ADVENTURE FLYING & TRAVEL Dreaming of Traveling Abroad?

Air Journey has found the perfect destination for traveling during these times of COVID-19. After nearly a year of staying at home, the itch to travel has never been stronger and Air Journey is ready to scratch that itch with our latest Caribbean escape. The private island oasis of Ambergris Cay, in the Turks and Caicos, provides the perfect combination of exclusive change of scenery with the appropriate COVID-19 safety protocols.

Ambergris Cay is located roughly 600 miles southeast of Miami, Florida, and 100 miles north of the Dominican Republic. The island sits on the southeast corner of the string of the Turks and Caicos Islands that surrounds the world-famous Caicos Banks, whose shallow turquoise blue waters and surrounding reefs are so brilliant they can be seen from space.

Ambergris Cay has been a private island since its purchase in 1811 and saw little development until the late twentieth century when modern infrastructure was put in place, catering to an upscale clientele looking for privacy and rustic Caribbean charm.

My first visit to Ambergris Cay was in 2011. Since then there’s been a change of ownership and the opening of a luxury boutique hotel and villas with 10 unique stand-alone beach-front bungalows, each with its own private plunge pools. A self-sufficient island, Ambergris Cay is the ideal destination for social distancing.

 

What makes it unique for us aircraft owners and operators? Ambergris Cay has its own 5,700-foot private runway that protrudes into the surrounding turquoise waters. It provides a picturesque and unique approach for pilots, and ranks among the most amazing approaches I’ve done on my many Journeys around the world. You are greeted by the 50 shades of blue encompassing the runway as it jolts out at you. It gave me the impression of landing on an aircraft carrier, with all the thrills.

Air Journey arranges to have customs and immigration brought over from Providenciales to be on-island for our arrivals. The Turks and Caicos requires a negative PCR test to be taken within five days of your arrival date. When we visited, upon landing we were greeted by officials from the health department, who requested printed proof of our negative PCR test and our TCI Assured approval form. The TCI Assured Form is another step-in pre-arrival paperwork that Air Journey completes on your behalf.

Once cleared by the health department officials, we had our temperatures checked and walked through a tented tunnel emitting a disinfectant spray that leads to the customs and immigration agents. A glass of champagne in hand and a friendly welcome from our butler, Francisco, and we officially arrived.

Guests move around the island in their assigned golf carts, available to you for the entirety of your stay. From landing your airplane, jumping into your golf cart, and a direct path to your beachfront suite within minutes—what could be better?

Each of the 10 one-bedroom beachfront bungalows offer stunning beach and ocean views through their wall of windows, superbly decorated in contemporary Caribbean décor with high ceilings, king beds facing the ocean, and a seating area. Your outside space is just as well appointed with a large wrap-around veranda containing ample seating, an outdoor shower, and a private plunge pool facing the beach, heated to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The surrounding landscape employs native species of plants and cactus, keeping the island in a minimally disturbed natural state.

With safety precautions heavy on our minds, Ambergris Cay provides the ideal solution to our travel wants and needs at this time. The small boutique nature of the property limits your interactions with others and allows for plenty of social distancing. See as many or as few people as you would like during your stay. All the venues are outdoors or in open-air facilities, permitting a fresh air breeze to sweep through at all times. There was a steady 10- to 12-knot wind during my most recent stay. Most of the staff on island have received the COVID-19 vaccine, adding an extra layer of protection.

The island offers an abundance of outdoor activities and adventures for their guests, including access to the resort’s non-motorized water sports—snorkeling, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards (SUPs) and sailboats. The resort provides bicycles for the more active guests, tennis courts, and a fitness trail with various obstacles for those looking for a workout. The property also has a gym.

Set out to a neighboring deserted island for pure relaxation and catered lunch surrounded by…no one. Do you like to fish? Ambergris Cay offers complimentary bone and reef fishing for their guests! We had sightings of sea turtles, sting rays, lemon sharks, and more. With so much seclusion, grab your drone! There are so many areas to fly your drone with no obstacles, except occasional wind. If you’re part of that world, you will love it.

Our time on Ambergris Cay was purely relaxing but sadly had to come to an end. It proved to be the ideal destination to recharge the batteries and to change our daily views from this past year, all while keeping us in a safe environment.

The United States’ newest requirement of a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of your re-entry into the country was no problem for Ambergris Cay. They have an on-site nurse that can administer a rapid antigen test in accordance with the US regulation.

There is no fuel on the island so for those aircraft requiring fuel prior to departure, a short 15-minute flight over to Providenciales to fuel and clear outbound customs/immigration gets you on your way in no time.

Air Journey is offering an additional seven departures until the middle of May. Check our website to join us.

We have more offerings to the Caribbean planned into the summer, and hope to offer our Journey to Greenland and Iceland in June. We’ve also optimistically started planning our latest European Journey for September. We are ready to travel and hope you will join us!

Air Journey founder Thierry Pouille has visited 172 countries and landed in more than 95 in his or in Air Journey participants airplanes. For more information on guided flying tours, see www.airjourney.com.