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Getting to Bonaire: If you CUR to BON tips
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 1999-2005: Archives - 2004-08-16 to 2004-12-31: If you CUR to BON tips
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Spencer (BonaireTalker - Post #13) on Saturday, November 20, 2004 - 12:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

My wife and I travel to most of the islands of the Caribbean, and just got back from Bonaire. We have concluded that no place makes it harder to get to than Bonaire. You really have to love the place to go there. We do, so we do it. Here are some tips to help first timers who are going to try it....

This information applies to those who come to Bonaire from via Curacao. Getting there directly or coming via Air Jamaica can be costly but can also save grief.

The order that you will need to followed is:

1. There is no need to fill in the immigration card they offer on the flight to CUR even though they tell you you must.
2. Get off the plane in CUR and enter the building and immediately go RIGHT to immigration lines marked "Visitors" (even though they may tell you to go left to the "in transit" area. (Unless you have your ticket to BON and your boarding pass, don't do it; go to the right and stand in the lines.)
3. Tell the agent you are "in transit" to BON
4. Go outside and turn to the left to find the ticket counter for your airline.
5. Either buy tickets or if you already have tickets -> get your boarding pass.
6. Go through sliding door marked "Departures" to security line (you must have boarding pass)
7. After going through security check, tell the next official (who asks for your immigration card) that you are "In transit" to BON.
8. Enter terminal to wait for flight boarding.

As for airlines from CUR to BON, consider Divi Divi; even swimming may be a better choice than the option we tried, but I'll save that for a separate thread ....


 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Blanchard (BonaireTalker - Post #36) on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 12:30 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

John, We are going thru Cur on Jan. 8th. Are you implying my reservations on Bonairexel are not good? Do you recommend we cancel Bonairexel and get reservations on DiviDivi?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John Spencer (BonaireTalker - Post #14) on Monday, November 22, 2004 - 10:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

No, but if I were you, I'd do some advance planning. Either they will solve their problems (which I wouldn't count on) or you leave plenty of connection time, or you could try to convince them to sell you actual tickets in advance, or consider Divi Divi. We stopped at the airport during our stay, and talked to the agent at the Divi Divi desk and found her to be genuinely concerned to help us - something we didn't see at Bonairexel.........

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Blanchard (BonaireTalker - Post #37) on Tuesday, November 23, 2004 - 6:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thank you, I intend to get tickets or I will cancel and go with Divi Divi.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By RJ Faddis (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 9:59 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Because of the demise of DCA we had to scramble and ended up booking with AA to Curacau and Bonairexel to Bonaire. Booked the airfare through Caradonna, they provided us with E tickets on AA and paper tickets for Bonairexel. The entire flight itinerary could not have worked out much better. Bonairexel was on time and they even moved us up to earlier flights leaving Curacau. They were helpful and courteous at both Curacau and Bonaire. John's post above is accurate about the procedures in Curacau, it appears they are not exactly prepared for passengers that are in transit but still have to check in with another airline. But if you simply explain to them and show your previous airline ticket they will understand your intentions and send you on through. Can't speak for the Aruba connection, it has been my experience everything is difficult in that airport.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By gregg brewer (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #663) on Tuesday, November 30, 2004 - 10:51 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

I always hated to go thru Cur....until I went thru Aruba... Cur is easy compared to Aruba.

 


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