Solo Guide

The Cayo Perico Heist is a heist that you can actually do by yourself, which means no idiots to screw things up, and you don't have to divide up the loot afterwards. But playing solo does have it's limitations. Unless you know the tricks you can't get into any of the rooms that require two key cards. And on the island there are doors that won't stay open unless someone else holds the door button down. But there are ways around these limitations. This guide will show you how to maximize your take in the quickest way possible. And to make things even easier play in an invite only session and don't invite anyone, so no one can bother you while you do your prep missions.

The Plan

If this is your first attempt at the heist you will need to escape the dance party and scout out the island for points of interest, entrance and exit points, find the radio tower, hack the signal box, look at the cameras inside Rubio's compound, find the power station, the airfield tower, and the underwater grate below Rubio's compound, plus any spots with secondary loot. Pavel will want photos of all of these things. If this is not your first heist you will start at the air field and all you really need to do is hack the signal box and see what loot is in Rubio's compound.

There are several ways to get into Rubio's compound, but if you're only interested in getting the mission done in under 15 minuites, the way to go is through the underwater grate, so you don't need to look for the truck, or the uniforms on the island, or the bolt cutters, nor do you care about the power station or the airfield tower. None of that matters but if this is your first heist, it doesn't hurt to take a look around.

Once you learn how to get into the doors that require two key cards in Rubio's compound you mostly won't have any need for the secondary loot locations on the island. You will fill up your loot back at the compound and leave the island straight from there. However if the loot selection in the compoud is poor you will want to head over to the main port or the airfield hangar and get better loot.

If while scouting the island you find the cutting powder used to cut the drugs you can use that to poison the water supply. Just pick it up and dump it in one of the two island water towers. It will make the guards sluggish and they will have a harder time shooting you during the heist. But if you do things right the guards will never even know you were there so this isn't really necessary.

Explore

The guards have a very narrow cone of vision. If they are looking away from you you can usually just walk around them. You can even walk right up to them from the side and walk behind them. So escaping the dance party shouldn't be difficulty once you get the hang of it.

The hardest point is the checkpoint not far from the party. There is a guard who patrols on foot and one in the guard tower. When the guards are looking away from you, if you are on foot, head to the corner of the checkpoint next to the cliff in the bushes and wait until the guard on foot is walking away and the tower guard is looking at the ocean, then run through the gate (making sure no jeeps are nearby), and run behind the building with the camera to avoid being seen. If you are heading towards the main port follow the cliff to the inlet, otherwise if the guards are still looking away run back across the road and follow the coast up to the pot fields and over to the radio tower.

If you are leaving the airfield grab the motorcycle and ride across the open field, around the graveyard, and past the ruins, then across two roads and follow the coast until you get to the field in front of the checkpoint. When the guard in the tower is looking at the gate ride fast across the field and aim for the rock face near the tower. If you try the left side you will not make it over the gap and onto the cliff beyond. You will fall down and have to try again. If you aim for the right side and keep your front wheel up you should make it across without any trouble, then you can just ride the bike to the radio tower. Worst case is you crash and land on the other side of the checkpoint without your bike and lose a lot of your health.

Once you hack the signal box at the tower and view the cams inside of Rubio's compound this is where you decide how you are going to run this heist and how much more of the island you need to explore. If the primary target is low value, like the bottle of tequilla, then you are going to want to make up for it by grabbing the best loot you can find. If the primary target is good, and there is a painting in Rubio's office you will want to grab it, then all you need is one good stash of loot to fill the rest of your bag. There are two storage buildings next to Rubio's office. If you know the trick you can get into these offices without two key cards. This will be explained later.

If you have a painting in your bag and there is gold in one of the two storage rooms, grab that. If there is not any gold but there is another painting, grab that. If there is no painting in Rubio's office and there are two piles of gold then grab those. If there is one pile of gold and one painting, grab the painting FIRST otherwise there won't be enough room when you grab all the gold, and you will have to fill the rest with low value cash. If there is no gold or paintings in the storage rooms you may want to go to explore the buildings at the main port and the airfield hangar to see if there are drugs there. They are worth more than cash. Also check the shed in the middle of the pot field. It may have enough coke to fill your bag.

If you plan to fill your loot bag with gold bars or paintings or even cash at Rubio's compound then you don't need to explore the main port or the airfield hangar. The fastest way to get back to the hangar from the radio tower is to leap to your death. Boom! You're back at the airfield next to your plane. Head home. If you want to explore the main port the fastest way is to parachute off the top of the radio tower over to where the water tower is near the main port. Then once you've explored the port, steal a boat and sail up to the airfield. Patrol boats will not bother you while you are exploring. There is a loot cage on the ground floor of the hangar plus one on the second floor. You can use the fork lift to lift a pallet of boxes over to the fence and climb up and over the fence to the second floor.

If there is no good loot at the main port you can check out the north port. It's harder to raid the north port as there are more guards on patrol plus the guard tower but if you're not in a hurry to complete the mission it's worth a try.

Setup

The easiest way into the compound is through the under water grate, so you have two transportation choices, either swim form the sub or take the boat. If you choose to swim you will need to complete the sonar jammer mission. This mission can go smoothly or be a complete cluster. One thing that will help you on all of your missions is to purchase the helicopter that goes with the sub. This chopper won't take a lot of damage so make sure to protect it on missions, but it will save you a ton of time getting around, and you can use it any time you want. Destroying the attack helicopter and boats before going into the water will make your job much easier when you leave the Merryweather sub. The choppers that follow you will be much less agressive. Or you can attack with your sub if you have the added weapons system.

If you want an easier mission go for the smuggler's boat. All you have to do is back a truck up, shoot some police, grab the boat trailer, and drive onto the big railroad bridge and sit there until you lose the 3 stars, then drive it to warehouse. With the boat you have the option of going to either of the two ports or you can set your entrance to the main port and just turn and head over to Rubio's compound and take a short swim. Taking the boat to the under water grate is just as fast as swimming from the sub. You can also go to the airfield on the boat or stop at the pier and get the guard uniforms if that's where they are.

Then you will either need to grab the plasma cutter, or the combination for the safe. Getting the plasma cutter is a pain in the butt. Cars show up and blast you over and over again while you try to get the cutter. You can destroy them and new ones take their place. You might try stealing an armoured car from the police department and driving it there. Then you can shoot the crew from the safety of your truck, then park the truck next to the bag where the cars can't get to you and get out and grab it. The rocket launcher is the best approach if you're getting the cutter from one of the two alleys.

If you are going after the safe combination at the Diamond Casino, if you want to clear out a large area of bad guys, launch a rocket into the room. The fire will spread and do most of the killing for you. The same trick works when you are getting the unmarked weapons from one of the offices, just shoot the doors open, shoot the closest guards, then launch rockets. Enjoy the screaming!

Then you will have to get the torch from one of the construction sites. It's easiest if you just use your guided missles to take out the guards, then land your chopper as close to the construction site as possible (or on the roof) and then search for the torch.

If you have to go on the long tedious trip following the Merryweather chopper out to the middle of nowhere, you can race ahead and guess which of the three spots its going to and beat it there, then kill all of the guards on the ground with sniper fire, but do NOT shoot down the chopper or destroy it while on the ground or the mission is failed. If the pilot stays inside the chopper he will use high power guns to blow you to bits. You will have to snipe him first.

As a side game you can try this. Take your chopper high up a good ways to the side of the Merryweather base and parachute to the top of the building. They will not detect you if you are not in a vehicle. Shoot at the chopper on the copilot side. Shoot the copilot when he gets out. Go around and throw the pilot out and get in. Take off and hover for a second then land. Get out and go bump into the pilot. if you can knock him back without killing him he will get back into the chopper and begin the flight. Quickly run around and get into the copilot seat. If you succeed you can fire on civilans on the way and shoot at the mercinaries on the ground at the landing spot. If you kill the pilot or damage the helicopter the mission fails. If you can't get into the chopper in time just shoot it down and abort the mission. I have not found a way to do this succesfully every time. I think I will try landing on the other side of the pilot next so if he does get back into the chopper he will have to go around to the other side giving me more time to get in.

You will waste a tremendous amount of time flying between missions if you leave the sub in one place. It's well worth the $2000 to move the sub rather than waste 5 minutes flying somewhere just to start a mission. When you start a new heist it will put the smuggler plane on the far north side of Los Santos. Sit down at the controls and move the sub to the closest spot to the plane. When you go for the sonar jammer, move the sub nearby, or just skip this mission and do the smuggler boat instead, it's in town. When you do the three equipment missions move the sub next to the beach between the pier and the airport. The weapons mission will either be in an office in town or start at the Merryweather base so leave the sub near the beach. However if you need to restock ammo after the Merryweather chopper is in the air land at Ammunation and restock. You've got plenty of time to catch the chopper. If you don't want to pay the $2000 you can always go to where you want the sub and request it there.

The three missions to disrupt Rubio's weapons and armour supply, don't bother with those. They are very time consuming. Once you learn how to get through Rubio's compound without setting off any alarms, these missions accomplish nothing. However remember, if the guards have body armour you won't be able to kill them with body shots, even repeated ones, before they set off the alarm. So you MUST kill them with head shots or hit them in the head with your brass knuckles. And if you set off the alarm while exiting the main port by boat there will be additional choppers chasing you, you might not make it.

Once you are ready to start the heist, definitely buy the extra armour, you may need it. Select the sub and the grate as your entrance (or the boat and the main port if that's how you're arriving), the main port as your exit, and day time (unless you prefer night). You don't need any support (unless you are using the Velum and you will need the weapons stash!), so don't pay for it.

Enter

You will leave the sub and swim with your scuba gear under the mines to the grate, or if using the boat turn right at the main port and sail around to the compound, dive into the water, and swim to the grate. Once there you will use your torch to cut the grate free. Cutting the grate goes faster if you hold down on the torch and very slowly move the joystick across the metal bars. Once inside the compound follow the path. Sneak up to each person on the path and shoot them with your pistol in the head. If they make too much noise the alarm will sound. Do not shoot someone if another person is walking nearby or if they are in front of a camera or you will be detected. Shooting from too far away may also trigger the alarm if it's not a clean shot.

You will need to learn the path of the guard with the SKULL icon. He has a mini gun and heavy armour. If the alarm goes off he will tear you to pieces. He makes a short L shaped pass half way around Rubio's office, stops, turns around, walks back to the front steps, then makes a long circuit around the perimeter. Always time your moves when he is farthest away from you.

And always pick up keys or key cards that are dropped when you shoot a guard. The key cards are useless for single player, it takes two cards to open a door, but the keys open up the gates underneath and behind Rubio's office. They will make your exit easier but don't worry if you don't find them, it's an easy walk back the way you came.

Shoot the first guard in the head, he's just standing there looking out over the water. Walk quickly past his position and turn left across the grassy area towards guard 3's path (ignore guard 2). Guard 3 makes an L shaped circuit. You don't need to shoot him, just turn right after he passes and walk the opposite direction, then turn left.

Hury along the walkway closest to the outer wall, avoiding guard A's cone of vision, walk up the steps and turn left and follow the wall to the security camera. If you have been quick about it the camera should be pointing away. If so proceed down the corridor to the courtyard next the the main gate. Guard 4 who patrols in front of the gate should be walking away from you, if you were quick getting here, so turn left and walk between the two railings to the corner behind the trees, and if guard 5 is not in front of Rubio's office climb over the railing and drop down to the lower corridor that leads to the basement. There is a metal gate here that requires a key that leads to the basement where the primary target is. If you have the key you can enter here but most likely you will not.

At this time the skull guard should be a good distance away heading away from Rubio's office. Guard 5 will soon be walking back to the front of Rubio's office so wait here. Now is a good time to check your map to see which one of two storage rooms you plan on looting after getting the primary target. Once guard 5 is half way back to the main gate, climb over the next rail and go up the steps, turn right and follow him towards the courtyard. Shoot him in the head. If you are lucky he will drop the gate keys, if so grab them! Then go back towards Rubio's office but turn right and go around to where guard 6 is standing. Shoot him in the head.

If you have picked up the gate keys from one of these two guards, you need to decide what you are going to do next. If there is no painting in Rubio's office you might decide not to go up there and skip the cash in the hidden safe and just go in through the basement. It's up to you. If you go into the basement from Rubio's office you will have to hack 3 or 4 finger prints, but if you go in from the basement gate you will only have to hack 1 or 2. It's more about saving time if you are trying to go for the platinum challenge.

Once you shoot guard 6 if you are going up to Rubio's office you need to move quickly up the stairs, as guard 7 will change positions and move to a lower balcony. If you shoot him there you will have to be careful to not alert any other guards who might be on the ground below. So it's best to just hurry up after shooting guard 6 and wait on the stairs near the upper balcony for him to pause before turning, and shoot him in the head there. Then walk the rest of the way to Rubio's office.

The Heist

Inside Rubio's office, there is a secret safe behind a collage of photos. Open it and grab the extra cash inside and the med kit if you need it. If there is a special painting on the wall go cut it out with the knife and stash it in your bag. Then go to the finger print scanner and hack it to access the secret elevator, or if you have the gate keys its actually quicker to skip the upper scanner and run back down to the ground floor and go in through the basement. From the basement you will only have to hack half as many finger print scans. From the spot where you shot guard 6 you can walk past the metal gate to the main courtyard and jump over the railing and down to the second of the two entrances to the basement, or if the front steps are clear you can jump over the railing and down to the first entrance. If the skull guard is approaching the front steps you might consider hiding around the corner and waiting for him to turn left and walk around and shoot him in the head. This will make looting the storage rooms later much easier.

Once in the basement hack the safe, or use the plasma cutter to cut through the display case and steal the item inside, being careful not to overheat the cutter. The very FASTEST way to cut through the glass is not to maintain a steady heat level as you would naturally believe, but to rev the cutter from medium up to high and release, then repeat. Do this about 4 times and boom! It's open. Otherwise it can take a LONG time to cut through.

Exit

Here is where you will decide how you want to finish this heist. If you are going to fill up your bags from the storage rooms inside the compound or head to the main port or the airfield hangar. If you are going to loot the storage rooms then you will need to take out a few more guards. When you come down stairs to where you killed guard 5 or leave the basement through one of the two metal gates, look where the skull guard is. The two best places to take him out are once he turns left after walking up the steps to Rubio's office, walk from around the corner and shoot him in the back of the head, or once he has come down the steps and turns right, then climb up from the lower cooridor from the basement and shoot him from behind.

The west storage room is right across from the front steps past the fountain. The door closest to the fountain can be opened using a somewhat difficult trick to master, the other door can not. How you get inside is complicated and you may have to watch this video on YouTube to figure this out, but basically you put your back against the door in a crouch, with the doorknob against your back. If the hinges are on your player's right and the doorknob on the left, then your player's left shoulder should be on the door frame next to the doorknob. You then turn your player's head to the right towards the hinges, and this part is not precise, turn the camera angle left so you are somewhat facing the player's face. Then turn the player's head left and quickly draw your weapon. If done properly this will rotate your player so his arm and part of his body pass through the door and the door will open.

It took me about 12 tries to accomplish this the first time, but now I'm able to do it now in 2 or 3. Grabbing two piles of gold or two paintings will get you close to half a million dollars. So well worth the trouble of learning this trick (before Rockstar patches it!)

The other storage building is on the other side of Rubio's office. If you are going for this office you will need to take out skull guard as described above, but also guard C and avoid guard B. After taking out skull guard on the porch go back around to where you killed guard 6 and go straight past the metal gate to the courtyard and jump over the rail down towards the second basement entrance. Watch for guard B, if he's not nearby look where guard C is. If guard B is not approaching and guard C is not looking in your direction head towards the south storage room. If guard C is walking away from you follow him past the door that WILL open using the door trick, and shoot him in the back of the head, or wait against the wall across from the other door that won't open to the south storage room, and wait for him to walk past and stop. Shoot him when he stops. Then try the door trick on the door that faces Rubio's office.

After you are done looting Rubio's compound, head back to the steps in front of Rubio's office where the fountain is. If the skull guard is taken out you shouldn't have any guards here to bother you. Head up the steps that lead to the courtyard by the main gate and turn left to the corner behind the tree and wait. Crouch and inch your way along the railing next to the courtyard. Guard 8 is a new guard who wasn't there on the way in. He is looking right at the entrance gate. Wait until guard 3 is a good ways off walking away from the main gate and shoot guard 8 in the head from the side, then run over to the gate where the yellow light circle is. Quickly select exit before guard 3 turns and sees you and wait for the stupid animation to complete.

If you have filled your loot bag from Rubio's compound, once you are outside of the main gate turn right and follow the outside wall around to the ocean. There is a shed to the left, walk around the shed and stand on the edge of the cliff and wait for a boat to approach. As the boat passes shoot the pilot, climb down, swim over and take the boat. For the FASTEST exit do NOT head straight away from Rubio's compoud. The map is a rectangle. Heading straight from the compound puts you on a diagonal which means you have to travel the FURTHEST to reach the edge of the map. Instead turn 45 degrees to the right from the compound so that the N is on the right edge of your map in the corner. This will greatly reduce the time for your escape. If no boat appears look in different directions for a while, one may appear when you are looking away. Worst case, you swim away from the island, remembering to keep the N at the right corner of the map or you will be swimming for a LONG time. The chopper will not follow you and no patrol boats will attack you. Piece of cake.

Looting the Main Port

If you are planning on going to the Main port to loot to finish filling your bag, once outside the gate walk up to guard 9 inspecting his motorcycle. Shoot him in the head while he is standing. If you wait too long he will bend over and inspect his bike. If you miss him the alarm will sound. Do NOT try to escape by the guard post. You can't shoot all of the guards by yourself without setting off the alarm, and Rubio's chopper will follow that route and see you. Instead take the motorcycle and ride northwest avoiding a guard circling Rubio's attack helicopter. Don't bother trying to blow it up. It won't blow up. Continue northwest AVOIDING a jeep that makes a circuit around the compound, and head for the perimeter wall where it ends at the ocean and climb down.

The INSTANT you reach the perimeter wall Rubio will take off in his helicopter in pursuit. Dive into the water and swim down into the deepest part heading north. The boats do not become attack boats until you get near the Main port so don't be afraid if one passes you by on the way into the water. Swim under the patrol boats in the deepest section of water under the mines, until you come to the mouth of the inlet. If you are in shallow water the attack boats CAN see you and will open fire. Wait for them to pass in front of you then follow them around to the inlet. Exit the water at the inlet and walk around to a guard watching the inlet and shoot him in the back of the head. At this point Rubio should be heading towards the air field in his helicopter searching for you.

If you are here to loot the shed then head south up the hill in the direction of the water tower and make a big loop around to the side of the shed with the cash and weed to avoid being seen by a guard who may be standing by the entrance. His side cone of vision is wide. If he sees you the alarm will sound and your chance of getting off the island alive with secondary loot is slim. Walk along the side of the building next to the jungle, make sure that no other guards on foot are walking towards you, then step out and shoot him in the side of the head. If there is a camera there shoot it. Go inside, cut the chain with the torch and loot away.

Once you are done looting the shed, if the patrol boat is between the two groups of guards then you're going to have to shoot both groups of guards. This will likely set off the alarm, unless you can shoot the two guards standing close together with head shots. You won't be able to kill them with body shots if they have armour. If the boat is above the two guards' position, you may get lucky and be able to shoot just those two quickly without alarming the other guard.

Once the guards are out of the way quickly get into the patrol boat. Rubio's helicopter should still be up around the air field so if you have set off the alarm you have a few seconds to get going, and the guards near the port will start shooting at you. Head out of the port as fast as you can, dodging the patrol boats. When Rubio starts shooting at you, weave back and forth to make yourself harder to hit. He will give up in short time and head back to the island. You made it!

Looting the Airfield Hangar

If you are planning on going back to the airfield to loot the drugs or money at the hangar (this is actually a lot easier than going to the Main port), do NOT head towards guard 9 or bother shooting him. Once you leave the front gate turn right and walk around the outside wall of Rubio's compound until you get to the ocean, walk around the shed as described above and wait for a boat. Take the boat and sail around to the airfield. If no boats appear getting to the airfield will be quite a long swim, you may choose to just hit the main port. The patrol boats stay close to the shore so just sail out a little bit further and follow the coast and you will avoid them. Do NOT sail too far away or the mission is finished. Drop your boat on the north side of the hangar and walk up and hide behind a shipping container next to the hangar. WATCH for Rubio's chopper. If his chopper is approaching run back to the ocean and hide in the jungle. His chopper will usually turn around at the airfield and head back the other way. Shoot the guard standing or patrolling in front of the hangar and go inside.

Loot the lower cage or if there is better loot in the one on the second floor loot that one first. Use the fork lift to lift a pallet of boxes and roll it over in front of the fence. Raise it up high and make sure there is no gap between the fence and the pallet and the pallet and the fork lift or if you fall between you may get stuck. Climb up onto the fork lift, then onto the pallet of boxes, and over the fence onto the 2nd floor. Torch the gate and loot away.

Once your loot bag is full head back to the boat you left on the shore, avoid any patrol boats, and just sail it away from the island until you make your escape! Piece of cake.

Plan B

If you trigger the alarm on the way out you may want to just cancel the whole thing, turn off the console and try again, or you may want to escape the hard way. If you are inside the compound and Rubio hasn't taken off in his chopper yet, you can shoot your way over to his chopper and place sticky bombs all over it. When he takes off to pursue you detonate the charges. This won't take him out but it will cause his chopper to flee. However if you haven't run the mission to take out Rubio's shipment of buzzards, you will have to contend with them though. Shooting the pilot when he is facing you is the best way and be sure to eat your snacks to regain health.

At this point there is no easy route off the island. You can take the front entrance and ride to one of the ports but you will have to fight off a lot of choppers on the way. You can try swimming or taking a boat from Rubio's compound and fight off or try to swim under the attack boats and choppers. And when you get to a port or the airfield, fight your way through the guards and choppers and loot what you can before escaping. It won't be easy. Guards will keep coming on motorcycles and jeeps. And there are a lot of choppers to take out. But it can be done.

I once left the compound and went over to the pot fields and looted a shed for coke. I had to take out about 9 choppers and a dozen guards next to the shed and on my way back to the ocean on the motorcycle to take a boat and escape. Good times!

Variations

If the secondary loot in Rubio's compound isn't up to snuff you can try variations on the heist. Most likely you won't finish in under 15 minutes, but if the secondary loot is crap what difference does it make? After looking at the security cameras and finding the loot in the compound is garbage scope out the rest of the island. If there are enough drugs to fill the bag at the airfield look for the guard uniform. If it's at the airfield or the dock then consider coming in on the Velum. You will have to pay for the weapons stash which will cost you $10,000 but again, this mission isn't going to be high dollar so suck it up. Loot the airfield, get the uniform, then ride on the motorcycle FAST across the island to the compound. Don't let the guards get a good look at you. Ride into the compound and shoot enough guards until one of them drops the pass code to the side entrance. Go in and complete your heist as described above.

If the supply truck is also at the airfield even better. Drive it to the compound and they will let you right in. Just be careful. I have been spotted by guard towers several times. I guess the slow speed or something. Wait until the guard is looking away or drive around the towers if you can.

The guard uniform may also be next to a building near the main port behind the shed with the drugs and cash. If so come in using the boat but ditch it at the inlet and walk around through the trees over to the building, take out the guard there, put on the uniform, and loot the shed. If the supply truck is at the main port even better, otherwise find a ride and head over to the compound.

There may also be guard uniforms at the north dock. Take the boat and ditch it near the inlet. If the guard uniform is next to the building near the inlet that's your best choice. If it's in or near the large building with drugs inside that's much harder. There are guards on patrol and cameras and the guard in the tower. This will take some time and patience to get to. The supply truck may also be at the north port. If you take the boat to the north port there is a building with a door that requires a lever be pulled to open. If you come in wearing the drug dealer disguise on the boat this door will usually open for single player. But if you try opening this door without the disguise it will require one person to hold the lever down to keep the door open. It may or may not open for you but this spot usually has good loot and it's easier to enter than the large building, and there is usually only 1 guard and a camera there.

If you find the guard uniforms at the radio tower and there is enough drugs at the shed in the pot field to fill your bag you might consider an air drop to the tower. The only hard part is landing on the hill without the guards seeing you or killing yourself on the landing. You might consider the stealth helicopter and take a jeep from the south drop point up to the radio tower and getting the uniforms. Then loot the shed and head over to the compound. Shoot some guards to get the pass code and you're in.

If the uniforms are in one place and the supply truck another you may consider passing on it, or if it's not in a horrible place grab it on the way. Uniforms sometimes appear under guard towers but that just makes things more complicated getting to them. Coming in with the stealth chopper to the north landing spot really serves no purpose. There's nothing there but the occasional bolt cutter. You still have to ride either to the airfield or the north port to get anything useful. And air dropping onto the island, there just aren't that many places safe to land that are near anything. It's worth trying once just for the experience though.

Repeat

Once you have completed the heist and enough time has passed you can repeat the heist and grab other items, like a giant pink diamond, bearer bonds out of the safe, a ruby necklace, a diamond crusted bottle of aged tequila, and supposedly a panther statue, though it hasn't appeared yet in the heist. You will have to repeat all of the same stupid setup quests. Once inside the compound though it's all the same, same exit, same escape. The only minor difference is that some guards on the island may move to other locations, making some approaches easier and some harder, there may be more patrol jeeps, the locations of the escape boats may be different, and if you start the next heist immediately you must pay $25k and play in HARD mode. You die once, its over.

For giggles you might try parachuting off the radio tower into Rubio's compound. I got over the fence and tried landing on the roof of one of the buildings in the compound and was immediately transported back to the airport. That was quite a shortcut! Or you might get sent right back to Los Santos, which is even better if that's what yout want.

I have gotten to the point where I can enter the compound, steal the primary target, fill the loot bag in one of the storage rooms, and escape the island without setting off the alarm, leaving straight from the compound. And remember, if you fail while still trying to get the primary target, just hit the retry button and start over again. It's quicker than starting the heist from the sub again, if you don't mind not achieving a platinum award. The whole setup and heist will take around an hour each time you run it, but you can earn between $1.1 million and $1.8 million dollars (depending on the primary target and what loot is in the storage rooms) each trip so it's worth it. How else are you going to pay off that multi-million dollar sub you bought?