I have 2 questions, where on the island would you recommend I look for light fixtures?

Also can I easily get halogen bulbs in Bonaire?

Be sure to find out first if you have 110v or 220v wired to your fixtures. When I've looked, it seems like there's a larger selection of 220v fixtures & bulbs, though both are available (Kooyman, MTech, etc.). But if you're bringing your own container, why not bring fixtures/bulbs too?

Hi Ruth,

That is a good question and I will check the wiring, I was assuming it's all 127 but good call. We are brining the fixtures but we can not use the energy efficient CF lights as they are 60HZ so I was trying to find the cos for a 50Hz version.

I don't want to ship a ton of replacement lights down so that is why I was wondering what is available locally.

I use energy efficient 110/60 light bulbs (the curly ones) in all of my 110/60 lamps-they're just fine. I've never seen a 127/50 lightbulb, just 110/60 + 220/50. MTech has a large assortment of all types of bulbs, Kooyman too. I've never seen a 3-way bulb here, that's definitely a BYO. I would bring down at least one set of bulbs that will fit the fixtures/lamps/etc.; then, as they burn out, you can take the bulb & match it at a local store (bulbs have several different size mounts too).

Most light fittings and bulbs available here are E27 fitting, some are the smaller ES, & you can get bulbs for 110V, 127V or 220/230V. Quite often you can only find 127V or 110V ones.
You can certainly get a good selection of Halogen 12V 0r 220V (not sure about 110 as I haven't looked for those) you can also get the LED plug-in replacements for Halogen at MTech. Most light bulbs, even energy efficient ones don't care whether they are 50 / 60 Hz.
Don't bring any fittings that aren't ES or are an unusual ES size.

Hi Ruth, the issue with the CF (energy efficient) ones is you can not dim them, but for all fixtures that are not on a dimmer we will buy them locally as they seem to be frequency dependent, Phil have you used American made 60Hz rated energy efficient bulbs in Bonaire with no issues? (If so can you tell me the brand?)

Thanks Guys, as always a treasure of knowledge!

When I am in the sates I just stop the local Home Depot and buy what ever CF is on sale. Usually you can find 10 or 12 packs for a good price. Never had a problem with them down here.

I had all kinds of fancy lighting systems 15 years ago (dimmers, halogen, spotlights, etc.). Gave up on all of that. Simple is better-got a bunch of CF 110/60 bulbs when they first came out (like Walt, at HD in the US), no problems since. I think the "KISS" system was invented for island life.

Peter, the bulbs we get are mostly labelled 110 - 130V 50/60Hz, many different makes. I use any I can find at the time and have never had a problem. certainly this kind of bulb is not dimmable though.

I had lots of problems with Phillips brand CF bulbs. Burned out within hours, probably due to hertz, and I'm not talking one, but about two large packs of them (24). GE bulbs do not seem to cause the same problems.

GE bulbs have lasted the longest for me too. One annoying issue when buying locally, if you need a lot at once for the same room (like we did w/KFC), there's not always enough of the same style, size or color. For example, your 2 choices for "white" light are soft-warm-golden or harsh-blue-white (not the true technical names...).