Hi
I need help on what best travel agency to book for my ticket to SABA from a Canadian City. Would it be possible to book from two way ticket from a us city near border ( buffalo ) since it much cheaper in US according to my preliminary search from yahoo, orbitz, expedia.com . Thanks

I have yet to talk to a Canadian travel agent who gets good deals on flights from Buffalo - I have called dozens in the past 2 years. They will quote you the same fares you find on expedia and the others. But, if you have friends in Buffalo, or look online for some Buffalo travel agency phone numbers, they may have better deals. All the times I travelled to SABA, I left from Buffalo, and it usually saved me 300 dollars but I booked through Expedia.

Val

I have just posted something in the sticky called "Travelling to Saba," and I had mentioned JetBlue.

I know JB services both Buffalo and Rochester, NY, (Buffalo is right over the border from Fort Erie, and Rochester is about one hour down the thruway/I-90).

I just did a search on JB's website with random dates going from Buffalo to San Juan, and they were about $119 one way, (goes through JFK in NY). Then you can take a Liat, Caribbean Sun, or other regional airline to SXM, and then Winair or the boat to Saba. As I posted on the other thread, it shouldn't be more than $240 one way.

I think to connect strategically with the regional and Winair flights, you have to leave really early in the morning from Buffalo and then eventually get to SXM by the afternoon.

Hope that information was helpful.

__________________
Fudan University, Shanghai Medical College
MBBS Program, 2008 Batch

State University of New York at Geneseo
Class of 2006

Don't look down on yourself, because people have limitless possiblities.
---Dharma Master Cheng Yen

只要緣深，不怕緣來的遲；只要找到路，就不怕路遙遠。---證嚴法師靜思語

I am canadian, I just wonder if you are a canadian, when you come back from sxm, US custom will not let us in since we only have one-way ticket from sxm to buf. Please advise me on this, since I am afraid that i will be block from come back to buffalo. On the way to SABA, it make sense. Thanks a lot

Also, it is ok to tell the border guard that you come to buffalo to flight to st marteen. Will they accept that as a legal thing, or just tell them lie that you are visit a friend in buffalo. I am on my h1 visa in US, everytime I cross the border, these suckers give me a lot of hazzel that may be the reason why I am really preoccupied. Thanks

I'm not Canadian, though sometimes I wish I was :roll: I'm an American citizen, and I go to school near Rochester at SUNY Geneseo.

As with the ticket problem, perhaps you could try to buy JetBlue tickets round trip. This is because Jetblue only sell tickets as groups of one-way tickets, so prices are the same, even if you buy one way tickets.

Thus, if you were to use the route I suggested, you could buy the BUF-SJU tickets round trip, with the SJU-SXM tickets as one-way (I think it is much more expensive to buy a round trip ticket, and travelocity's deals on $120 round-trip tickets only allow a 4-7 day stay.) Just remember to see the fine print before buying anything.

I'm not too sure about the Visas, I'm sorry.

I suggest that you talk to Val (scoobz1981), he's Canadian, and he's mentioned flying from Buffalo.

Usually when I go to Mississauga or Toronto to visit friends or paricipate in charity work, I just say that I'm visiting a friend. Usually they're pretty good about it. Though I'm not sure if they would enter your reason into their computer, because if you visit a friend or "go shopping" for four months, it could get suspicious :lol:

When I travel from Buffalo: As I cross the border into America, they always stop me and ask me where I am going, and I always say that "I am going to medical school in the Caribbean on an island called SABA and that I am flying out of the Buffalo airport." Then they check my trunk and let me drive through. Tada... It is just that simple! Truth is so much easier than fiction. Also, one time (I think in august) the border patrol guard said that I was the 3rd student he had seen in 2 days going to SABA. I just laughed.

Val

Wow, lots of Canadians crossing the border to fly to SABA, eh?

Maybe that's a sign that it is significantly cheaper to fly out of the US?

I agree w/ you there on the truth - I just usually choose the most simple thing I am doing out of them all. For example, if I am visiting a friend and going to do street-sweeping with him, I'll just say that I am visiting the friend.

__________________
Fudan University, Shanghai Medical College
MBBS Program, 2008 Batch

State University of New York at Geneseo
Class of 2006

Don't look down on yourself, because people have limitless possiblities.
---Dharma Master Cheng Yen

只要緣深，不怕緣來的遲；只要找到路，就不怕路遙遠。---證嚴法師靜思語

I was just wondering if anyone has used Liat Carribbean they seem really cheap, but I was worried about the flight from Puerto Rico to sym. Any into would be helpful. Thanks