Included / Not Included –
Included: Accommodations and meals at the lodge, guided fishing, round-trip transfers (charter flight) from Cancun airport to the lodge, maid service and hand laundry, licenses.
Not Included: Airfare to Mexico, hotel, meals and transfers in Cancun, alcoholic beverages, phone service, staff and guide gratuities, flies, departure taxes.
Travel Logistics:
Arrival Information: To get to Playa Blanca, you will need to make flight arrangements to Cancun, Mexico. From there, the lodge will provide an air-charter to fly you directly to the lodge. When making your flight arrangements you must plan to arrive in Cancun no later than 2:00PM and schedule return flights no earlier than 11:00AM. Any flights that do not fall within this time period must be approved 30 days in advance and may result in an air charter surcharge. Note: Any flight changes received by the lodge less than 72 hours prior to arrival may incur an extra charter fee.
Getting to the Lodge: If you arrive in Cancun the day you are scheduled to arrive at the lodge you will be met by a lodge representative in the Arrival Lobby after clearing customs. The representative will arrange for you and your baggage to be transferred to the General Aviation Terminal by car. You will then board a plane and take an approximately 50 minute flight directly to the Casa Blanca / Playa Blanca airstrip. Once you arrive at the island, you will take a nine-mile trip (about 25 minutes) over an unimproved road in the back of an open truck. The truck has benches but be careful not to get hit by branches and palm fronds!
Departure Information: On your departure day you will take a morning charter flight back to Cancun and points beyond.
Documentation Requirements:
You must have a valid US passport to enter Mexico. This will be used to obtain your Mexican Tourist Card. Keep your copy of the card with you during your stay. Expect to pay a departure tax of approximately $20 US when leaving Mexico, however, many times this tax is already included in your ticket so check with your ticket agent.
Currency:
The official currency of Mexico is the Peso. If you plan to spend time in Cancun we find it beneficial to exchange currency and pay in Peso’s. The lodge readily accepts US dollars, personal checks, and traveler’s checks for all your incidentals and gratuities.
Travel Cash:
Playa Blanca Lodge does NOT accept credit cards so you will need to pay for all your additional expenses in cash. Your major cash expenses will be gratuities which will range from $240 - $300 for a week of fishing and alcoholic beverages. We recommend traveling with a minimum of $400 - $600. Small bills are great for miscellaneous tips along the way (drivers, etc).
Gratuities:
We recommend gratuities of $40 per boat per day for the guides and $15 per person per day for the lodge staff. The guide gratuities should be given directly to the guides and for the staff please give to the lodge manager to distribute to the staff. Fishing Licenses:
Fishing licenses are included and the lodge will issue your license when you arrive.
Climate:
Temperatures typically range from the low 70’s to the mid 90’s. Isolated afternoon thunder-showers are a possibility year round. Wind can be factor while fishing and the sun is very strong. Some days on the flats you may encounter some sea lice, we recommend wearing long pants when wade fishing.
Medical Facilities:
The closest medical facility is in Cancun, approximately 50 minutes by air from the lodge. Guests have the responsibility to disclose any special medical, physical, or dietary needs to the lodge ahead of time. In emergency situations, a charter flight may be required to reach a medical facility. Guests may want to consider medical evacuation coverage. We recommend Global Rescue.
Power and Communications:
The cabanas are outfitted with 110-volt outlets that accommodate all US appliances. There is no telephone at the lodge. If someone in the US needs to contact you in the case of emergency, they should call the US office. A message will be relayed to the lodge by radio. Also, the Cancun office can make radio contact with the lodge. Faxes can also be sent to the Cancun office for two day delivery to Playa Blanca. Occasionally, quicker delivery is possible.
If you need daily communication we recommend renting a satellite phone for your trip.
Water:
Bottled water is available throughout the lodge. We do not recommend drinking water from the tap.
Clothing:
Dress at the lodge is casual with shorts and sandals welcome. While warm tropical weather is the norm all anglers should bring along one warm layer as well as a good rain jacket. Full coverage quick dry clothing is a must on the water.
Laundry:
The lodge provides laundry service for a reasonable fee.
Beverages/Alcohol:
Beer and alcohol are not included. Please be prepared to pay your tab at the end of your stay. Beer and wine average $3-$4.00 and alcoholic beverage average $5-$6.00.
Tackle/Equipment List:
Rods: For bonefish we recommend 9 ft fast action rods for 7 and 8 weight lines. For permit and tarpon 9-10 weights are ideal. Bring as many 9-11 wt setups as possible as the come in handy for tarpon, cuda, snook, and permit.
Reels: Any quality anodized, corrosion resistant, saltwater reel will work. Get the best reel you can afford such as Tibor, Bauers, and the likes. Bonefish reels should have at least 150 yards of 20 or 30 pound backing and your permit/tarpon reel should have at least 200 yards of 30 pound backing.
Lines: Floating Mastery saltwater tapers and bonefish tapers in the appropriate weights. If the wind poses a major casting obstacle, consider the floating Mastery Wind Master in the appropriate weights in addition to the above listed.
Leaders/Tippet: Bonefish leaders should be 9-10 ft long in 1X-3X. Bring additional tippet material in the same diameters. Permit leaders should also be 9-10 ft long in 0X-2X. Tarpon leaders should be pre-made in either 15 or 20-pound class with shock tippets ranging from 80-100 lb test. Also bring wire tipped leaders in the 20 pound class for barracuda
Flies: Bonefish: A wide range of patterns are effective in sizes 2-6. Be sure have un-weighted flies, moderate (bead chain eyes) weighted flies, and heavy flies with lead eyes to meet different conditions and water depths. The most popular colors are cream and tan followed by pink, white, and brown. Some popular patterns include crazy Charlies, Christmas Island specials, baited breaths, bitters, gotchas, and puffs. Were you only to bring a few flies be sure to bring the Squimp in tan #2-4, Vervuka’s Mantis Shrimp in #4, and tan Clouser Minnows with red eyes in #2-4. Permit: Light tan and cream color crab patterns are the top pick. Have them in #1-4. Popular patterns include the Casa Blanca rag head, McCrabs, Spawning Shrimp, Del Brown’s crab, and #2-2/0 Clouser minnows in tan and chartreuse. Tarpon: Black patterns in #2/0-4/0 are the most popular patterns but cockroaches, Apte tarpon, sea bunnies, deceivers, and assorted poppers are also effective. Snook: bring along several large poppers in white blue and yellow. Barracuda: Bring along a few wire leaders and several long lean chartreuse “cuda” flies.
Waders & Boots: Wet wading with flats boots (Simms, Patagonia) is the norm. While fishing from the boat many choose to go barefoot or wear only socks, which offer protection from the sun. Quick dry shorts and especially quick dry pants are the everyday attire. You may also want to bring sandals such as Keens, Tevas, or Chacos when in the boat or around the lodge.
