Getting To & Through The West Indies
Australian Passport Holders Do Not Require A Visa To Enter Any Caribbean Island That We Will Visit For Cricket Or Adventure, Though You Need To Pay A Visa Waiver On Arrival Into Trinidad & Tobago. If You Are Doing Independent Travel, Each Island Has Their Own Limits Of Stay Ranging From 21 Days In Dominica To 180 Days In Barbados.
The Best Reference For All Global Visa Requirements Is VisaHQ
GETTING THERE
No matter which way you bend it, reaching the West Indies in one go from Australia cannot be done. You need to overnight in the US or Canada and get a connecting flight the next day. Best option is get to Miami (for e.g.) ASAP, overnight there, and pick up a morning flight to arrive into your preferred island.
Unless you are travelling on a 'Round-The-World' fare, it is far cheaper buying Melbourne - Miami - Melbourne on one ticket, and Miami - CARIBBEAN ISLAND - Miami on a separate ticket.
There are near countless multiple daily direct flights from US and Canadian hubs to most Caribbean nations, with American Airlines out of Miami, the most prolific.
If you are coming from the UK, Virgin Atlantic and British Airways fly direct into several islands including Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, and Grenada, along with tags to St Kitts, Guyana, Trinidad, Tobago, and Aruba, and codeshare services to other islands with interCaribbean Airlines.
You can also fly a US or Canadian airline, or KLM and Air France from Amsterdam and Paris direct into our beloved St Maarten. You are not spoiled for choice especially if loyal to an airline alliance.
Search Flights To The West Indies:
ISLAND HOPPING
The term 'Island Hopping' captivates many and there may be no better waters than the Caribbean to do so even amid the turmoil of thunderous weather if not the blindness of glorious skies to reach your next tropical idyll.
Though we plan to include inter-island travel as required if you join us on multiple islands, if you plan to visit other islands book direct on:
- LIAT - Once a mainstay of Caribbean travel, now is a skeleton of its former infamy. LIAT may connecting 16 Eastern Caribbean islands, now with one or two stops. Use the Multi-City search engine to hop throughout the region, with online bookings through LIAT.com offering the cheapest options
- INTERCARIBBEAN - The new old kid on the rocks. Long-based in Turks & Caicos, interCaribbean has filled the void left by near-defunct LIAT and spread it wings to the eastern Caribbean. From their Barbados hub they connect all cricket nations (except Trinidad) as well as British and US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Cuba*
*If you visit Cuba, you no longer qualify for the USA Visa-Waiver program. If you intend to travel to the USA, for 11-years post Cuba, you need to apply for a visa and undergo rigorous scrutiny including physical interviews. Obtaining a USA tourist visa can take at least 3 months. If you have an existing ESTA but are found on arrival into the USA to have since travelled to Cuba, the visa-waiver will be revoked.
- CARIBBEAN AIRLINES (the original 'BWIA') - Connects the wider Caribbean from Suriname, Guyana, Cayman, Cuba, Florida, New York, and Toronto via their Trinidad or Jamaica hubs. They have recently begun operating smaller direct routes such as St Kitts with Antigua, and Antigua with Barbados.
- AIR ANTILLES - Connects the French Caribbean Islands, with Barbados and Antigua, as well as French Guyana in South America. Good Luck with their website!
- WINAIR - Connects the Winward Islands from St Maarten, incl. the world's shortest runway of Saba!
YOUR INCLUDED TRAVEL
As part of your Australian Cricket Tour To The West Indies 2025 we plan to include, as required, all inter-island travel.
If you are starting with us in St Maarten (SXM) we will get you from there to the 1st Test. If you are also doing the 2nd test, we will get you from the 1st Test to the next test. If you are then doing white-ball, we will get you to where we need to be.
If you are only joining us in Antigua and Barbados (for example), only travel between the two islands is included.
No matter which island is your last, you are responsible for getting off that island.
When buying your inbound flight, and based on you enjoying every day of our 'example itinerary' you should book a return flight (for e.g.) from Miami (MIA) to St Maarten (SXM) and then St Kitts (SKB) back to Miami (MIA).
If you're joining us for 1 Test on one island, then no travel included.
FERRIES
The Caribbean is not like Greece that has countless ferries connecting every Metaxa distillery north of Africa, which sadly means you cannot 'ferry' between cricket nations.
Primary ferry services connect regional multi island nations of Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & The Grenadines, Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Netherlands Antilles, and French Antilles.
The only company that connects two cricket nations is L'Express des Iles, connecting Dominica and St Lucia via Martinque on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday. This 4.5 hour journey has a flat price starting at €49 one-way. You get better information on Dominica Ferry.
There is a ferry from Union Island in the Grenadines to Grenada, but you first must reach Union Island from St Vincent, and of course only if the cricket is being played from St Vincent to Grenada or vice versa.
If you are following cricket independently and if you have time the ferries can get you to where you might want to go, on a day you don't want to go, and may end up a convoluted migraine inducing effort but that's up to you. For us, it's far easier to take a short flight and quick hop to spend more time on the next island!
- A Great Caribbean Ferry Reference is Travellers' Point
TRAVEL INSURANCE
It is imperative that you have adequate travel insurance to cover your time in the Islands. Caribbean airlines have a life-long reputation of doing as they please with your luggage or even your flight as we learned in 2015.
Due to fly from St Maarten to Antigua to Dominica, the majority of passengers were not going to Antigua so they flew direct to Dominica without one word said. Instead of a 5 hour journey, it was 45mins!
That was far from being a problem, I'm only suggesting you may end up somewhere unexpected, which may catch you out!
You may check in your bag and not see it for three days or your flight may be cancelled if there's not enough passengers or inclination to get it off the ground.
Admittedly, after 30 years, the regional airlines have improved out of sight but cultural DNA is impossible to shake so just make sure you are adequately covered.
SAFETY IN THE ISLANDS
There are not too many places in the world where a Government doesn't offer some kind of 'be safe' advisory so you can relax knowing this is the Australian Government understanding of life in the islands:
"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade does not produce travel advisories for Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, (St Vincent & The Grenadines), and Suriname, or any of the non-independent Caribbean territories at this time."
Suffice to say, watch your back in Jamaica, Guyana, and Trinidad!