Booking NYC-FLL-Cuba Tips

Not many people think a fare that is shared for a departure city that isn’t their own, could benefit them. However, as we have discussed in our article before, it is important to always keep the possibility of flying into another airport simply to get the best current pricing for a destination you want to visit now!

This is currently the case for the fares we shared: Fort Lauderdale FL (FLL) to Varadero or Havana Cuba for $150 Round Trip (RT). The travel times range from November all the way to April. This is obviously a great fare for people located in or near Fort Lauderdale but it is also a great fare for anyone else located close enough to where they can snag a low fare into FLL from their current city. This applied to half of suzzstravels, as one of us is located in New York City. Since we have a lot of you located in NYC as well, we share below HOW WE snagged the deal and paid $300 RT for both sets of tickets. Use our example to try to guide in how you can also take advantage of the fare. For our trip we booked to Varadero Cuba so the example will revolve around that.

current fare: LGA/JFK to Fort Lauderdale $137 RT nonstop on JetBlue, Virgin America or Delta for travel departing Nov-December.

Keep in mind:

You will need a round trip ticket (or two one-way tickets) from NY to Fort Lauderdale (FLL).
You will also need another roundtrip ticket (can’t be two one way tickets) from FLL to Varadero, Cuba (VRA)

How we did it:

We pulled up Southwest’s low fare calendar and input FLL to VRA for the time frame we wished to travel: November
We then opened another tab an pulled up NYC to FLL availability for November on Google Flights (under airline X-out Spirit if you are not a fan of theirs-we are not)
We then selected our dates: Nov 17-21 (Don’t actually click “book” on either flight YET)
Go back to the Tab: for the Southwest Low Fare Calendar. Once we selected our dates it allows us to see the two flights available for departure and return to FLL. We went with the option of both later flights because we knew we were going to need enough time to get from NYC to FLL and from Cuba back to FLL. Total: $150 RT. (Don’t click book YET, but come back to this tab every 5 minutes so that it doesn’t time you out)
So far we know the following: Fort Lauderdale to Varadero FL are as follow:
1. Departing Flight to Cuba Nov 17: 5:10pm.
2. Returning flight to FLL Nov 21: 4:55pm
3. Arrives in FLL at 6:00pm
Next i need my flights from NYC to FLL Nov 17-21. I know i need to get to FLL at least 2 hours before 5:10pm. Always give yourself at least 2 hours in between incase of delays, cancellations, etc. I also need to return from FLL to NYC after 8:00pm (not 6pm because since it’s an international flight i need time to go through customs when i land in FLL). I can’t do a round trip flight because the returning flight is only giving me an option of a morning flight (remember i need to return after 8pm to NYC). So now i open another tab for google flights and search on one tab for one way from NYC to FLL. I select to arrive to FLL at 12:39pm because that gives me an extra 4 hours just in case. I always go with having extra time rather than cutting it close. Total: $69 (I am sure this will work for me so i click BOOK now. Click BOOK if you are sure your option there works).On the second google flights tab i search for another one way flight from FLL to NYC. (Ugh, i know! No wonder people pay us to do this! But YOU can do it trust me!). I rather be safe than sorry so i go with the 9:30pm flight back to Newark instead of LGA or JFK. Total: $89. (I am sure this will work for me so i click BOOK now. Click BOOK if you are sure your option there works).
So now that i have my two one way tickets: From NYC to FLL and from FLL back to NYC (Newark in this case) i go back to my Southwest Tab and click “Book” for the roundtrip flight i selected. We suggest you do it in this order simply because you need to make sure your times for the flight out of NYC to FLL and back, work with your flight from FLL to Cuba first. In the end we have the following:
- Nov 17: One way ticket LGA to FLL depart 9:30am. Arrive FLL: 12:39pm (JetBlue)
  - Part 1 of our Roundtrip ticket: Depart FLL to VRA, Cuba 5:10pm. Arrive: 6:10pm (Southwest)
- Nov 21: Part 2 of our Roundtrip ticket: Depart VRA to FLL 4:55pm. Arrive FLL: 6:00pm.(Southwest)
  - One way ticket FLL to Newark, NJ: Depart: 9:30pm. Arrive EWR: 12:20am (Nov 22/Jetblue)
- Total for all flights: $308

We hope you find this information useful and that it helps guide you as to how you can take advantage of this particular deal and future fares as well! If you book this flight, don’t forget to share it with us! We love hearing feedback and stories.

Safe Travels!