Planning a circumnavigation of the Caribbean Sea. Which airports should I land at?

kicktireslightfires

kicktireslightfires

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kicktireslightfires
Planning to take a month to do a solo circumnavigation of the Caribbean Sea in my plane. Would love to hear from anyone with experience flying the Caribbean and Central America and Mexico. The attached map is a very tentative route that I can easily change. Planning to go this January or February.

The whole trip will be done VFR. I can land in less than 1,000 feet so any hard surface runway will suffice. I use 100LL and have 600nm range so I can do most of the eastern Caribbean island hoping without having to refuel. I would probably top up with 100LL in St. John's (TAPA) and wouldn't need to refuel again until Grenada (for the 380nm hop to Bonaire). Yes, I'll have a raft with me and plenty of safety equipment including PLB and Iridium satellite phone so I'm not looking for feedback on that; just seeking advice on where to land and maybe what to see. For anyone wondering about the Grenada to Bonaire leg, the FAA lifted the Venezuelan airspace restriction last year so no permit is necessary to fly from Grenada to Bonaire. It would be lovely if this thread could stay positive with helpful advice. Thanks in advance!

Trip.png
 
What are you flying?

Off the top of my head, cool airports I don’t see on your flight plan: TJCP, TNCS, TKPN, TDCF. Not sure how well the Grenadines have recovered but there are some great airports there: TVSB, TVSM, TVSC. If you want to try St. Barts I can give you the name of an instructor who does it, he’s part 121 in the area and instructs on the side. Don’t try it on your own, they will check your papers. SVRS is great.

Oh, and can I come with you?
 
Sounds awesome. I hope you write up a nice article about the trip and share it with us. Here is my 2 cents:
- We loved T&C. Grace Bay beach is incredible, and the food was amazing. The fees are steep, but life is short.
- We loved Santo Domingo. The airport was easy (the handler was pricey, but oh well) and the town has a ton of history.
- We also loved San Juan. Super easy airport and visiting the old town was amazing.

Any chance you can fly over Angel Falls in Venezuela?
 
Personally, TNCM and TFFJ are on my bucket list. TNCM so I can land over the beach for funsies and probably spend a few days there watching airplanes while chilling on the beach. Then, get certified to fly into TFFJ and do that because it looks like a really cool challenge.
 
That looks amazing. For the Mexico to Key West leg, how do you deal with Cuban airspace?
 
I think with Cuba you have to be on an IFR flight plan. I think there is a cost for the permit. You could ask Jim at Caribbean Flying Adventures. He has escorted trips through that area. I'm scheduled to go to Honduras in February with one of his trips.
 
LesGawlik said:
I think with Cuba you have to be on an IFR flight plan. I think there is a cost for the permit.
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There is a Cuba Overflight Permit that has to be obtained. You alluded to it but also implied that all you need is an IFR plan.
Tools said:
Can this be done basic med?
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BasicMed is currently accepted by the following countries, per AOPA:

* United States
* United States territories (Puerto Rico, USVI, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Guam)
* United States free-associated countries (Federated States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau)
* Mexico
* Bahamas
* Dominican Republic

So, you can do some of it, but not all. Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico... And then you've gotta turn around and head to Mexico.
 
Wow, what a trip. I’d love to fly from Fl to Caye Caulker in Belize; looks like a great airport on a beautiful island. Interested in following this thread for more information about Cuban airspace; always thought of this as the tripping point.
 
My experience in Belize was that other than Belize City, they aren’t very GA friendly. Most of the other airports are very small, require prior permission, and really don’t have the ramp space to accommodate anyone other than their commercial ops, which is mostly Caravans flying tourists. I had a trip flying a customer where we were able to hook up with some locals that allowed us to land at their private airport on a shrimp farm. Our other option was a crop dusting operation, but we were told that the runway was in pretty rough condition.IMG_8968.jpeg
 
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