We spent many long hours banging away at Kayak.com trying to find the magic combination of flights that would bring the price under $1000 (per person at Christmas from California). We finally found a relatively cheap flight in to St Lucia and out of St Maarten. Our advice with these airfares is that they change quickly, and dramatically. If you see a price you like, go for it. Don’t hesitate – the price might be gone in a matter of minutes.