TripAdvisor’s most and least affordable Caribbean destinations

The TripIndex reveals that Americans travelling to Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Dominican Republic this spring can save about 36 percent compared to other Caribbean destinations.

<!–

–>

NEW YORK, United States, Friday March 7, 2014 – TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, this week announced the results of its TripIndex Caribbean, a cost comparison of a one-week trip for a family or group of four persons to 20 popular Caribbean destinations during the period March 1 through April 30, 2014.

The TripIndex Caribbean evaluated travel expenses including the average round-trip airfare from the continental US, a seven night hotel stay, dinner for six nights and a half-day snorkelling excursion for four.

The average cost for a one-week trip for a family or group of four traveling to the Caribbean during the spring travel period is US$7,152, and they can expect to pay around $3,253 for round-trip flights and $2,772 for one week in a hotel.

TripIndex Caribbean looks at 20 Caribbean destinations, based on spots with the most visits on TripAdvisor from US travellers between November 15, 2013 and January 15, 2014.  Cuba was excluded due to limited direct travel from the United States. All prices are expressed in US currency.

Here are the top 10 value destinations, with the cost of a weeklong trip for four:

1. Puerto Rico – $4,609 

2. Jamaica – $4,631 

3. Trinidad and Tobago – $4,771 

4. Dominican Republic – $5,315 

5. St Maarten-St Martin – $5,566 

6. Bahamas – $5,815 

7. Curacao – $5,833 

8. Bermuda – $6,064 

9. Aruba – $6,260 

10. Grenada – $6,622

By comparison, the cost of a weeklong stay at the most expensive destination TripAdvisor looked at — St Barthelemy — is nearly $12,500.

Here are more expensive destinations, for travellers with deeper pockets:

1. St Barthelemy – $12,486 

2. Anguilla – $10,709 

3. British Virgin Islands – $9,712 

4. Turks and Caicos – $8,812 

5. St Kitts and Nevis – $8,668 

6. Cayman Islands – $8,082 

7. Antigua and Barbuda – $7,972 

8. St Lucia – $7,627 

9. US Virgin Islands – $6,782 

10. Barbados $6,710

Hotel prices included in the TripIndex reflect the average cost of a seven night stay in a hotel found on TripAdvisor, excluding all-inclusive resorts. On average, about 40 hotels were included in the total cost of each destination. Pricing information was sourced using TripAdvisor Hotel Price Comparison for the travel period of March 1 through April 30, 2014.

Flight prices included in the TripIndex reflect the average round-trip airfare for a family of four from the continental US to each destination’s airports. Pricing information was sourced using TripAdvisor Flights and is accurate of fares found between February 17 to 24, 2014 for the eight Saturday-Saturday departure/return dates between March 1, 2014 and April 30, 2014. National average prices are based on fares from the top 20 busiest US airports.

Meal prices included in the TripIndex specify the average cost of dinner for six nights for four people, consisting of a two-course meal (salad and fish filet entree) paired with two bottles of beer and two sodas. Prices are averaged from three mid-range restaurants.

Snorkel trip prices included in the TripIndex specify the average cost of a half-day (3-4 hour) guided snorkelling tour for four people and are averaged from three tour operators.

TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel site and offers trusted advice from real travellers and a wide variety of travel choices and planning features with seamless links to booking tools.

TripAdvisor branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, reaching more than 260 million unique monthly visitors in 2013, and more than 150 million reviews and opinions covering more than 3.7 million accommodations, restaurants, and attractions.

The sites operate in 34 countries worldwide, including China under daodao.com . TripAdvisor also includes TripAdvisor for Business, a dedicated division that provides the tourism industry access to millions of monthly TripAdvisor visitors. Click here to receive free news bulletins via email from Caribbean360. (View sample)