Business Class to Aruba for the Cost of Coach to Hawaii

October 2019
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Get two tickets to Aruba for less than the cost of one in Business Class to Hawaii. And get almost two hotel nights in Aruba for the price of one in Hawaii.

Quick test: close your eyes and think of long sandy beaches, swaying palm trees and tepid turquoise water. Okay, have you just gone to Hawaii in your mind again. Hate to say it, but that’s the kind of default thinking we frown upon here at FCF. Of course Hawaii is beautiful. Of course you’ve had a great vacation there in the past.

But it’s not the only island in the sea. And for all its beauty, Hawaii is kind of expensive. Consider a tropical sabbatical in the Caribbean, and you can get two tickets (almost three) in Business Class for less than the cost of one to Hawaii, and almost two nights in Aruba for the price of one in Hawaii.

Or, you could look at it this way: You’ll almost get a free upgrade, as the economy ticket to Hawaii is about the same price as a Business Class ticket to Aruba! You get free upgrades just by switching destinations.

Closer Look At The Fares

New York-Maui Business Class fares with American, Delta, and United range from $1,739 to $2,567. Contrast that with fares from New York to Aruba in Business Class with American, Delta, and United, which range from $645 to $1,060. Delta might be your best bet to save on flights, as it flies nonstop from New York and has fares in the lower end of our range from March to June—as low as $645 round-trip.

This is where that “free upgrade” piece comes in. You can typically find economy flights as low as $600 to Hawaii, but by changing your destination to Aruba, you’ll fly in Business Class for about the same price.

For example, traveling March 17 for a week from New York, the Business Class fare to Aruba is $645, whereas the economy fare to Maui is $639.

The airfare savings in Business Class to Aruba isn’t for the whole U.S., such as many West Coast departure cities, where fares to Aruba or Hawaii are often similar.

Aruba vs. Hawaii Business Class Fares

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Save on Aruba Hotels, Too

Along with saving money on flights, you can also save on hotels. Depending on the season, the Marriott Aruba, for example, starts at $303 per night, while the Marriott Maui can easily run $500+ per night or more.

Let’s put it all together with an example traveling June 3 to June 10: New York-Aruba vs. New York-Maui and staying at a Marriott in each place.

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[["<strong>U.S. Departure City<\/strong>","<strong>Aruba Fare Range*<\/strong>","<strong>Maui Fare Range*<\/strong>"],["Boston","$749 to $1,167","$1,773 to $2,309"],["Chicago","$1,084 to $1,468","$1,734 to $2,096"],["Dallas","$1,085 to $1,306","$1,679 to $2,504"],["Miami","$650 to $860","$2,065 to $3,026"],["New York","$645 to $1,060","$1,739 to $2,567"]]
<small>*No destination just has one single price over the next 11 months, so we are using a range of airfares in the examples, with the exception being travel for the holidays, as fares tend to be higher during the holidays.</small>
[["","<strong>Flight (Business Class) from New York<\/strong>","<strong>Total Cost for a One Week Stay at a Marriott Hotel<\/strong>","<strong>Total Based on Two People Traveling<\/strong>"],["Aruba","$645 per person","$2,475 ","$3,765 "],["Hawaii (Maui)","$1,739 per person","$4,612 ","$8,090 "]]