Member's Home Forums General Discussion Central America Central America Aeronautical & Regulatory Looking for good stops

All,
Considering a trip (Bonanza and Baron) from FL down thru Caribbean, South America, Central America, Eastern Mexico back to FL.

Looking to stop at the following spots and looking for comments, and other good stops that we may have missed.

And places to avoid.... thanks.

Stella Maris
Puerto Rico (not sure best airport)
Port of Spain
Curacao (not sure best airport)
Aruba
Panama (not sure best airport)
Costa Rica (not sure best airport)
Belize (not sure best airport)
Cancun

Puerto Rico: Aguadilla (TJBQ), Gas is inexpensive. People are great. A very good destination. I highly recommend this as a stop. Northwest corner of PR.

Stella Maris: Expensive gas. Expensive fuel. Lots of Mosquitoes. Staff at the AP and hotel are lethargic. Fair accommodations. Beautiful scenery. Over all worth the trip. Be prepared to dig into you pocket for $.

East coast of Mexico, Tampico (MMTM). Very GA friendly. Great staff. Good place to stop. Not much scenery. Not expensive. Next stop Brownsville (KBRO)to clear customs. Nice people there too.

KBRO I recommend Southmost Aviation as the FBO. Gas is a little pricey although the people are very accommodating.

Kipp

Planning a trip to Cen Am in January 2011. It looks like we will fly direct from Tapacula Mexico to San Jose Costa Rica.We don't plan on stopping at the other countries due to the landing fees.Will we still need overfly permits for Guatemala,Honduras, and Nicaragua?
Darrell Shy
KCMA

Hello Darrell, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama require permits. Each one has their own unique requirements for requesting the permit and how it is approved. For aircraft under 12,500 lbs COCESNA (CENAMER) does not charge any fees, However, Nicaragua has initiated a US$ 100 fee which must be paid PRIOR to requesting a permit.

In San Juan, Puerto Rico you want to go to Isla Grande. Other areas of the island that we have had great luck with is Aguadilla TJBQ on the northwestern end of the island. There is CBP there and they are friendly and quick. Also fuel prices here are very attractive.

In Panama there are a number of airports. If you go to Panama City, go Marcos Gelabert MPMG versus Tocumen. The other popular airports are Bocas del Toro and David. The approach into Bocas del Toro is fabulous and they have an IAP but there is no AVGAS. They used to have AVGAS at changuinola but no more.

Costa Rica, I would recommend PAVAS (MRPV) over Santamaria as Pavas is focused on general aviation. they are also getting RECOPE to run the fuel in Pavas which should help stabilize service.

In Belize most of the airstrips are in good shape. Belize just implemented prior approval so be aware. Just remember that you can only enter and exit Belize through Goldson International Airport in Belize City. My personal favorite is Placencia as about 2/3 of the runway extends out into the bay west of the island. You need to definately be on the stick and rudder in a crosswind but it is a neat experience. Watch out for the road that goes around the eastern end of the runway, we gave the drive of a small van a surprise the last time we took off from there. San Pedro is OK but it gets a lot of C208 Caravan traffic from the local airlines so you have to push your airplane well into the grass to keep it out of the way.

Stella Maris is in great shape, the runway was resurfaced a couple of years ago and they have added a new large parking ramp. They have fuel and is international. A good option. If you plan on using the Cape Santa Maria airstrip be aware that it is not paved and if you have wheel pants they could take a beating as the surface is somewhat rocky.