Private Jet Exumas to Cape Coral

The Exumas and Cape Coral are separated by roughly 373 nautical miles, a compact sector generally flown by a turboprop or light jet, both well matched to the short runway and relaxed pace of Exuma International Airport. The flight itself takes under an hour once at cruise altitude, a brief crossing of the Straits of Florida that has made the Exumas one of the most accessible of the Bahamian out-islands for weekend travellers based on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The chain’s swimming pigs, iguana colonies and impossibly clear water have turned what was once a quiet backwater into one of the most photographed destinations in the Caribbean basin. Cape Coral, at the Florida end, offers a very different but equally water-centred way of life, a mainland city whose canal network is often cited as the most extensive of any in the country, giving most neighbourhoods direct access to the Gulf of Mexico. A short drive brings visitors to Sanibel and Captiva Islands, celebrated worldwide for shelling, while Fort Myers preserves the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, complete with Thomas Edison’s original laboratory and botanical gardens. The Caloosahatchee River has also built a formidable reputation among sport anglers, particularly those chasing tarpon through its productive backwaters each season, guided by captains who know these flats intimately. This route suits weekend travellers, yacht owners provisioning before a Bahamas cruise, and second-home owners alike, avoiding the inconvenience of routing through Nassau for what is otherwise a short crossing, and the customs delays such a routing usually adds.