flying to Peru, etc
Hello CSaffon,
We've got a similar thread going addressing planned flights down your route, but turning South after the islands and going through Brazil and onward to Uruguay and Argentina. I think the title of the thread is "Flying in South America" or something like that.
In any case, I've made numerous flights down as far as Nevis, which is just 5 miles south of St. Kitts and about 80 miles south of St. Martin. I don't expect the remainder of the island flying to be much different. If it helps, all of my trips have been in my 1964 M20E with 52 gallons on board.
Depending upon your goals, I can recommend routing and provide tips as far as Nevis. The short version is, it was low-stress flying after I got used to the long over-water stretches. You'll have customs and immigration to deal with, but courtesy goes a long way. Unless things have changed in the decade or so since I last flew that way, aviation has largely been accorded the same respect as maritime travel, meaning that the Captain and Crew of a private vessel are given a degree of latitude and in some cases official crew won't pay various taxes and fees for arrival and departure. Not a big deal either way.
It's almost always VFR, although I have found myself at night, IFR headed east from Puerto Rico flying IFR in uncontrolled airspace. An unusual experience.
Let me know how much experience you have so I won't bore you with the obvious, and any specific questions you have.
Rgds,
Don