Getting to Roatan from Seattle?

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Seaweed Doc

MSDT
Scuba Instructor
Divemaster
Messages
1,276
Reaction score
1,182
Location
Seattle, Washington State, USA
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Any recommendations on the cheapest way to fly to Roatan, specifically from Seattle?

I'm planning on arriving at RTB on July 2, departing July 20. Using Travelocity, the cheapest I can find is $1,280 on United via Houston. Expedia quotes prices a couple hundred cheaper, but when you click through to buy it more than doubles the price. ("Oops, the price changed! Buy quickly!")

I think I can get the Expedia prices by buying an Alaska Air ticket to LAX, then a United ticket from LAX to RTB. But that means (I think) having to recover a checked bag and re-check it. (Anybody have experience in the "buying two separate tickets from two different airlines" drill? I'm presuming I can't check in at Alaska, show my tickets, and get it checked all the way through as I would if I'd booked all the travel in one transaction?)

Any other brilliant sources? The Kayaks of the world don't seem to do any better. At best, they quote a reasonable price that disappears when you click through.

(Did I mention I paid less than a grand to fly to Bali in August? Airline pricing never ceases to amaze me....)
 
I travel a bit and I've never had success saving air fares on any of the search sites. As you point out, the "lowest price" goes up after the initial click.
Google Flights and watching the cycle of the fare price is imho, the best way to go.

Roatan seems to be one of the more expensive flights to central America. It may have to do with the limited options. I'm sure someone will chime in on why.
 
If you're in Seattle and not set on Roatan why don't you consider the Philippines. We're going next February on Philippine Air for around $900 CDN. The diving and accommodation are cheaper and there are more fish. Food is about the same price.

The Caribbean is an easier trip for people in the east, but the Philippines is about the same or a little easier for those of us who live on the west coast.
 
If you're in Seattle and not set on Roatan why don't you consider the Philippines. We're going next February on Philippine Air for around $900 CDN. The diving and accommodation are cheaper and there are more fish. Food is about the same price.

The Caribbean is an easier trip for people in the east, but the Philippines is about the same or a little easier for those of us who live on the west coast.
I'd love to, but I'm doing a highly recommended IDC on Roatan. One way or the other, I'm going!
 
Any recommendations on the cheapest way to fly to Roatan, specifically from Seattle?

I'm planning on arriving at RTB on July 2, departing July 20. Using Travelocity, the cheapest I can find is $1,280 on United via Houston. Expedia quotes prices a couple hundred cheaper, but when you click through to buy it more than doubles the price. ("Oops, the price changed! Buy quickly!")

I think I can get the Expedia prices by buying an Alaska Air ticket to LAX, then a United ticket from LAX to RTB. But that means (I think) having to recover a checked bag and re-check it. (Anybody have experience in the "buying two separate tickets from two different airlines" drill? I'm presuming I can't check in at Alaska, show my tickets, and get it checked all the way through as I would if I'd booked all the travel in one transaction?)

Any other brilliant sources? The Kayaks of the world don't seem to do any better. At best, they quote a reasonable price that disappears when you click through.

(Did I mention I paid less than a grand to fly to Bali in August? Airline pricing never ceases to amaze me....)

Where will you be staying? The booking agents for resorts and other properties often know the best airline options and sometimes they have access to sites and functions that are not available to most of us.

For example, when I try to book flights to distant locations on multiple airlines, including foreign carriers, I often have to book each leg of the journey separately but booking agents may be able to put all the flights on one ticket. If the schedule changes or a fight is delayed all of the airlines will be notified and they will make adjustments. When you have to book flights separately you are usually on your own when something goes wrong.

Try calling the property booking agent and ask for advice or assistance with flights. They may charge a small fee but it may be worth it!
 
try the hopper app
 
Where will you be staying? The booking agents for resorts and other properties often know the best airline options and sometimes they have access to sites and functions that are not available to most of us.

For example, when I try to book flights to distant locations on multiple airlines, including foreign carriers, I often have to book each leg of the journey separately but booking agents may be able to put all the flights on one ticket. If the schedule changes or a fight is delayed all of the airlines will be notified and they will make adjustments. When you have to book flights separately you are usually on your own when something goes wrong.

Try calling the property booking agent and ask for advice or assistance with flights. They may charge a small fee but it may be worth it!

Thanks, good advice. I'm staying in housing associated with the IDC; I'll inquire and see if they have any thoughts. I'll see if a travel agent can book on a single ticket, as you describe. It's the issues you mention (e.g., missing a connection) that has me really concerned.

@arew+4 , I tried Hopper. It does give me some generic advice and predicts prices will come down about now, but I'm not seeing any movement.

@KevinG58 , it's helpful to know Roatan is generally more expensive.
 
$1280 is the price. No matter if you go thru LAX or IAH

Avianca has a 2 stop flight but it's only about $110 cheaper and connects in central america. I personally wouldn't...

San Pedro Sula then a puddle jumper to Roatan is an option but you can't get there early enough to fly on so you'd have to overnight in San Pedro Sula which is not very safe. And it's still $960 plus the local flight which I believe is around $160 r/t.

Add somewhere decent to stay overnight. When US Soccer was there for the world cup semi's - the players were told not to leave the hotel at night.

I don't think it's worth it...

If you want to play around with other options- they're pretty much all listed here:
Matrix - ITA Software by Google
 
Thanks, good advice. I'm staying in housing associated with the IDC; I'll inquire and see if they have any thoughts. I'll see if a travel agent can book on a single ticket, as you describe. It's the issues you mention (e.g., missing a connection) that has me really concerned.

@arew+4 , I tried Hopper. It does give me some generic advice and predicts prices will come down about now, but I'm not seeing any movement.

@KevinG58 , it's helpful to know Roatan is generally more expensive.

Here's another thought, Cayman Airways flies from Grand Cayman to Roatan twice a week so if you can find good flights to GCM from Seattle you could travel on to Roatan from there, see the link below:

Welcome to Cayman Airways

And starting in March, Cayman Air will begin offering direct flights from Denver to Grand Cayman. It might work for you to fly from Seattle to Denver and then to Grand Cayman and on to Roatan. I don't know how expensive it would be, but it might be worth investigating, see the link below.

Welcome to Cayman Airways

Or if you could fly direct from Seattle to Florida you could then travel on to GC and Roatan.
 
I use Google Flights and Momondo to play around and pick. Then I book direct with the airline or a travel agent, depending on my level of concern. I don't know your budget but sometimes the Business class is only a couple hundred more than economy. Totally worth the extra IMO but if you do that, it's hard to go back to economy. :wink:

The spread between Economy and Business class seems to only apply to Central and South America and isn't always the case for those destinations either.
 

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