SJU to EIS - recent experience?

We’ve always flown into STT and then ferried to Tortola. Looking at flying into SJU and then catching a flight to EIS for an upcoming charter Jan 2020. Who’s been through SJU recently? Thoughts on how much time we’ll need between landing in SJU and departing for EIS? Anything quirky we need to be aware of?
Thanks!

When making a connection anywhere the main thing to remember is it is better to error on the side have having more time rather than less time between flights - you can be an hour early and the worst thing that happens is you spend a little extra time sitting in the airport but if you get to the gate for your connecting flight 1 minute after the plane leaves you’ve missed your flight.

How much time you’ll need depends on when you are flying, what airlines you’ll Be flying and whether or not you have checked luggage or only carry-on. If checking luggage you need to know if your inbound airline has a baggage handling arrangement with your connecting airline or if you have to claim and rev-check your bags.

If doing only carry-on and you can check in and get your boarding pass online for your connecting flight you’ll need a minimum of 1 hour but that will give you no wiggle room - 90 minutes would be better.

On your return you’ll need have to clear Immigration, Customs and TSA at SJU so 90 minutes minimum if you are confident your inbound flight will be on time - 2 hours would be better.

Agree with Fletch - depends on who you are flying with - e.g. a charter will meet you at your arrival gate, if you are ticketed through to cape air no need to go land side - if you are flying Air Sunshine you need to go land side, pick up luggage and go to their land side check in.

June of last year, we flew SJU to EIS on Seaborne for the first time. Three of six members of our crew didn’t get their luggage and we spent two days on the dock waiting for it. Lesson learned. It’s a pain in the a** but back to the STT ferries for us.

I make this flight 2 or 3 times each month and it's much more reliable and quicker than the ferry. If you have carry-on bags, you can have as little as an hour layover and be fine. If you're checking bags, plan at least 90 minutes because the cutoff at the ticket counter is 30 minutes for most airlines.

If you can buy your ticket as a code share so all segments are on a single ticket (i.e. Delta to Seaborne) you can check your bags all the way thru to EIS and an hour would be enough time.

I have done this a few times now - I have flown Jet Blue or Southwest to SJU from Florida. I have done both checked and carry-on. I have flown InterCaribbean and allowed 2 hours when I had a checked bag — if it is not a code share (mine were not), I collected my bag and rechecked it an hour before the InterCaribbean departure, which is when their gate typically opens. Have not missed bags yet. I also have Global Entry so I am guaranteed TSA-pre which helps with timing....

I think we’re going to go the ferry route this year, depending on pricing - I kind of like the whole Petit Pump experience

THis year was the first year we did the STT route. I don't know if is was the fact we are both retired, the fact that we were staying in STT before and after, or the antidepressants, but the ferry seemed WAY more relaxed than flying to SJU -> EIS then ferry to VG

ETA - even with Flying BOS->SJU->STT - waited too long to make reservations

Curious - was your BOS-SJU-STT on Jet Blue? Will likely book them for our May trip from Tampa — but the flight has a VERY short layover in SJU so unless it is the same plane? It could be interesting - how long was your layover at SJU?

Thanks for the input. Have travelled quite a bit and am familiar with connection times for most major US hubs. I was specifically asking about SJU post Irma. We’ll be flying Delta - most likely with an overnight in ATL as getting from N Michigan to the Caribbean in one day is next to impossible. Would love to figure out how to avoid checked bags but with a sailing charter we end up with too much stuff - snorkel equipment, tervis tumblers, guide books, clothes pins, sunscreen, etc.

Jason - we heard earlier this year that delta bought seaborne but I can’t seem to search those codeshare flights online. Do you call delta direct for flight info?

We too like the petit pump room! We flew VI Airlink to Anegada earlier this year and it was wonderful! Had time before our flight out of STT back home and took a taxi to the pump room for a fish sandwich and final painkiller.

When landing at EIS I’m assuming you clear customs at the airport?

Don’t go through SJU as often as Jason, but often enough to say it’s working pretty well now. It suffered during the storms, and some of that damage is still visible, but the key things are functional and they’ve added some new restaurants.

You clear Customs on Tortola on the way down and in San Juan on the way back. You need about an hour to connect going down if your flights are on one ticket, about two hours coming back. We have gone through both the new, machine Immigration and the old manual Immigration hall, depending on the airline flown.

My niece made it from landing through machine Immigration, Customs, Agriculture and Security and to her next gate in twenty minutes. That’s fast. It’s worse on the weekends, holidays when Puerto Ricans travel home and if they make you go through arrival Agriculture, or if you don’t have TSA precheck.

Silver bought Seaborne and the flights are American codeshare. I would overnight in San Juan, so you get to Tortola earlier.

No, Silver acquired Seaborne, not Delta. See thread Re “New Aircraft for SJU-EIS“

So looks like we’ll be on delta to SJU then purchase a separate ticket to EIS.

Just curious - why overnight in SJU as opposed to ATL? There are am flights from ATL direct to SJU landing about 12:45 pm. I was thinking an airport hotel in ATL would be more convenient than trying to find a hotel near SJU (having never flown in there before). Are there decent hotels near the airport at SJU? Taxi ride required?

Appreciate everyone’s input!

PS: Delta is my only domestic choice. It’s the only airline out of our small airport

My preference is to get as close as you can as quickly as you can...big key IMHO is going with all carry on. Did DCA-SJU-EIS 4 times in last year with no issues using Seaborne, IC and Island Birds for SJU-EIS leg. will do DCA-STT roundtrip next month and always dread STT leaving for the states.

DCA-SJU is direct Jet Blue flight. SJU is working well now.

You can buy a ticket on Delta all the way to EIS; most likely the last leg will be on Seaborne. San Juan has an airport hotel which has been renovated. Not luxury, but fine for one night. Catch an early morning flight and you are there.

Check Google Flights, which will send you to Delta to buy the tickets. I have seen cases lately where two one-way tickets were cheaper than the same flights round-trip.

RatmansWife - thank you. Exactly what I was looking for. Happen to know the name of the SJU hotel?

San Juan Airport Hotel.

Clever name .... thanks!

We did Delta to SJU out of ATL with 8-9 hr layover in SJU.... Left ATL about 630 PM and SJU about 1015 PM.... To SJU Airport Hotel and slept several hours before 7;00 AM flight.... no Taxi Time! Arrive EIS and at TMM on Sea Tiger by 0830.

And if round trip doesn't seem to work well, check Multi city with return trip out of STT as another option.

SJU was clean and comfortable. Not luxury but Location great! Early morning flights seem to be less likely to be delayed, especially weather delays. And the extra layover allows any delays on the front in to catch up before the SJU to EIS leg.

Thanks Wes! We’re going to look at round trip in and out of SJU - I’m avoiding the ferry this time. It would be great to get to TMM early - I’m sure we can’t get on our boat that early but it would allow for a relaxed provisioning experience.

As mentioned, Delta did not buy Seaborne but has a code share arrangement. It is definitely cheaper to buy the tickets separately but Delta will not be obligated to help you get to Tortola or back home in the event of a flight delay. I am a Diamond million miler with Delta so they treat me very well and I've never had an issue getting rebooked if I miss one of my Delta segments.

I also overnight in ATL when I'm coming from Seattle. There are 3 hotels referred to as Gateway hotels that I highly recommend because they are connected to the airport via a train that runs every few minutes and only takes about 5 minutes. There is a Marriott, a Renaissance, and a Spring Hill Suite.

Jason, my husband is a Diamond million miler on delta as well - the extra customer service is a big reason to book all the way through with Delta. I think we stayed in the springhill suites in ATL on our way back from Anegada in February - great hotel! and while an extra overnight might not have been ideal, a long shower and a little rest was welcome after leaving the islands as we had no water or power on Anegada for our last 2 days :-)

You won't have the issue again. We stayed with Ann for a few nights just after she had installed a HUGE new generator. And the new cistern for water storage in being built!

Yes it was Jet Blue - the layover was 2 hours - for the life of me I cannot remember any of it (I go into a stupor at SJU - usually from frostbite) - Does the flight information show same plane 411 - not sure

I'll add my 2 cents for whatever it's worth. We usually fly through San Juan on the way down and always stay at least one night - but usually more. I figure if a delay is going to happen it's more likely to happen on the way down so I like having plenty of time built in to allow for that. Plus, you can take a flight out the next day to coordinate with the time your allowed to board your boat. And beyond that we really like Puerto Rico and find a couple days there is a great transition between our hectic normal life and vacation. It helps us get into island mode quicker rather than needing a day or two to acclimate once we get to the BVIs. Even for just one night we usually try to stay in one of the Isla Verde hotels unless it is literally a land-sleep-takeoff scenario. The airport hotel is fine for just a night, but we prefer to relax with a drink by the pool or beach and have a nice dinner out if time allows. This approach may not be for everyone, but it has made our trips down much more relaxing.

On the return there are plenty of EIS>SJU flights we can choose from to be sure we have enough time to connect to our flight back to the states. Although a couple hours is probably enough I usually aim for at least 3-4 hours assuming tickets are not connected. That said we usually get through everything within 90 minutes max, but you know the first time I only give us two hours we are going to run into long and slow lines.

BTW, you must be flying out of Pellston airport and not Traverse City? Seems that there are many more options and cheaper fares out of TVC. Just curious as I am a previous Michigander and spent some time up in northern Michigan.

Jason, yes! I saw her photos on FB. She & Andrew were so kind even though there was not much they could do about the situation. And, candidly, we were in the islands so it really didn't matter - until we left island life and had to re-enter the public world - ha ha!

snmhanson - Yes, we're flying out of Pellston! It's 15 mins from our house, free parking, while Traverse City is a 1 1/2 hr drive and in late January not my favorite drive because of the snow and weather. Where were you in northern Michigan? We're in Petoskey on Crooked Lake. I see you're from the Pacific NW. I spent all my summers as a kid in Oregon :-)

Tampa - SJU - STT shows only a 35 min. layover in SJU....which I don’t think is reasonable unless you are remaining on the same aircraft....so I was just curious.

I grew up in Grand Rapids but vacationed and skied up north. Also went to school in Traverse City for a year. I’ve been in the Pacific NW for about 25 years now and live about an hour east of Portland. Great place out here but certainly things I miss about Michigan - especially as I get older and have kids of my own. And a bit more of a hustle to get to the islands from here.

Oh man that is tight

Quick question on the return EIS to SJU to US. We are booked on a Moorings charter next May. Our friends booked the noon flight on Silver to SJU. That seems a little tight for a Saturday departure out of Tortola if we're returning the cat that morning. Thoughts?...

That is fine for flying out of EIS. Just be off the Moorings dock about 8AM and arrange for a 9:30 cab to the airport. The Moorings will set the cab up for you or PM me and I will send you the info for a reliable local guy.
George

+1 ...do that regularly

Totally doable

I'm curious about the anti depressants that make the ferry ride less stressful!

The ferry seemed so painless and relaxed vs flying. Less stress, less rush. Loved it

The ferry is everything you say it is unless you see it on it’s way out of the harbour

We're scheduled from SJU to EIS this end of October, our biggest issue is "Un-United" Airlines constantly changing our schedule so our arrival time in SJU keeps moving. Bought our tickets in March and have had 4 schedule changes the most recent this AM. Now they've added an extra leg on our flight, SMF-SFO-EWR-EIS. Our layover time in SJU keeps changing but at least we're now up to 2.5 hours from the original 1.5, then 1.0, then 1.25.....You'd think the airline would have the courtesy to at least let you know when the schedule changes, I've resorted to checking the reservation every other day just to keep up.