In love with the Caribbean

QUESTION: Last year's Cricket World Cup in the West Indies was fantastic and my wife and I fell in love with the place. No SA travel agencies offer travel packages to Jamaica and Barbados. Please could you give me some guidelines and suggestions to plan a three-week holiday during June 2009. - Bobby Pillay

ANSWER: The quickest route would be to fly from Johannesburg to New York or Atlanta on SAA and then connect to Jamaica and Barbados using an American or Caribbean airline. However, you may find it preferable (and cheaper) to fly via London using a single airline. Both British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have direct flights to the Caribbean. The airlines fly from London Gatwick to Montego Bay and Kingston in Jamaica and to Bridgetown in Barbados. You can find good hotel deals on travel websites like expedia or hotel.com. If you prefer buying a package holiday, you could try British Airways Holidays or Virgin Holidays, both of which offer you a full range of hotels. Alternatively, you could check out the flight/hotel packages offered by the big British travel operators like Kuoni, Thomson and First Choice.