These Caribbean Destinations Are Just as Close to Los Angeles as Hawaii

23.08.2024 - 15:42 / travelandleisure.com

Hawaii has often been the go-to for Los Angeles residents who want a warm, sunny beach getaway (with a recent heavy focus on how to do so ethically). But what if we were to tell you that you can actually fly to parts of the Caribbean from Los Angeles faster than you can fly to parts of Hawaii? 

It’s a not-so-little-known secret that more and more direct routes are popping up from LAX to places around the globe. (And with the 2028 Olympics planning to bring in even more travelers to Los Angeles, all eyes are on the airport that serves more than 75,000,000 passengers a year.) But for those seeking sun and sand, you can find direct flights from LAX to parts of the Caribbean for 6 hours or less. Yes, truly.

Flights to and from Hawaii are anywhere between 5 hours 35 minutes to nearly 6 hours. JetBlue has a flight from LAX to the Bahamas (part of the Caribbean community though located in the Atlantic Ocean — don’t come for me!) that launched in November 2023, and Alaska Airlines has also added a route from LAX to the Bahamas (as well as from Seattle) that launched in December 2023. Both flights average about 5 hours 50 minutes, but with tailwinds, it’s often around 5 hours.

There’s also a direct from LAX to the Cayman Islands, which takes all of five and a half hours via Cayman Airways (it launched in November 2022). It started as a once weekly, and is now twice a week. 

The Cayman Islands were named one of the best places to travel in 2023 by Travel + Leisure editors and are famed for their white sandy beaches, culinary prowess, as well as snorkeling and diving.

While all airlines have seen the interest from West Coast travelers, it remains to be seen what other airlines will add to this growing flight path or if new flights will be added. JetBlue recently noted that it would cut some service from LAX, though currently the LAX to Bahamas flights continue.