Getting to St. Thomas is straightforward from the eastern United States and involves one stop from almost everywhere else. Sixteen mainland cities have nonstop service, no carrier flies here from outside the Americas, and San Juan handles most of what is left.
This page covers how to reach the island from wherever you are starting, how long it takes, and which months are worth flying in. For the full route list see airlines, and for today’s movements see the live boards on arrivals and departures.
Flying In from the U.S. Mainland
Sixteen cities have nonstop service. Miami is the shortest run at three hours ten minutes and Minneapolis the longest at six hours seventeen. Most East Coast hubs sit around four and a quarter hours.
American has the widest network and United the second widest, with Delta, Southwest, Sun Country, JetBlue and Breeze covering the rest. Flights from Miami and the other Florida gateways run several times a day in high season and thin out in the autumn.
Nothing about the inbound leg is unusual. It is a domestic flight, there is no immigration on arrival and no customs check, and passengers walk from the aircraft to the carousel and out.
Flying In from Europe and Further Afield
There is no nonstop service to St. Thomas from anywhere outside the Americas, and no European carrier serves the airport. Every long-haul journey connects, almost always through a U.S. mainland hub.
One stop is normally enough, and total journey times are more predictable than the distance suggests:
| From | Total journey, one stop |
|---|---|
| Dublin | about 12 hours 15 minutes |
| Amsterdam | about 12 hours 40 minutes |
| London | about 12 hours 50 minutes |
| Frankfurt | about 13 hours |
| Paris | about 13 hours 35 minutes |
| Rome, Milan, Zurich | about 13 hours 40 minutes |
| Helsinki | about 15 hours 30 minutes |
| Istanbul | about 17 hours |
Miami, Charlotte, New York and Atlanta are the usual connecting points from Europe. The U.S. west coast runs nine to eleven hours through Dallas or Chicago, and Toronto and Montreal six and a half to seven and a half.
Non-U.S. citizens clear U.S. immigration at the mainland hub rather than on arrival in St. Thomas, and the documentation is the same as for any entry to the United States. The passport and entry requirements page sets out what applies.
Connecting Through the Caribbean
San Juan is the regional hub, forty-two minutes away and served by three carriers from St. Thomas. Anyone without a nonstop from their own city usually routes through it, and the connection is a domestic movement in both directions with no immigration formality either way.
Ten regional destinations have nonstop service, most of them flown by Cape Air from the commuter gates. Eight of those ten are foreign territory and need a passport, which catches out people booking what looks like a twenty-five minute island hop.
When to Fly
December to April is high season. The weather is at its driest, the cruise schedule is at its heaviest, and rates for flights and hotels are at their peak. Mid-December to the end of January is the tightest window of the year, and the holidays sell out months ahead.
May to August is the middle ground. Rainfall picks up gradually, crowds thin and fares ease. The Atlantic hurricane season opens on 1 June, but activity in June and July is historically low.
September to November is the cheapest and the wettest, and covers the statistical peak of the hurricane season. Availability opens up, including late bookings, and some smaller businesses close for part of it.
Booking earlier generally costs less than booking late, and midweek generally costs less than weekends, but the size of that gap varies by route and by season, and anyone quoting a fixed percentage is guessing. What is reliable is that high season sells out rather than simply getting expensive, particularly around the holidays.
What the Weather Actually Does
Temperature is not the variable here. The average winter temperature is 77°F and the average summer temperature 82°F, and the gap between the hottest summer day and the coolest winter day runs to around 18 degrees across the whole year. Daytime highs sit in the mid-80s most of the time, with nights in the mid-70s.
Rainfall is what changes. January, February and March each get under two inches. September, October and November each get more than five. The island takes around 40 inches across the year and most of it falls in those three months.
Showers are usually short. Easterly trade winds keep humidity lower than the latitude suggests, and a wet month means frequent brief downpours rather than days of continuous rain.
The practical version: choose your months on rainfall and hurricane risk rather than on temperature, because the temperature will be much the same whenever you come.
Today’s Flights
Live boards for both directions are on their own pages. Departures covers what is leaving today and what happens between the terminal door and the gate, including the customs inspection that departing passengers clear before security. Arrivals covers what is landing and what happens between the aircraft and the taxi rank.
Check the board on the morning of travel rather than relying on the schedule you were sent at booking.
Frequently Asked Questions
By connecting through a U.S. mainland hub, usually Miami, Charlotte, New York or Atlanta. No European carrier serves St. Thomas and there is no nonstop from outside the Americas. One stop is normally enough, with total journey times of roughly twelve to fourteen hours from most of western Europe.
September through November, which is also the wettest stretch and the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. Fares and hotel rates both drop and late availability opens up. December to April is the most expensive, and the holiday period sells out months ahead rather than simply getting dearer.
Warm year-round with little variation. Average winter temperature is 77°F and average summer 82°F, with daytime highs mostly in the mid-80s. Rainfall is the real seasonal difference: under two inches a month from January to March, and over five inches a month from September to November.
Yes, at the mainland hub rather than on arrival in St. Thomas. The U.S. Virgin Islands is U.S. territory, so the onward leg is a domestic flight with no further immigration check. Customs works the other way round: departing passengers clear it at St. Thomas before their flight home.