Safe countries to fly to in Caribbean

mandm

mandm

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Michael
Looking for GA easy to fly to places in the Caribbean/Mexico/tip of South America, any recommendations? Any places to avoid? Are all pet friendly? Just want to make sure the plane would be ok sitting out on the tie-down for a week, with no unique procedures or fees.
 
Other than the Caribbean, there is so much to see in this country and Canada, why on earth would you go to Mexico or South America, especially in these times? Asking for a friend.
 
Several years ago, a group on here was trying to put together a Caribbean (flying) caravan trip. Can't remember how it turned out or if it ever took place. May be able to do a search and get some tidbits from that.

My in-laws just did a trip in Belize. They flew commercial, but based on the pics I saw, it seemed to be pretty safe (at least at the resort they were staying at).
 
Tons of great options in Mexico. I live in San Miguel de Allende and would be happy to hook you up with the resources necessary to do a trip anywhere in the country. To answer your one direct question: Any airport you would likely want to use will have a military presence, so no security concerns being tied down for a week.
 
mandm said:
Looking for GA easy to fly to places in the Caribbean/Mexico/tip of South America, any recommendations? Any places to avoid? Are all pet friendly? Just want to make sure the plane would be ok sitting out on the tie-down for a week, with no unique procedures or fees.
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Most places in the Caribbean are just fine as far as your airplane not having all the avionics stolen out of it if it's sitting there for a week. Expect landing fees and expensive fuel, and they have no shortage of forms and approvals. Careful with the pets, it's not going, it's coming back. US just changed its rules on domestic animals entering the country (I'd have to google it for specifics) which caused a lot of snowbirds to the islands to leave their pets at home.

Recommendations? Depends on how far you want to go. Not Jamaica and probably not DR. Puerto Rico has GA-friendly airports and it's the US.
 
I'll follow-up on @mryan75 . Best to leave Fido at home, I think.

If coming my way (eastern Caribbean), you'd need an import permit for every country entered, and this may necessitate a vet exam (de-worming and even lab work) before departing from each stop-over. Also, you'd need pet-tolerant accommodations (not as easy to coordinate as it may sound). This coupled with country-specific import permits can make things tricky, particularly if you need to divert and now don't have an import permit that's valid for the country to which you must divert. Uninvited dogs can be put down.

Otherwise though, the airports are perfectly secure and gloriously scenic. Some are far easier to deal with than others, and fuel prices can differ drastically. I can advise on which airports might be worth avoiding.

mryan75 said:
Most places in the Caribbean are just fine as far as your airplane not having all the avionics stolen out of it if it's sitting there for a week. Expect landing fees and expensive fuel, and they have no shortage of forms and approvals. Careful with the pets, it's not going, it's coming back. US just changed its rules on domestic animals entering the country (I'd have to google it for specifics) which caused a lot of snowbirds to the islands to leave their pets at home.

Recommendations? Depends on how far you want to go. Not Jamaica and probably not DR. Puerto Rico has GA-friendly airports and it's the US.
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mandm said:
Are all pet friendly?
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This is actually a much bigger deal than you would think. This link is a bit old I think but should give you an idea.

https://caribbeantrading.com/travelling-with-your-dog-in-the-caribbean-islands/

Things also change rapidly so do your research beforehand. Nothing like traveling to a country for a week or two only to have your dog quarantined for 6 months. My recommendation is to do some travel without the dog and get a lay of the land first. Also avoid St. Lucia.
 
Whatever you do, do not even think of flying to the Cayman Islands with a pet. Most animal-unfriendly country on the planet, you would need an import permit (with crazy requirements such as a rabies antibodies titer that is only accepted if it comes from one specific lab) and an export permit for your pet to leave that you would have to get issued from the local Department of Agriculture. And they seem to enjoy making the life of pets and pet owners particularly miserable.
 
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