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Caribbean · Business class from the UK

Business class to the Caribbean: which island, and where the flight touches down

Barbados is the island the UK connects through, and several services to smaller islands stop there on the way. Gatwick, not Heathrow, does most of this flying. The lowest island guide fare is £1,610 (Dominican Republic).

Reviewed by Roger, Senior Travel Advisor

Updated

  • Barbados carries onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago
  • Gatwick, not Heathrow, is the Caribbean departure airport
  • The Bahamas fare prices Freeport, not Nassau

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Caribbean at a glance

Arrivals we price
8 cities
Business class from
£1,610 return, to Dominican Republic
Dearest arrival
£2,346 return, to Bahamas
UK departures priced
London, Birmingham (BHX), Glasgow (GLA), Manchester (MAN), Newcastle (NCL)

The lowest and highest of the guide fares on the city pages below, not a price for the region — each arrival is priced on its own page. How our fares work.

Quick answer

Which Caribbean island, and does the flight touch down first?

Barbados is the gateway the UK connects through. British Airways flies Gatwick to Barbados daily from 25 October 2026 with onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago, and Virgin Atlantic’s Antigua and Grenada services both touch down in Barbados.

Gatwick, not Heathrow, is the Caribbean departure airport for much of this flying — the opposite of most long-haul routes from Britain. Grenada is the sharpest example: its two London airports are priced over a thousand pounds apart.

Route facts checked 14 September 2026. The Bahamas fare prices Freeport, not Nassau. A visit to Cuba can affect eligibility for the US Visa Waiver Program, so check any itinerary routing through the United States.

Ask which airport the fare actually uses before you compare prices — here it is the question that changes the answer.

  • Barbados carries onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago
  • Virgin’s Antigua and Grenada flights touch down in Barbados
  • Gatwick, not Heathrow, is the Caribbean departure airport
  • The Bahamas fare prices Freeport, not Nassau
  • Lowest island guide fare £1,610 (Dominican Republic)

Two things decide a Caribbean booking more than the airline does: which London airport you leave from, and whether your flight goes straight to the island or stops somewhere first. Both catch people out, because both work the opposite way round to most long-haul flying from Britain.

In this guide

Why Barbados keeps appearing · Gatwick, not Heathrow · Which airport your fare uses · Cuba and the United States · Fares · FAQs

Why Barbados keeps appearing in other islands' flights

Barbados is the island the UK network connects through, and that shapes journeys to several of its neighbours. British Airways begins a daily Gatwick service to Barbados on 25 October 2026 carrying onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago. Virgin Atlantic's four weekly Heathrow flights to Antigua include a touchdown in Barbados. Virgin's Grenada service is a twin-stop by way of Barbados, rising to three times a week on 8 December.

So a flight to a smaller island is frequently a Barbados flight plus a second sector. That is not a criticism of the routing — it is often the only sensible way to reach these islands from Britain — but it changes the day, and it is worth knowing before you compare it against something that looks like a nonstop.

Island What the UK service looks like Read more
Barbados (BGI) The connecting point for the group; daily from Gatwick with onward tags from 25 October 2026 Business class to Barbados
Antigua (ANU) Virgin Atlantic four weekly from Heathrow, touching down in Barbados Business class to Antigua
Grenada (GND) Twin-stop via Barbados, three times a week from 8 December Business class to Grenada
Jamaica (KIN) Kingston rising to four flights a week under the winter 2026 programme Business class to Jamaica
Dominican Republic (PUJ) Punta Cana rising to four flights a week under the same programme Business class to the Dominican Republic
Cuba (HAV) No current UK nonstop we can verify; we confirm the routing on your dates Business class to Cuba
Bahamas (FPO) Our fare prices Freeport on Grand Bahama, not Nassau Business class to the Bahamas
Cancun (CUN) Mexico’s Caribbean coast rather than an island — same sea, different country Business class to Cancun

Gatwick, not Heathrow

Most long-haul flying from Britain assumes Heathrow. Caribbean flying does not, and getting that wrong is expensive in the small ways that spoil a first day — the journey to the airport, the terminal, and any connecting flight you had planned through the wrong one.

Grenada is the sharpest illustration of that on any route we cover. Its two London airports are priced over a thousand pounds apart, which means "a London fare to Grenada" is two completely different answers depending on which airport is meant. If you are comparing Caribbean prices, confirm the London airport first and the airline second.

Ask which airport the fare actually uses

The Bahamas is the case that matters most here. Our Bahamas fare prices Freeport (FPO) on Grand Bahama. Nassau — which is what most UK travellers picture when they say the Bahamas — is not the airport that fare uses, and George Town is priced separately. A traveller who assumes Nassau and is wrong finds out at the worst possible moment.

If Nassau is where you need to be, say so and we will price it as its own journey rather than letting an airport code make the decision for you.

Cuba has a consequence beyond the flight

A visit to Cuba can make a traveller ineligible for the US Visa Waiver Program, so any itinerary that transits the United States needs checking before you book. We are a travel company rather than an immigration authority, so treat this as a prompt to confirm your own position with official US government guidance.

On the flight itself we are careful: Virgin Atlantic last flew Havana in 2020, announced a resumption for 30 October 2022 and then cancelled it, citing the complexities of Cuban operations, and has not returned. Sources disagree about whether any UK nonstop currently operates, so we confirm the routing on your dates rather than printing a service we have not verified.

Eight arrivals, eight fares

Each island is priced on its own page with the date it was checked. On those guide figures were: Barbados £1,678, Antigua £1,854, Grenada £1,959, Jamaica £1,640, Cuba £1,677, Dominican Republic £1,610, Bahamas £2,346 and Cancun £1,917.

These are dated starting prices, and your exact fare is confirmed on your quote. These arrivals differ by more than distance — which London airport, whether the flight touches down, and how many sectors you actually fly — and one regional figure would hide all of it.

What moves these fares

Across the 8 arrivals in this group the guide fares currently run from £1,610 for Dominican Republic to £2,346 for Bahamas — one region, two very different tickets.

Within a single arrival, the UK airport you start from does more work than most travellers expect. We can price 8 of these 8 arrivals from more than one UK airport — London, Birmingham (BHX), Glasgow (GLA), Manchester (MAN), Newcastle (NCL) — and on 4 of them the cheapest departure is not London. The widest gap in the group is Jamaica: £1,640 from London against £2,896 from Birmingham (BHX) — the same journey, on the same dates.

Three things move these numbers beyond the departure airport: your travel dates, how much of the cabin is still open when you book, and which airline and routing the ticket uses. None of them shows in a headline price, which is why we price your own dates before anything is committed. How our fares work sets out the method in full — what a guide fare is, how the “from” figure is chosen, and the claims we do not make about it.

Caribbean business class FAQs

Questions that span the islands. Island-specific questions sit with each island.

Why do so many Caribbean flights stop in Barbados?

Because Barbados is the island the UK network connects through. British Airways flies Gatwick to Barbados daily from 25 October 2026 with onward tags to Grenada, Guyana and Tobago, and Virgin Atlantic’s Antigua service includes a touchdown in Barbados while its Grenada service is a twin-stop via Barbados, rising to three times a week on 8 December. A flight to a smaller island is often a Barbados flight plus a second sector.

Should I fly from Gatwick or Heathrow to the Caribbean?

Gatwick does much of this flying, which is the opposite of most long-haul routes from Britain. That matters for the journey to the airport, the terminal and any connection you were planning through Heathrow. Grenada is the sharpest case: its two London airports are priced over a thousand pounds apart, so "a London fare" is two very different answers there.

Which Caribbean airport does your Bahamas fare actually use?

Freeport (FPO) on Grand Bahama. Nassau, which is what most UK travellers mean by the Bahamas, is not the airport that fare uses, and George Town is priced separately. If Nassau is where you need to be, say so and we will price it as its own journey rather than letting the airport code decide it for you.

Does visiting Cuba affect travel to the United States?

It can. A visit to Cuba can make a traveller ineligible for the US Visa Waiver Program, so any itinerary that transits the United States needs checking before you book. We are a travel company and not an immigration authority, so confirm your own position with the official US government guidance.

Is there a nonstop from the UK to Havana?

We cannot establish one at the moment. Virgin Atlantic last flew Havana in 2020 and announced a resumption for 30 October 2022 which it then cancelled, citing the complexities of Cuban operations, and it has not returned. Sources disagree on whether any UK nonstop currently operates, so we confirm the routing on your dates rather than printing a service we have not verified.

Do you publish one Caribbean fare?

No. Each island is priced on its own page with the date it was checked. The islands differ by more than distance — which London airport, whether the flight touches down, and how many sectors you actually fly — and one regional figure would hide all of it.

How do I get a quote for the Caribbean?

Use the enquiry form or email info@expertsbusinessfirst.co.uk. We confirm what financial protection applies to your booking on the quote. Name the island, your UK departure airport, dates and cabin.

Know the island? Go straight to it. Still deciding? Ask us from here.

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Caribbean islands: Barbados · Antigua · Grenada · Jamaica · Cuba · Dominican Republic · Bahamas · Cancun

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