4pm , my flight leaves at 5pm.
any suggestions. on a tuesday-June 25
If your flight leaves at 5pm you need to be at the airport no later than 3pm to clear Customs and Immigration
Pia
You have to be at the airport two hours before your scheduled flight departure, i.e. by 3PM. I'd suggest you enjoy the Best Western Emerald Beach Resort beach and bar for the couple of hours that you have available. They're located on a lovely beach right on the airport road. It'll take you 5-10 minutes max to walk to the airport from there (a flat walk); if you have heavy luggage to haul or aren't physically fit to walk, you'll have no problem getting a taxi which will cost you $4. Have fun!
You might consider the St. Thomas Historical Homes walking tour in the downtown area. The hours are 9am to 2pm. You can take as little as 30 minutes or up to several hours depending how much time you spend in each of the homes on the tour. The longer you stay in each home and listen to the attendant, the more you learn from the tour.
Here is their website:
http://blackbeardscastle.com/index.php
I have to agree that a stop at EMERALD BEACH RESORT for little relaxation is perfect since it puts you walking distance to the airport (yes, you should be at the airport 2 hours before flight time).
Where is the beach wedding? There may be something to do near the wedding. That 2 hours may not be so strict depending on which airline and the other airline's schedules. Customs and TSA aren't always there 2 hours before each flight.
ms411 wrote:
That 2 hours may not be so strict depending on which airline and the other airline's schedules. Customs and TSA aren't always there 2 hours before each flight.
Have to disagree with you on this. Official warnings have already gone out that there may be increased delays at our airports because of cutbacks through sequestration. Arrival at the airport two hours before the scheduled flight departure has been the norm for several years now and, also in light of the fact that we're a designated Port of Entry into the US, I wouldn't advise taking any chances on that timing. The only time I've ever heard of officials not always being on hand two hours before departure time is on the first flight out in the early morning and that doesn't apply here.
If you are already at a beach for the wedding, why not stay there for a couple hours before heading to airport? Magens Bay has showers so you can freshen up prior to your flight home. Which beach is wedding at?
If you want to have lunch and shop, try Havensight, you can check out the butterfly exhibit, take a ride on the Paradise gondolas up the mountain, walk over to Yacht Haven Grande for more shopping take a look around Mango Tango art gallery and have a cold drink. Just check how many cruise ships in town and give yourself ample time to get to airport.
It's interesting to spend some time in town as well as one of the above posters stated.
If you decide on Emerald Beach or BeachComber near to airport, take a cab to airport.
It's not a long walk but dragging luggage in the heat of the day may not be an ideal send-off.
2 hours minimum.
I posted a video on Facebook of the lines last week - over 3,500 guests left that day according to Customs and the video I took showed the line out of the Customs doors, down to baggage claim, into baggage claim, out and around the "pole" back to Customs, made a U turn past the check in desks and back through baggage claim !!! I have never, ever, ever seen a line like it.
Now I know that the OP is coming in June and not "high" season but with government cutbacks I would not risk it and having just gotten off a cruise and upon disembarkation experienced only 2 Customs agents for 3,000 people all disembarking at the same time I witnessed the sequestering first hand and I am sure STT will experience the same.
Pia
When we left on Thursday, March 28th, the lines were very long. We arrived at the airport 2 hours ahead of flight time.
It took us about 90 minutes to get through.The lines resembled Disney World at a popular attraction.
There were about 7 or 8 customs agents on duty.
Friends of ours left on Saturday March 23rd and allowed 3 hours clearance time at the airport.
By the time they got to the gate most of the plane had boarded so they just made their flight.
I left the following Monday and although I didn't think it would be that bad it took me an hour and a half and that was with a porter.
Something has to be done as it is getting absurd to have to allow 3 hours or more to get through the airport.
beachboy wrote:
Something has to be done as it is getting absurd to have to allow 3 hours or more to get through the airport.
As noted earlier this situation isn't confined to the islands and is a result of sequestration.
I don't think this has anything to do with sequestration.
There were just a lot of people trying to leave island at the same time.
This past week we had Passover, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Many families vacation at this time of the year. Plus it might have been the end of "Spring Break".
I can't say that there weren't enough customs agents last Thursday, because I've never seen so many at one time at the STT airport.
And Saturday is timeshare change-over day...so you always have a lot of people trying to leave.
I saw the same lines several years ago on a Saturday.
Nothing to do with sequester. Everything to do with # of travelers and inefficacy of staff. Sometimes customs just breezes everboby on through. Sometimes they take real close look. Spring break week. Kids home from school. Easter holiday.
Some Airlines will hold flights if your checked baggage was processed. You can always try to expidite at security. Most folks will be understanding.
I never arrive 2 hours early usually about 1 - 1.5. I have my customs form completed and only one carry-on and one shoulder bag. I have my papperwork/tickets/passport/form in hand. I follow the rules about cosmetics, water, etc. Smile and be nice. Make it easy for the airport personnel. With out fail there always someone who trys to carry-on a 6-pack of booze and causes a holy stink.
American Air lines counter personnel are the worst. I timed it once. An average of 11 minute per passenger to issue boarding pass and check bags. SO FRUSTRATING!!!! And forget about using points to get a seat upgrade. I think those ladies go out of their way to make flying american as unpleasant as possible.
So, my advice is fill out the form and put your papers in order before arriving at the airport. Travel as light as possible. Avoid checking bags in and out (especially if flying thru PR) Know the flight numbers, boarding times, departure times. Know your connections number gates times, etc. Write down some alternate schedules in case of delay or re-routing.
blu4u wrote:
Nothing to do with sequester.
Not so and nothing to do with any individual airlines Following the recent sequestration a directive was disseminated throughout the media both here and nationwide advising passengers going through US ports where they'd be required to go through customs and immigration to allow for additional time as sequestration necessitated a cutback in official personnel.
Yeah yeah yeah. Not buying it. Flew to NYC last week. Same old same old. Just political BS threats. No more no less TSA. Same as it ever was. 6 officers per station: Two ladies training one girl and three men shooting the breeze. I think if they layed off 3, more work would actually occure because they would have fewer conversational partners.
But STT resident, maybe your recent travel expirence was different. Where did you fly to....?
Let be clear here. you do relize that all passengers check in with the individual airline line, right? Customs / Ag / TSA is federal. Three lines at STT airlport.
I've only seen 5 (at most) customs stations open at one time. the FI saw 7-8 (a 40% increase for holiday travel makes sense). How many were open when you flew? What about delays on your return trip???
The OP is not traveling until June and you may be interested in browsing through these recent articles which are just a small sampling of many similar:
http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_22729346/sequestrations-effects-hit-long-waits-at-airports-docks
STT Resident wrote:
The OP is not traveling until June and you may be interested in browsing through these recent articles which are just a small sampling of many similar:http://www.denverpost.com/travel/ci_22729346/sequestrations-effects-hit-long-waits-at-airports-docks
HA! My point exactly! Thank you.
Two of the links you cited are for immigration lawyers, employing the scare tactic of "longer waits" to persuade potential clients into using their fee based services for credential expediting.
The Denver post article concedes that "long lines" is a possible political move. The article also states that waits were 2X longer (for international passengers entering Miami) than normal on Saturday. AND that Saturday was the busiest international travel day of the year. And the wait times returned to normal on Monday. And the reductions won't go into place for 30 days. SMELLS like a "union slow down" to me.
Listen Tart. I don't want to get into it with you. I just posted what I saw while traveling to/from NYC (jfk) last week. If you saw something else while traveling through the airports then that's fair. But citing "warnings" about our federal systems going to hell in hand basket as "fact" doesn't cut the mustard. You seem to take issue with pretty much everything I post, so I'm not surprised you'd take issue with how long I wait at the airport too.
If the airlines did more to prep passengers for the exit protocol, then I think the lines would move along much faster. Fill out the customs form completely. Don't forget your flight number. Only one per household. Husband wife and kids can be on one form. Grandma/Auntie Susan/ the baby sitter needs her own. Have your all passports out, not packed away in one of three overstuffed bags. Passports are much easier to deal with then other forms of ID. Maybe VI now could put up a tip sheet for recommended airport protocol.
Maybe you could give me an idea of which information sources would better suit you as there are scores to choose from and obviously I picked entirely the wrong ones in your opinion. New York Times, Washington Post, something from the European press? 😀 I'm totally unclear why the issue should produce such rudely defensive responses.
