Budget-friendly guide to independent travel in the Caribbean
 

Air Transportation: Getting Around the Caribbean

Many regional airlines fly within the Caribbean. Here we profile the big players and several of their smaller counterparts.

LIAT is a huge player among the Caribbean's crop of regional airlines. The airline's three hubs are Antigua, Barbados, and Port of Spain; it also flies to Santo Domingo, San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Tortola, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Nevis, Guadeloupe, Dominica's Melville Hall Airport, Martinique, St. Lucia's George F. Charles Airport, St. Vincent, Canouan, Grenada, Tobago, Curaçao, and Georgetown, Guyana.

Bahamasair links Nassau to international Caribbean destinations Providenciales, Havana, and Port of Spain as well as many domestic destinations: Arthur's Town, The Bight, Crooked Island, Deadman's Cay, Freeport, George Town, Governors Harbour, Inagua, Mangrove Cay, Marsh Harbour, Mayguana, North Eleuthera, Rock Sound, San Salvador, South Andros, Spring Point, Stella Maris, and Treasure Cay.

Air Caraïbes is the French Caribbean's biggest airline. From bases in Fort-de-France and Pointe-à-Pitre, Air Caraïbes flies to Cayenne, Port-au-Prince, Havana, St. Martin, Santo Domingo, and St. Lucia, among other destinations. The airline also connects Pointe-à-Pitre with Guadeloupe's smaller islands of Marie-Galante and Les Saintes, and flies a number of routes from St. Martin as well.

American Eagle, a subsidiary of American Airlines, flies to many destinations across the Caribbean from its base in San Juan: Santiago (DR), Puerto Plata, Santo Domingo, La Romana (DR), St. Thomas, St. Croix, Tortola, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Nevis, Antigua, Pointe-à-Pitre, Dominica, Fort-de-France, St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada, and Port of Spain.

Air Turks & Caicos connects Providenciales to international destinations including Cap Haitien, Kingston, Montego Bay, Nassau, Port-au-Prince, Puerto Plata, and Santiago. The airline also connects several domestic airports: Grand Turk, North Caicos, Salt Cay, and South Caicos.

Caribbean Airlines, formerly BWIA, is based in Port of Spain, Trinidad. The airline's intra-Caribbean route map includes Antigua, Barbados, Georgetown (Guyana), Paramaribo (Suriname), Kingston, St. Maarten, and Tobago.

Winair has its main base in St. Maarten and a secondary base in Antigua. From these airports, the airline flies to Anguilla, St. Barths, Saba, St. Eustatius, Nevis, Montserrat, and Barbuda.

Dutch Antilles Express serves Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, and St. Maarten in the Dutch Antilles as well as Havana, Port-au-Prince, and Santo Domingo.

From its Grand Cayman hub, Cayman Airways flies to Havana, Kingston, Montego Bay, La Ceiba (Honduras), Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman.

Cuban flagship carrier Cubana flies between Havana and Cancún, Santo Domingo, Camaguay, Holguín, Santa Clara, and Santiago de Cuba.

Insel Air's intra-Caribbean routes include Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire, St. Maarten, Punta Cana, Port-au-Prince, San Juan, Paramaribo.

SVG Air flies between St. Vincent,  Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union Island, Barbados, Grenada, and Carriacou.

With the Caribbean, Air Jamaica flies routes to Nassau, Havana, and Curaçao from Kingston and Montego Bay.

Air Sunshine flies between its hub San Juan and Vieques, St. Thomas, St. Croix, Tortola, and Virgin Gorda.

Mustique Airways flies between Barbados and St. Vincent, Bequia, Mustique, Canouan, and Union Island. 

Cape Air flies from San Juan to Mayagüez, Ponce, Vieques, St.Thomas, St. Croix, and Tortola.

Tiny Divi Divi Air flies a single scheduled route between Curaçao and Bonaire.