We operate from ten nautical miles to one thousand four hundred and eighty-one. That spread is not a detail: they are two different products with two different logics, and this page explains which is which before sending you to any route.
The two catalogues
Central America: the runway governs. Drake Bay is 750 metres by 11 wide, Arenal 800, Tortuguero 950 by 12. At those fields the aircraft is not chosen: the terrain imposes it. Distances are short — almost none exceeds 160 nautical miles — and the flight competes against road and boat, not against another aeroplane.
Caribbean and United States: range governs. Miami–Punta Cana is 791.7 nautical miles and Teterboro–St Martin 1,481.4. There the destination runway limits nothing, and what decides is endurance with reserves. The competition is scheduled airlines, not the road.
Confusing the two is the commonest mistake when reading a charter catalogue. Do not ask for a turboprop on a thousand-mile sector or a jet for a runway eight metres wide.
Ground services at these fields are limited and vary by aerodrome and by hour.
Costa Rica
From San José and Liberia. No internal route exceeds 160 nautical miles.
Tamarindo · Nosara · Santa Teresa and Tambor · La Fortuna and Arenal · Quepos and Manuel Antonio · Tortuguero · Drake Bay and the Osa Peninsula.
Panama
From Panama City (PAC): Isla Contadora at 37.2 NM · Playón Chico and Guna Yala at 81.1 · Santa Catalina at 98.2 · Bocas del Toro at 161.3 · San José at 282.3, the longest international route in our Central American network. Also Islas Secas, with no public airstrip.
Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua and Guatemala
La Ceiba, Roatán, Utila and Guanaja in the Bay Islands. Belize City, San Pedro, Caye Caulker and Placencia. Costa Esmeralda and San Juan del Sur. Flores, for Tikal.
Caribbean and United States
From Miami: Nassau at 159.7 NM · Grand Cayman at 394.8 · Providenciales at 502.4 · Punta Cana at 791.7 · San Juan at 908.2. Also from Fort Lauderdale and from the northeast, with Teterboro as the main origin.
In the Lesser Antilles: St Martin, Anguilla and St Barths.
The extremes of the catalogue
| Sector | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Shortest | St Martin → Anguilla | 10.3 NM |
| Longest | Teterboro → St Martin | 1,481.4 NM |
One hundred and forty-four times the other. No single aircraft does both.
Where we will tell you not to fly
More useful than the destination list. We repeat it on every affected page:
Roatán has direct scheduled flights. Utila has a ferry from La Ceiba. Ambergris Caye and Caye Caulker have water taxis. San Blas is reasonably solved by road and boat. Liberia to Tamarindo is twenty-three nautical miles with a road.
Flying earns its place where there is no alternative — Drake Bay, Tortuguero, Guanaja — or when time, the group or the baggage change the arithmetic.
Frequently asked questions
How many countries do you serve?
Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua and Guatemala in Central America; the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, St Martin, Anguilla and St Barths in the Caribbean; and the United States.
What are the shortest and longest routes?
St Martin–Anguilla at 10.3 nautical miles, and Teterboro–St Martin at 1,481.4. One is one hundred and forty-four times the other.
Why separate Central America from the Caribbean?
Because they are two products. In Central America the runway imposes the aircraft; in the Caribbean range does. No single aircraft serves both.
Are there destinations where you advise against flying?
Several. Roatán has scheduled flights, Utila has a ferry, Ambergris and Caye Caulker have water taxis, and San Blas is solved by road and boat.
Do you always land at the final destination?
No. At Drake Bay, Tortuguero, Islas Secas, Guna Yala and Bocas del Toro there is a final leg by land, river or sea that we do not operate.
Which airport should I enter the country through?
It depends on the destination. For Guanacaste, Liberia is less than half the distance of San José. Worth deciding before booking the long-haul flight.