Travel advice: how to fly to the Caribbean for less How much will I have to pay? Air fares to the Caribbean are generally quite stable. As a rule of thumb, the lowest standard ones start at about £620. Fares to Barbados, Saint Lucia and Antigua are usually priced at similar levels - Trailfinders quoted me £619 return for these destinations for BA and Virgin flights in November and between January and March from London, and the same fare on the Manchester-to-Barbados route. Some routes (to Montego Bay, for example) may have base fares of more than £700. However, sales and special offers can reduce costs by about £100. In September, BA and Virgin were offering returns to Barbados, Saint Lucia and Antigua from £505. It's impossible to know, though, when or if there might be another sale. When is the best time to travel? The biggest impact on fares is the Christmas and New Year peak. For departures between December 6 and 12, fares are now up to about £950. For departures from December 13 to 24 they jump to £1,200, before dropping to £950 for the rest of the year, then back to the £620 mark for weekday flights from January 1. Note that flying on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday incurs a supplement: normally £15 per flight. The Easter school holidays also push up fares. Departures on March 23 (the first Saturday) with BA to Barbados, for example, now cost from £779 return, more than £100 more than the previous week. Festivals and events can also have an impact on fares. For example, the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival is on February 11 and 12, Antigua Sailing Week is at the end of April, the St Lucia Jazz Festival from May 4 to 8 of 2013. How much is extra legroom? It's a nine-hour or 10-hour flight to the Caribbean, sometimes longer if you have to stop en route. So a bit more space can make a huge difference to your comfort levels, especially on the return leg, which is usually overnight. Premium-economy cabins on BA and Virgin give you an extra 7in of legroom, and other benefits, such as a bigger baggage allowance and a better meal. A return tends to cost about £300 to £400 more than in standard economy. Flying to Barbados in Virgin Atlantic premium economy costs £995 return, for example. But you could book in economy on the outbound leg and in premium economy on the return from about £760. Club- or Upper-Class returns to, say, Barbados cost from about £2,300. You can't normally book outbound in economy and return in business, but you can fly out in premium economy and back in club class from about £1,650 (these are fares I was quoted by Trailfinders). Where should I buy my ticket? The easiest way to be sure you are getting the best deal and are being offered the best choice of flights and routes for the Caribbean is to talk to a reputable specialist agent. This is one of the sectors in travel where standards of advice and expertise among agents are still generally high, and talking to someone, rather than simply researching on the internet, can make a big difference. Trailfinders (trailfinders.com) has long been the leading company in this area, and regularly tops our annual readers' awards poll. But it is always a good idea to get more than one quote, and other good companies to try include Dialaflight (dialaflight.com), Flightcentre (flightcentre.co.uk) and Bridge the World (bridgetheworld.com). The internet can be useful for a quick overview of your options - Skyscanner.net lists routes and the airlines that serve them, for example. But it won't tell you as much as a good agent. Should I book a package? There are two reasons to book a hotel at the same time, and through the same agent or airline, as your flight. First, it will probably be cheaper than booking each separately, and, second, you will have the advantage of all the legal and financial protection offered by an Atol-bonded package holiday. Confirm that your booking is covered by Atol, and that you will get a certificate to prove this, before making a payment. Trailfinders gave me the example of a package including seven nights at the three-star Butterfly Beach Hotel on Barbados costing from £775 including direct return flight from London - which is only about £150 more than the cost of flights alone. Going direct to an airline such as BA is also an option. The BA website, ba.com/caribbean, always has a list of offers. It is currently offering a seven-night break at the all-inclusive four-star Coconut Bay Resort and Spa on St Lucia from £1,029 per person (based on two sharing) for travel in January, including return BA flight from Gatwick, which it says is a saving of £630 per person on the usual price.