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Testimonials from our Customers & the PressDon't just take our word for it. Read what our customers have to say...... .................................... The two of you are a PERFECT combination of knowledge, hospitality, saavy, organization and FUN! We would recommend Caribbean Sky Tours with the highest praise. Please share our email address with anyone who would like to get a reference. Your organization and trip administration is very, very extraordinary. For the future: YES! We want to go again! I heard several in our group talk about Costa Rica. I liked the idea of returning to Veracruz. I liked the atmosphere in Veracruz. Some of us will repeat and others will be added in. It might be a shame to go to the same places, but Campeche was an extraordinary city with such an unusual atmosphere of community..... We just can't make up our minds what we liked best. Every time someone asks us about the trip, we end up telling a different story. There is too much to say to compress it into a conversation. Joyce and Wendell Rust .................................... Hello Pia & Rick, Thank you for your recommendation. We had an extensive guided tour of the hacienda. You pretty much have to see it to believe it. It’s a photographer’s paradise; I probably took over 100 pictures. The buildings and grounds are amazing, and every single room is a wonder unto itself. This was a place we could never have found without you. It couldn’t have been nicer! Villa Mexicana in Zihuatanejo turned out to be a pleasant little spot for our “alternator layover.” We had a fantastic dinner the last night just a short walk down the beach. And Ixtapa was wonderful, as always. We enjoyed both Morelia and San Miguel de Allende very much, but they were, of course, totally different experiences. Morelia is magnificent with splendid architecture. The hotel in Morelia was extraordinary, and the location, opposite the cathedral, was ideal. Our room was very grand and beautiful. In fact, everything was perfect. We tried several of the restaurants you recommended. The food was very good at all three, and the service was excellent. The hotel in San Miguel, was different from the one in Morelia. They almost couldn’t be more different, but we enjoyed them both for different reasons. We also had a memorable dinner on a terrace with the lighted cathedral off in the distance at a restaurant in the Institute of Art. We took a trolley tour that was guided in Spanish and English. Thank you for planning another great winter trip for us. There is no way we could have seen and done so much without your help. Gladys and Bill .................................... Rick and Pia, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for the wonderful tour you provided for the Flying Farmers. Everyone expressed their highest approval of all aspects of the tour. Thanks Rick for your unending assistance with the paperwork and translation. Pia, thanks for the great choice of tours and hotels I don't see how you could have done better. You were both delightful to travel with. We had a great time and a lot of fun. Thanks, Burl Scherler .................................... Dear Rick and Pia, WOW!!! You talk about personal service; our trip from Key West to Panama was not only safe but fun with Rick riding as co-pilot. The ease with which we transitioned the multiple countries we visited is indescribable because of Rick’s extensive preparation and knowledge of each countries rules and regulations. His wife Pia even brought us lunch at our stopover in Cancun (thanks Pia!). Because of Rick’s people skills and fluent Spanish, we were treated like Rock Stars at each airport. Before our trip, Kim and I were very concerned about the paperwork, etc. our dog Midas was going to need to travel with us, but once again Rick did his homework and traveling with Midas was a breeze. Being a low time VFR pilot, it was a tremendous comfort knowing that Rick is a CFII/MEI pilot and could handle just about any situation that could come up. All our flying legs went without a hitch (thanks Rick). Rick and Pia took care of every single detail you could think of on a trip of this magnitude (13 hours!!). Fortunately, this isn’t our last experience with Caribbean Sky Tours, as we have already hired Rick and Pia for our trip back to the states. But this time, we will use their extensive knowledge of Mexico and spend a few weeks instead of a few hours in that beautiful country. Since our trip, Rick has stayed in touch with us and we feel he has become a personal friend of ours and not just a business acquaintance. Anyone wishing for a personal recommendation, please do not hesitate to email us at NFL20@hotmail.com Thanks again, looking forward to our trip back!!! Dave and Kim Texeira .................................... Rick and Pia- .................................... Dear Pia and Rick, I want to again thank you for the arrangements you made for my son (both Private pilots, instrument rated) and I on our recent vacation around the Yucatan Peninsula. Our vacation was ten days long taking us from key west to Cancun, to Xcalak, to Xpuhil, to Palenque, to Campeche, to Holbox and back to Cancun and Key West. We went diving along the incredible Mexican and Belizian Coastal Reef. We toured the less traveled Mayan sites across the Yucatan Peninsula, including the incredible adventure up the Usumacinta River along Guatemala to the Yaxchilan ruins. Swimming with the whale sharks on beautiful Holbox Island was as memorable as landing on their 2100 foot dirt runway. All in all it was an adventure to be remembered which without your thorough preparation and pre-planning would have been impossible. Sincerely yours, .................................... Dear Rick & Pia, Thank you so much for a truly excellent adventure. When I signed up for the trip I didn't really know what to expect, and was simply looking for experience flying in Mexico. The trip you put together exceeded all of my expectations and was wonderful. You are an excellent team and your skill sets compliment each other in a very unique way. Rick's knowledge of flying in Mexico made me feel extremely comfortable flying in a foreign country - Comfortable enough that my solo legs were easy and fun! Pia's skill and knowledge of the locations and culture made the trip educational and entertaining, and her choices of hotels and dining locations was exceptional. While the trip was excellent and the memories will last a long time, I hope the friendships will last even longer. I enjoyed getting to know the both of you, and hope that we will keep in touch. Thanks again, Robert Johnson .................................... I had wanted to fly the Yucatan for several years now, but had no reliable source of information. Until recently, there was no reference guide for the Yucatan like the Caribbean Pilot’s guide, and you were on your own. That is until I was introduced to Rick and Pia Gardner from Caribbean Sky Tours. Rick has written a wonderfully comprehensive guide to the airports of the Yucatan that is specifically aimed at the American pilot flying a private aircraft to this destination. I first contacted Rick to buy his guide and wound up hiring Caribbean Sky tours to organize our trip for us. Pia (Rick’s wife and business partner) designed a tour for us that circled the Yucatan anticlockwise from and back to Cancun. They were both consummate professionals and I recommend them highly. Michel Lapointe, .................................... Rick & Pia, Thank you so much for your great assistance in making our trip to Mexico such a great experience. We had a wonderful time and everything went perfectly smooth. Palenque was great. We were within 5 minutes of our scheduled time and the van was waiting. Our guide was very knowledgeable and experienced. His English was good. He thinks the Mayans actually had connections somehow with the Egyptians and Southeast Asians because of the similarities in their styles. I'm still a bit skeptical but I see his point. Our stay in Cozumel was great. We rode around on mopeds and took a lot of pictures. The flight back went well. Customs at Key West was routine. We were on time and had the 178 form filled out. We made if back to Nashville late and encountered a little weather during the last 20 minutes. Thanks again for your excellent help. Tim Siktberg .................................... Let me start out by saying many thanks to Rick Gardner at Carribean Sky Tours. Rick and his wife Pia run a terrific business that you can order a la carte or let them handle everything. Rick and Pia go out of their way to arrange things, get you great discounts and overall make things great.... Steve Elefant .................................... Christmas Holiday in Mexico Thanks to Rick & Pia of Caribbean Sky Tours my fiancée and I had a fantastic Christmas holiday flying the Yucatan in our Piper Saratoga. .................................... Just returned from my first flight between the US and Mexico. Thanks in large part to Caribbean Sky Tour's "Pilot's Guide to Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula" and some telephonic "hand holding" by Rick Gardner, the trip went off without a hitch! Pat Kerr .................................... Pia, without all the assistance that I got from you, I do not know how I would have gotten all the wonderful things done that I did- the Whale Shark dive was very successful and worked absolutely like clockwork- the operator was really great, I would recommend them and look forward to sometime getting to see them again- your recommendation to have lunch on Holbox was right on and of course the air taxi was great no hitches- a truly great time and easy to do from Akumal. I will refer my flying buddies your way of course. Warmest Regards to both you and your Husband Rick- Thanks again! .................................... Hello Rick and Pia, I really want to thank you both for the help you've given me in getting information about flying and living in Mexico. I called the lawyer you recommended after we talked today and Rick, you're right -- he's a real gentleman and was really the first attorney I've talked with who gave me straight answers and advice. If we don't get the help from the Mexican Consulate (his advice), then I will certainly go back to him for professional assistance. And Pia, your kind help with getting a sense of what the different parts of Mexico might be like for a couple of U.S. expats makes understanding the issues far easier for us. In short, thank you both so much for your help in our efforts to find a place to land and live in Mexico. Best regards, .................................... Dear Rick and Pia, Pia, we want to thank you for the terrific job you did planning our Mexican vacation. All of the places you selected were, without exception, wonderful! On Isla Mujeres we loved staying directly on the most beautiful stretch of beach on the island. Valentine’s Day brought a romantic, moonlight dinner on the beach. That evening will always be a treasured memory of our trip. Our guided tour of Chichen Itza was fantastic. Merida was magical, with its splendid architecture, and the small boutique hotel you recommended was wonderful. Campeche was the quintessential Mexican town, very colorful, and the hotel you selected for us there was elegant. In Oaxaca we enjoyed visiting the Monte Alban and Mitla archeological sites and the splendid cathedral. We absolutely loved the hacienda where we stayed. It was beautifully maintained and had an excellent restaurant. Our stay in Ixtapa, which we had visited once before, was even more fun this time because, of all crazy things, we went skydiving! In Huatulco you booked us into a beautiful all-inclusive seaside resort that we enjoyed very much. And last, but certainly not least, you found us a wonderful hotel in Veracruz. We loved being so close to all the activity, with singers and dancers entertaining nightly on the central stage. All in all, this was one of the most enjoyable flying adventures we have ever had. We’re looking forward to having you help us with our plans for next year. As for the aviation aspects of the trip, Rick, you far exceeded our expectations. When we met in Marathon, Florida I knew immediately I was in good hands. Your Pilot’s Guide, in color no less, was invaluable… airport information, location of the various airport authorities, sample copies of all documents needed (US and Mexican), contact information, emergencies & repairs. The trip across the Gulf was a nice adventure as we flew our planes together. Having you in Cancun helping us at the airport of entry at a big-time airport made the process very easy. In Campeche, your good friend, the airport commander surprised us with an unusual greeting. We had been cleared to land by Campeche Tower, and just as our wheels touched down on the run way, he took the frequency and said, ”Señor Bill Dowd, welcome to Campeche!” In over 2,500 hours of flying, this was a first. We had our emergency when we lost our alternator between Chichen Itza and Merida. Three days later, within 1 hour of our planned departure, we left Merida with a replacement alternator (FAA tag and all). Rick found a replacement alternator in Mexico City, got it delivered to Merida, and stayed on top of the repair work by cell phone with the mechanics. Talk about being in good hands, well, I was delighted to be in your capable hands, Rick. Thank you again. As to 2009, we are planning a return to Mexico, and are looking forward to working with you on that itinerary. You are a dynamite team! Thanks for everything. Sincerely, .................................... My company provides a variety of aviation services to clients and I recently received a call to ferry a newly purchased aircraft from the Atlanta, Georgia area to Guatemala City. The timetable was short and I had only 2 days to prepare for the trip. Although I frequently fly to the Caribbean and outlying areas I had not flown in the Guatemala area. I had heard about this new company, Caribbean Sky Tours, I was in a bit of a quandary because of the timeframe and decided to call and ask for assistance in planning and executing the flight. On the stop at Key West, the local radar and FSS facilities were out of service due to power failures. I called Mr. Gardner and from his office in Mexico, he became my weather briefer and with a routing that circumvented a wide area of weather over the Gulf of Mexico. Upon arrival in Mexico, and checking in with the DGAC, an unexpected document issue surfaced that without Mr. Gardner’s close relationship with officials, could have caused significant delays. I endorse Caribbean Sky Tours as a company that understands the needs of clients and will go the extra step(s) to make sure that the experience has been MORE than what was expected. Cliff Izer .................................... Hi Rick, Just a quick note to thank you for the local air taxi recommendation. The trip came off flawlessly. The plane arrived on time and was in impeccable condition. Paco, the pilot, was terrific. He flew us over Chichen Itza at 1000' just before we landed. The taxis were waiting for us at the Chichen Itza airport and they hooked us up with an excellent guide at the site, Alvaro. Four hours later we were back at the airport for the return flight. Definitely a highlight of the trip. You have definitely sparked my interest in a return trip to the Yucatan. Thanks so much, Steven I. Peretz ....................................
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