Island flying adventures: The Bahamas and Caribbean

The AOPA website has extensive information and assistance for pilots who would like to fly outside the U.S. Another excellent resource is Caribbean Sky Tours, with offices in Florida and Mexico. Join the Caribbean Sky Tours Pilots Association for $49.99 a year and enjoy access to a wealth of flight planning information specially tailored for flights to Mexico, The Bahamas, other Caribbean islands, and Central and South America. Services include eAPIS help, international fuel prices and weather, downloadable charts, country-specific regulations, procedures, forms, pilot guides, online forums, and member pricing on additional services to smooth your way in and out of international airports.

The Bahamas: The Bahamas actively encourage GA pilots to visit their numerous islands, surrounded by turquoise waters. And they’re so close: From Palm Beach International, it’s only 75 nautical miles east to Grand Bahama International Airport in Freeport. Another 87 nm east and you’re at Marsh Harbour International on Great Abaco Island. Marsh Harbour International is an airport of entry, so you can skip Freeport if you prefer. On the Abacos and other Out Islands, your phone and internet service can be spotty, but so what? You’re on island time! Walk, grab a taxi, or rent a golf cart to get around. Island-hop via ferry, your airplane, or boat rental—in the Abacos, you’re always within sight of land. You also can charter a sailboat or go deep-sea fishing. On Elbow Cay, stroll through Hope Town and visit the candy-striped lighthouse. From the Abacos you might explore Eleuthera Island or Norman’s Cay, where you can see a submerged Douglas C-47 Skytrain in the clear water. Land at New Bight Airport on Cat Island and get free pickup and pilot discounts if you stay at pilot-owned Fernandez Bay Village. They also serve great meals and have bikes, boats, and rental cars. Visit the Hermitage, swim in the blue holes, and snorkel with colorful fish before you depart for the Exumas, a 120-mile-long chain. Staniel Cay has a yacht club and resort where you can play with nurse sharks. Visit a nearby island with swimming pigs or the Thunderball Grotto, used in two James Bond films. On to Stella Maris on Long Island, where you can rent a house at the Stella Maris Resort Club and get a shuttle to the beach, or fly to the private Cape Santa Maria, a dirt runway reserved for guests of Cape Santa Maria Resort.

Turks and Caicos: Southeast of The Bahamas lies the British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos, an archipelago of 40 low-lying islands known for some of the world’s best diving. The more developed Providentiales is home to Grace Bay, consistently voted one of the world’s best beaches, and a long reef. North Caicos is the lushest island, with a protected lagoon and large flocks of pink flamingos, pelicans, and other birds. South Caicos is the fishing capital with a beautiful natural harbor and superb diving to breathtaking walls. Grand Turk, popular with cruise ships, is the capital island where Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World in 1492. Learn more about flying there in AOPA Pilot Editor at Large Dave Hirschman's feature, "The Meridian Club: Luxury, with a runway."

Holbox, Mexico: Isla Holbox is a small island off the Yucatan Peninsula just north of Cancun. This sleepy island with its dirt runway is where, in summer, you can board a boat that will take you offshore so you can swim right next to the world’s largest fish: a whale shark. Whale sharks can grow to 50 feet. Plankton eaters, they won’t harm you, but being underwater with a school bus-sized fish is the thrill of a lifetime. Other airports in the Yucatan allow you to visit luxury resorts or ancient Mayan pyramids.

Cuba: This nation, about 90 miles from Key West, is slowly opening up for GA travel. Walk through Old Havana, peer down the gritty side alleys, and marvel at the mid-century American cars. Learn how and read about AOPA Pilot Editor Ian Twombly’s Cuban adventure.