Hi Everyone,

My name is Barbara Wilson. I am planning a first trip to Bonair this January (!!!!) I am pretty thrilled. I have begun to realize that it is going to be tricky to get reasonably priced flights to the island. I guess I will look at booking it in two parts: Calgary to a main US centre, and then on to Bonaire. My question is this: Should I be looking for good fares out of places other than Miami and NYC?

Any advice would be great. Thanks all. This list is a wonderful resource.

Cheers!

Barbara

Check Air Canada to Aruba and than with BonExel to Bonaire

And you can try booking into Atlanta and from there AirJamaica goes to Bonaire (through Montego Bay though).

Hi Barbara, welcome fellow Canadian. I'm from Prince George and we've been to Bonaire twice. Both times with American Airlines. First trip was Vancouver/Dallas/San Juan,PR/Bonaire and the second trip was same route but out of Seattle. We live in a very difficult part of the world when it comes to getting to the Caribbean. We have to overnight somewhere, no way around it. I tried leaving via Calgary or Edmonton but it was no easier than Vancouver or Seattle. It might be easier for you since you already live in
Calgary, to get a flight to a US city in the east but I found that to be an expensive route for me. I search the internet constantly for best routes. Don't hear from many Canadians. You will LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Bonaire. It's a lot warmer than Lake Minniwanka. No drysuits, yee haa! If I can help with any questions, don't hesitate to e-mail me direct. We have to settle for Cabo San Lucas is January.

Hi again,

Thanks for the posts. I ended up booking a flight to Miami, and then another to Bonaire. We will overnight in Miami there and back. I began looking at fares a few days ago, and by the time I checked again this morning they had crept up so I just went for it. It'll cost $1349.00 CDN per person.... eek!... but it is done and I am thrilled. We will be staying from Jan 15-29th....

Yipeee!

Barbara

Barbara, that's a decent price! I paid $1100.00/E on our trip 2 years ago (Vancouver-Bonaire). My last trip this past Feb was on points but when I checked the price it was way more than what you paid, so that's great. If you have any questions on accommodations, there is a lot of help of this board. Have fun!!!!!

Hi Barbara,

What airlines are you using? Thanks, Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I am flying AA from Calgary to Miami, and then Delta(operated by Air Jamaica)from Miami to Bonaire. I booked them as two separate flights on expedia.ca. It was cheaper than searching for a Calgary to Bonaire ticket.
Each flight has a stop-over along the way, and it'll mean an overnight in Miami there and back.

I found good prices on expedia.ca, ticketpilot.ca and travelocity.ca.

Cheers!
Barbara

Thanks Barbara, We're looking to head out from Toronto. Waiting for the winter tour books to see if there's anything going to the area. In the past we have had flights direct to Bonaire/Curacao, but for some reason they have stopped going to Bonaire (still can get to Aruba / Curacao I believe). Are you spending all your time on Bonaire, or will you be Island hopping?? May I ask where you will be staying?? Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

It was interesting looking for a flight to Bonaire....so many possible route choices! We will be spending all our time there. We have two weeks booked at the Black Durgon Inn. This is our first trip to the island. We have never stayed right on the ocean before so we're pretty thrilled!

Barbara

Barbara, you will absolutely LOVE IT!!

It is our 'most favourite place' in the whole wide world :o).

It was the 'shore snorkelling' that attracted us to the island.

The underwater sights are breath-taking.

We stayed at the Divi and each time we went into the water (usually 2 to 3 times a day) we saw something new.

We also liked the fact that the island is relatively quiet.

Make sure you tour the whole island as it is extremely interesting and there is so much to see.

Feel free to email me privately if you want further info.

Cheryl :o)

Barbara, I am glad you got a good flight to Bonaire. We fly from Calgary to Dallas then to Miami, over night there and then to Curacao the next morning. Bonaire on Divi in the afternoon and then back the same way but spending a few days in Curacao, shopping etc.
Hope you have a wonderful time. This Feb. will be our 3rd time there. We are staying at Cocopalmgardens...they are just great there. You will just love the diving...no dry suits there.
Enjoy !! You will be planning your next trip the minute you get home...
Dawna

Jim and Dawna: will we see you there again next year? We're arriving Feb 15!
Josie

Josie and Allan,
We will be in Bonaire for only two weeks this year and leaving for Curacao on the 14th. Sorry we will miss you.
We are looking forward to being there for Carnival this year as we have always just missed it by a few days.
One of these years we will take that extra time like you and be in Bonaire for a longer time.
I look forward to that day.
Dawna

Warning about Suvara Travels/ticketpilot.ca - Booked an excellent rate through these guys yesterday (Hawaii to Eastern Canada for around 560$CAD taxes incl.). Was sent an email confirmation of flight reservation with confirmation no. and travel itinerary. This morning, I received a call (wich woke me up)only to be told that they had made a mistake and that the connecting flights (Hawaiian Airline and Air Canada) did not have any agreement between them therefore could not be on the same ticket as I purchased it. This, I was explained, meant that if, for any number of reasons, Hawaiian Airline was to be delayed and couldn't make the next flight connection in L.A., I would then basically be out of luck and on my own. The agent then proceeded in trying to explain to me how the Amadeus system they worked with worked and why it was not really their fault but the way the system was set up etc. Was I suppose to understand all this let alone care?? They offered, for a surcharge of $7 (!?!), to send me 2 separate tickets for these flights with still no garanties that I will be taken care of in case of delay (I believe the exact words of the agent were "..just hope this will not happen". The other option offered was to cancel altogether (not an option, all of my travel arrangements are made, set in stone and non refundable!). When I requested to speak to a manager I was told I was already speaking to him (Koli) and that if I had any concerns (wich I definitely had at that point) I would need to put them "black on white" and sent it to the company. Later on he said something about needing to ask his boss about something, I then challenged his previous statement of him supposetely being the manager. When I asked to speak to "his boss", he told me he was gone for a week (how convenient) and finally when I asked him the name of "his boss" he absolutely refused to give me a name stating that it was not his job to do so (!??!). He finally threatened to altogether cancel my reservation and hung up on me. Now I am and have been for most of my working career working in the tourism industry also and have traveled quite a bit all over the world but never have I been treated with such unprofessionalism and ignorance. To finish this story the "travel agent" called me back stating that everything had been fixed and that they were taking a big risk for me (what[?]) since they had insured everything and absorbed the cost (Oh yes, did I mention that they almost didn't honor the rate also? I checked their site later and it had gone up by about 400$ with exact flights!!!). I later called back and spoke to another agent in order to get more info. on how to go about using this "insurance" offered by them in case of missed flight due to delay, the response was "don't leave the airport until you get your ticket from Air Canada, they always have flights going out and they should be able to get you on the next flight no matter what", in other words, fend for yourself and hassle them until you get your way. WOW, I really feel confident about my travel arrangements now! What a relief right? ... Anyone have any suggestions on what recourse I would have at this point? I am certainly not done with this and may very well be in touch with updates as to how this nightmare will be handled by the "boss" (I intend to find out who he/she is) and will let you know how this all turns out. Good luck to anyone else booking these "great rates", you may find out you've still overpaid for all the hassle it may bring. Have a great "worryless" vacation!