Hi! I am trying to figure out the best way to get from Milwaukee or Chicago to Bonaire. I see some NWA flights from Chicago to Jamaica. Does it make sense to do that and then take an AJ flight from Jamaica to Bonaire? Is it "iffy" to try to coordinate travel between the two different airlines.

Am I better off trying to fly to San Juan and get a connecting flight from there to Bonaire? Would Miami be a better connection point?

It would be ideal of course, to try to complete travel in a single day. Hope you all can help! Thanks!

We're across the Lake in Holland, Michigan and always fly American Airlines from Grand Rapids to O'Hare to San Juan to Bonaire. It's a long day but when you go that far that's the way it is. That works out the best for us. The good thing is the trip gives you lots of frequent flier miles. We've never tried to go Air Jamaica. I don't know if you can go from O'Hare or Midway in Chicago. Go to Air Jamaica's web site and see where they fly. We leave on Friday for two weeks in Bonaire so we're in the count down mode.

We're in Rochester, NY, and our only way to get to Bonaire in one day is American from Rochester, to O'Hare to San Juan to BON. It is a long day, but I prefer that to overnighting somewhere in both directions.

If you're quite near Chicago, you could probably get AJ from O'Hare to Montego Bay, then connect to Bonaire (also on AJ).

Because of frequent schedule changes and previous nasty experiences with using two carriers, I would only do that if it was the ONLY way I could possibly get to Bonaire. It can be a nightmare (unless you're on a code-share with a partner airline, i.e. Delta to Atlanta, then AJ to Montego Bay, etc.) When I travelled Delta and American, someone, somewhere cancelled my husband's return reservation (it certainly wasn't us), and all American and Delta did was blame the other and say there's nothing they could do as the flight was now full!!! After two hours on the phone in Bonaire, a wonderful AA employee decided to help, and we solved it, but it was a REAL PAIN. So, even if the cost is considerably more, we only travel with one carrier the entire trip.

Bea,

We go with AA/AE from Chicago thru San Juan, mainly because my wife claims clearing customs in San Juan is far easier than thru Miami. So far, she's been right. We once went thru Miami coming back from the USVI, but we didn't have to clear customs and this was 2 weeks after 9/11 so almost no one was traveling.

There's a long layover in SJ waiting for the BON flight (4-6 hours), but you can take a couple hours to see Old San Juan and other sites, though keep in mind you do have to clear security if you leave and come back. (Elsewhere on this site someone gives the details about what to do in SJ and where to store your carry on luggage if you leave SJ airport--somewhere near the AA counter.)

The thing I like least about the AA/AE flight, is that you arrive in BON at 8:40PM, too late to do much of anything but check in and hurry somewhere for dinner, on the other hand you may be too exhausted from travel to do much anyway.

Bea, the Air Jamaica flight leaves very early from Chicago O'Hare--6:30 a.m. I think--so you would have to drive up the night before or very early that morning. the good news is that the AJ flight is often priced at $600 round-trip and arrives in Bonaire around 3:30 p.m.

I am coming from Champaign Illinois so I prefer the AA flights through San Juan, especially since I use my points and miles to upgrade to SJ, which makes the trip much more do-able. pauline

I've had no problems with the O'Hare-Montego Bay-Bonaire flight plan on Air Jamaica the two times I've been fortunate enough to go.

It's only a short pleasant layover in Montego and you get TO Bonaire while there's still some daylight left. My return flights all left at about 4:00p.m. which meant for morning diving the day before and a VERY relaxed departure day. PLenty of time to eat breakfast AND lunch, sightsee etc. AL was letting you check your luggage starting at 11:00a.m. whih eliminated that hassle later on as well. I dont know if that is still the case however. My info is two years old I'm sad to say.

My daughter lives in Chicago and has used both AJ and A/A. Her preferencve is AJ because it gets her to Bonaire with just one stop at a very reasonable time. However, the departure time is awful. I think she left home at 3:00AM.
To clear customs in Puerto Rico is much easier than either Miami or Chicago so this is a plus for A/A.

I've used AJ several times out of O'hare. AJ gets into and out of Bon at good times, but out of and into O'hare at bad times; especially if you have to commute any distance.

I'm going to Bon Dec 4 and this time I'm trying AA through SJ. It's a long day but better than leaving home at 1:00am to get to O'hare for the AJ flight.

having lived in Milwaukee a while ago, we always preferred the non-stop service from O'Hare. You might want to look into O'Hare area hotels that offer free parking & shuttle service for an overnight stay.

Now that we live in New Jersey, we sometimes find it cheaper spend the night at the JFK Sheraton & fly from JFK than out of Newark (20 minutes away).

Thank you all for your help! This is by far, the friendliest and most helpful discussion group I've encountered. After checking times and flights we have opted to take the AJ flight from O'Hare. We may just book a hotel there the night before and take advantage of the free parking as well. Now we just have to make a decision about accommodations and we're all set. Thank you!

Brenda

We are planning our trip in February to fly AJ out of O'Hare to Bonaire. It sounds like a piece of cake compared to our (3) flights to get to Roatan Honduras this year. I'm looking forward to this much easier trip. Just hoping we don't have the problems with AJ that we did with TACA airlines :-)

Shelly