Travel Alert! Non-Stop Flights via Orlando and St. Thomas, USVI

Want to explore the U.S. Virgin Islands for less? Spirit Airlines has announced non-stop flights via Orlando (MCO) and St. Thomas, USVI (STT) starting 11/08/18.

It should come as no surprise that I’m super excited to share that Orlando, Florida now has non-stop flights to St. Thomas! Let’s face it–we love to travel and even more so when we can get a non-stop flight from our hometown of Orlando.

Travel Alert! Non-Stop Flights via Orlando and St. Thomas, USVI

Jon and I had the opportunity to attend a reception last night with The U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism and Spirit Airlines. Spirit Airlines announced that they will now be servicing non-stop flights, 3 times a week, to St. Thomas. As well as non-stop flights from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to St. Croix (STX), three times a week. Flying to the USVI just got a whole lot easier and much more affordable thanks to Spirit Airlines.

St. Thomas has always held a special place in our heart. Jon proposed to me on Magen’s Bay in the heart of St. Thomas back in 2007. Magen’s Bay has been named one of the top 10 beaches in the world. It truly is–it’s tranquil, calm, and the perfect place to lay under a mangrove tree and enjoy the tanzanite blue waters.

Then we found out our baby boy’s test results while on our babymoon in 2013. Strolling that same portion of Magens Bay. Happy tears of joy when we heard he was healthy and he did not receive my mutated Fragile X chromosome. Hence his middle name of “Thomas” (part family and partly from the island).

Fast-forward 2.5 years from that day that we found out that great news and we got to bring him to our favorite island and our little slice of heaven, Magen’s Bay.

We’ve yet to bring our youngest, but that’s about to change.

We also have NEVER flown and stayed in St. Thomas. We have only ever cruised to St. Thomas. Now that Spirit has a non-stop flight, we are already looking at when we should travel with the kids to St. Thomas. Heck–we see an adult’s only weekend in our near future.

Is it safe to visit St. Thomas?

Of course, many people have asked what is the current status of the U.S. Virgin Islands since last year’s devastating hurricanes. Yes, it’s absolutely safe to visit St. Thomas. Here is a little word from the tourism department.

The Department of Tourism looks forward to welcoming you to the U.S. Virgin Islands! Our recovery from last year’s storms has been very strong. Power has been restored, beaches and attractions have reopened, restaurants are serving up extraordinary dishes, and the USVI spirit is as warm and inviting as ever. Airlines and cruise lines have returned to our shores, and many hotels, bed and breakfasts and condominiums are available to overnight visitors even as our rebuilding work continues. The USVI yachting industry is unrivaled, and we have wonderful villas to accommodate groups large and small. More hotels will open near the end of 2018, and we are confident we will have an even better tourism product. Please contact your airline, accommodations provider and/or travel advisor for specific updates before you travel. The best way to continue help the Territory is to visit us! Also, please visit usviupdate.com for more details. #USVIStillNice

Voluntourism in the U.S. Virgin Islands

This summer the U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Tourism launched Purpose in Paradise. Here is a brief synopsis of what they are all about. If you want to not only vacation but also lend some of your time and talents they have a wide-variety of ways you can assist!

Purpose in Paradise is a comprehensive program that enhances the Territory’s broad network of community-based philanthropic activities and strengthens our ability to attract visitors in search of purpose-driven travel opportunities. The initiative pairs visitors who are interested in helping the Territory’s recovery efforts with local nonprofit organizations in need of assistance with specific projects such as rebuilding a vegetable garden, coral restoration, helping to measure seedlings in mangroves or collaborating on student literacy.

So, if your looking to travel in the coming year, the U.S. Virgin Islands are definitely open for business. Thanks to Spirit Airlines, they are making it more affordable then ever to travel to paradise. Even better, you don’t need a passport to visit the U.S. Virgin Islands. So what are you waiting for? You can book flights all the way up to May 2019!

Disclaimer: We were not compensated for this post. We simply love the U.S. Virgin Islands and want to help spread the word about new travel offerings (hello affordable airfare thanks to Spirit Airlines), information, and ways you can volunteer while still seeing the island!