How to free roam Cayo Perico in GTA Online with other players

Connor Bennett
GTA Online characters on Cayo Perico

Grand Theft Auto Online players have got a way to free-roam around Cayo Perico with their friends, and alls you need to do is own a business or Motorcycle Club. 

With the release of the Cayo Perico Heist on December 14, many GTA Online players got excited about the prospect of having a new island to mess around on, and maybe even move to.

Sadly, that’s not been the case. The tropical, private island is solely used as a target for the heist, and while you can explore it just a little bit, again, that’s just a part of the heist prep work. There are no homes to buy, or frightened NPCs to terrorize with a gun. Instead, it’s an army of grunts waiting to gun you down. 

However, some players have found ways to get around the threat of the guns and trick the game into letting them and their friends free roam around the island without the threat of being taken down by El Rubio’s men. 

GTA Online Cayo perico el rubio character
The Cayo Perico heist is all about GTA Online’s new character, El Rubio.

Previously, players had found ways to explore the island by themselves, but the new trick – from Reddit user MrBossFTL3822- lets you bring friends along for the ride too.

It’s simple, really, you just need to own a Motorcycle Club or be the CEO of a business. If you tick either box, you then need to scope out the island as normal, and then start the scope out mission again, where you should then be told to go back to the airport. 

When there, as you enter the yellow mission marker, you need to request a CEO or Motorcycle Club job, before getting another contact mission upon reaching Cayo Perico, and then quitting it. If done right, the game will think you’re just partying at the beach, but you can look around the island.

How to free roam & explore Cayo Perico in GTA Online

  1. Complete the Cayo Perico scope out mission
  2. Start it up again and head to Los Santos airport as instructed
  3. Approach the yellow mission market and hover over request a job for CEO/MC work
  4. Enter the marker and as the cutscene starts, request a job
  5. When you spawn at Cayo Perico, request a contact job
  6. Quit it and head to the beach party on Cayo Perico
  7. You and your friends should now be able to free-roam without the guards attacking!

Now, if you think you can use this method to free roam and attack the guards, well, think again. The Redditor notes that the guards should be in Godmode, so you can’t kill them.

Unless players find a way to use this glitch as a way to exploit the heist itself, say doing it without guards spawning, Rockstar probably won’t patch it, but make sure you try it out if you’re interested.

About The Author

Based out of Liverpool, Connor is Dexerto's UK News Editor having joined the website in 2018 with a degree in International Journalism. You can find him covering everything from CoD, GTA, FIFA, Apex Legends, and influencer boxing. Need to get in touch? Email Connor at Connor.Bennett@Dexerto.com