By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Wednesday, September 5, 2001 - 9:30 pm: |
Hello, all... We've been watching and learning and getting ourselves generally worked up with excitement, in anticipation of our first trip to Bonaire!! (Arriving 9/22) Not only looking forward to discovering for ourselves the Bonaire addiction, but we are also both finishing our OW dives for certification! Can't wait!!
|
By 1Nancy on Wednesday, September 5, 2001 - 9:43 pm: |
We are also wondering what everyone's recommendations are as we have a 6 hour layover in Curacao on our trip home (provided ALM leaves Bonaire on time!). 1Nancy
|
By Linnea Wimberly on Wednesday, September 5, 2001 - 9:56 pm: |
You can take a cab into town and go shopping and get a snack. There will probably be others in the airport in the same 'boat' and you could share one or more taxi's and do it as a group. Curacao has many more shops that Bonaire for those that like to shop (window or other). I don't know how accessible the beaches are though, if you want to try the water. I had a long layover there two years ago and had more than my fill of window shopping. They have a Baskin-Robbins there if I remember correctly.
|
By Kelly on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 8:39 am: |
1Nancy, what Linnea suggests works very well. During my last long lay-over I rounded up a group and we rented a mini-van cab (with driver) for a tour of Curacao. Unfortunately it was Sunday and most of the business were closed, but we saw the island, took the driver (a local woman) to where she said was a good place to eat and we had a ball for about $60.00 total!!!
|
By Alan & Joan Zale on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 12:39 pm: |
Goto the Avila Beach Hotel. For $3.00 your can get a beach pass for the day. It's really a nice way to spend your layover on the return trip. It's a great beach, they have showers and complete facilities. We've done it and it was a nice way to wait for our return trip home. Going down I would stick close to the airport. You might even be able to fly stand by on an earlier flight
|
By Kelly on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 12:50 pm: |
One word of caution on catching an earlier flight, ALM's computer will show you as a "no show" on your scheduled flight and automatically cancels your flight off island.
|
By Sarah on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 2:04 pm: |
Alan & Joan, glad to hear that Avila has a nice beach and facilities.. we will be staying there on our last night in paradise in order to catch the earlier connection back to the States... S
|
By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 3:55 pm: |
Thanks for the input... Baskin-Robbins sounds like a winner!! We're a little leery of wandering too far from the airport, definitely don't want to miss the plane to BON !
|
By Vicki Murt on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 6:28 pm: |
There is a nice sea aquarium just south of town. It is also next door to a hotel/dive resort that has a nice beach and restaurant/bar! A couple of hours would work at either one. I don't know what time your flights arrive/depart. The aquarium - can go snorkeling/diving and get underwater pics of sharks/turtles and very large fish is a nice diversion. If I remember right the cost is about $35 to dive and extra if you want them to take pics of you. The taxi fare to this part of town will be about $20 - $25 each way, and takes about 20 minutes from the airport. Hope this helps. Vicki
|
By 1Nancy on Thursday, September 6, 2001 - 9:46 pm: |
Thanks for all the feedback everyone. Just got home and found it. We planned a deliberate 6 hr layover in Curacao so we could see something of it also. Probably will go into town to see the architecture. 1Nancy
|
By Carole Baker on Friday, September 7, 2001 - 7:00 pm: |
A "Three Hour Tour"??!! Does this sound familiar to anyone else out there??!! LOL. Carole
|
By Steven Springer on Friday, September 7, 2001 - 7:12 pm: |
I've had a couple of multi hour layovers at the CUR airport. We found that the cost of the cabs into town or trying to rent a car for a couple of hours was just not worth the expense . American Airlines has a office that is air conditioned that they may allow you to store your bags in. We've stayed there for a couple of hours jamming down on our CD's until American opened up their counter to check our bags. Remember that ALM / AA don't do bag transfers in CUR at least on the way back to the states. We spent the rest of our time upstairs. There are two or three stalltype restaurants with a common seating area. One time we got to watch an ~air show with the F-16's (U.S.) doing touch and go landings.
|
By Kelly on Saturday, September 8, 2001 - 10:42 am: |
Steven, downtown Willemstad (spelling needs work), is well worth the visit. The Dutch influence in the archtiture is really worth seeing, and a cold Amstel in a downtown bar makes the confines of the airport lounges seem painful, especially after or before a long plane ride.
|
By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Saturday, September 8, 2001 - 10:57 am: |
Re-checked our itinerary last night, and the layover is actually over 5 hours if incoming AA from Miami is on time. No way are we sitting in the airport that long.
|
By Kelly on Saturday, September 8, 2001 - 11:08 am: |
Five hours... Gad !!!
|
By Thomas R. Gastio on Saturday, September 8, 2001 - 1:07 pm: |
You can get regular Amstel in Bonaire, not the Amstel Light that we get in the states. Nice and cold the Amstel is just as good as the Heineken, and a bit cheaper.
|
By Carole Baker on Saturday, September 8, 2001 - 5:10 pm: |
Steve, if you have not seen Aruba since 1984 and you do ever return, you will NOT recognize her at all. I know my husband and I preferred the "old" Aruba to the "new" Aruba. It has been so developed since you were last there and I think it is a shame. That is when we started to visit Bonaire and fell in love with her instantaniously and will continue to visit her as long as we live. (hope to live there someday).
|
By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Sunday, September 9, 2001 - 12:26 am: |
I kind of figured that about Aruba, from all that I've heard. I made the mistake of going back to Cancun after 10 years; I won't do the same with Aruba. I'm sure Bonaire will be much more to our liking.
|
By Scott on Sunday, September 9, 2001 - 9:28 am: |
Having just returned, ha Kelly, with ALM's eratic schedule one might want to err on the side of caution and bring a book and sit at the snack bar and wait, flight left early, okay later than scheduled originally,but as soon as the plane arrives they are turning them around, so delayed flights leave when the plane returns.
|
By Kelly on Sunday, September 9, 2001 - 11:05 am: |
Thanks for the update on ALM schedule. Waiting is BORING, but missing your flight to BON is even worse and could cause a serious delay in obtaining a "new" scheduled flight.
|
By Jason on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 9:32 am: |
One thought on layovers. It is extremely seldom that an ALM flight running on original published schedule will leave early. They do however re-arrange schedules as equipment availabiliy dictates.. I would be EXTREMELY cautious in wandering too far if you are dealing with an unscheduled layover.. the simple fact is that as Scott points out, they are trying to push the plane out as fast as possible. On the return I just made ALM had a schedule change. The called and advised us early. the equipment was further delayed by flight congestion so our rescheduled CUR departure of 245 was delayed to 345.. BUT they managed to board at 255 and had us out by 310... and they handled, without our knowledge, a problem caused by AA cancelling our US connection.. something that AA didn't do for their own people....AA was having a VERY bad day in MIA on Sunday..
|
By Kelly on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 11:55 am: |
Jay, one thing you ain't and that is boring !!
|
By Carole Baker on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 8:28 pm: |
"A Three Hour Tour"??!! No one caught that one? Or was is just that bad?? LOL. Carole
|
By Hazel Scharosch on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 8:34 pm: |
I caught it...I just couldn't top it, that's all. Carole, FYI, my son Travis watched the Gilligan's Island marathon recently and is hooked! Poor kid, he enjoys I Love Lucy, Red Skelton, and the Three Stooges as well. Yup, I'm re-living my childhood through Travis.
|
By Susan Feldman on Monday, September 10, 2001 - 9:13 pm: |
Oh my, Three Stooges! I saw today (and I am NOT making this up) a van with the lettering on the side: "Dewey, Cheatham, and Howe". Then just below, something like associated with, or a division of, or something along those lines, "Burnham and Ruhn". It was a nice van, in good shape, late model, too.
|
By Carole Baker on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 5:14 pm: |
Ah, yes....the infamous Law Firm of "Dewey, Cheatham & Howe"....haven't heard that one in years. There is another infamous firm, but I can't post the names here as this is a "G" rated board! Carole
|
By Carole Baker on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 5:17 pm: |
Ah, yes....the infamous Law Firm of "Dewey, Cheatham & Howe"....haven't heard that one in years. There is another infamous firm, but I can't post the names here as this is a "G" rated board! Carole
|
By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 4:30 pm: |
geeez. Two days ago, ALM notified us that they put us on an earlier flight from Curacao to Bonaire, reducing our layover to less than 3 hours.
|
By Jake Richter - NetTech on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 4:53 pm: |
Steve,
|
By Glen Reem on Thursday, September 20, 2001 - 7:09 pm: |
Jake,
|
By Steve and Sandy Oliver on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 7:24 am: |
Jake,
|
By Jake Richter - NetTech on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 10:23 am: |
Bravo, Steve!
|
By Glen Reem on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 11:17 am: |
TKS. Learn something new every day. I hope for a while yet!
|
By Glen Reem on Friday, September 21, 2001 - 12:43 pm: |
Steve,
|
Visit: The Bonaire WebCams - Current Bonaire images and weather!
The Bonaire Insider - the latest tourism news about Bonaire
The Bonaire Information Site, InfoBonaire
Search Bonaire - Search top Bonaire Web sites