Probably a tired old question, sorry.
Does anyone (US citizen) have recent experience getting into Bonaire without a passport, with only having a birth certificate and picture ID?
I keep seeing we don't need the passport, but wish I felt for sure about it.

I believe there will be new rules the first of the year Rick..After 9/11 a lot of things changed..They will surely go through every piece of equipment and clothing that you have packed if you don't have a passport.. Why not just bite the bullet and get a passport now so you don't have to worry??

do a keyword search on "Passports" don't forget the parenthesises {sp} {Wow the spell check said I spelled it correctly.. wow}

Freddie, thanks. We are going this October, before new rules, but maybe you are right about them exploring the baggage.

Rick -

I concur with Freddie and suggest you seriously consider getting a passport. I have no special information, but it occurs to me re-entering the U.S. without a passport might be as tedious as entering a foreign country without one. Plus, it seems pretty clear that a passport is soon going to be required for U.S. citizens to enter more and more places, i.e., Mexico and Canada, which heretofore have accepted other forms of identification.

Charles Poteet
Dallas

All info I've read says a passport will be required soon. Just do it-it's not terribly expensive, and it's good for 10 years. Less hassle at immigration as well...

Rick, I agree with all of those who suggested getting passports. You may download and print the form by clicking this link if you have Acrobat Reader or equivalent:

http://travel.state.gov/pdf/DS-0011.pdf

Fredster, that "Hooked on Phonics" program is really working for you girl;-{)}

Rick I'll be going to Bonaire Saturday for two weeks without a passport. I'll report back if I have any difficulties. I know by the end of the year you'll need one. Wish me luck this time.

isn't it funny , (drip drip drip , drenched in Irony)? How we need a special hologram and fingerprint passport to get in your country , and you apparently don't seem to need one to get around and in other countries.

weird isn't it.

Sjoske

Actually Jos I don't find it funny at all I think that we all should be fingerprinted and hologramed if we want to travel anywhere in the world.. There are too many variables these days....

Thanks, Jerry. Best of luck and have fun! Hope to read a trip report from you with nothing but good times in it.

Freddie,

my point was the double standard , not the passport on it's own.
As long as 4 "lilly whites" can blow up themselves and others in London, what's the point in extreme securitystandards ?
(lilly whites being individuals who have no police or intelligence records.)

Sjosss

agreed but they had to GET INTO london some how.. so if they had been fingerprinted and hologramed at least we might have a heads up the next time..

Bed time for me see you in the morning.. Love ya

Hi
For some years(maybe decades) I've been trying to figure out why some Americans strive mightily to avoid getting a passport.
Just the annoyance of having to wait in a long line, while passport holders don't would be enough for me.I think gate agents are more likly to spend time inspecting a battered piece of paper maybe 30, 40 or 50 years old than a passport.
And, as I have said before, you get to have a whole bunch of nice imprints from all the places you visit in your lifetime.
Rick, get a passport.
Mickey

Hi Rick,

you can read info about travel documents at:
http://www.traveldocs.com/an/

Hope this info-site is up-to-date.
Theo.

I believe new U.S. rules now require U.S. citizens to present a passport to get back IN to the U.S. after traveling outside the country. Better check that out before you leave or you won't get home!

Although a passport may not be required for entry we have found that banks, casinos, and even hotels require them for ID. Failure to have one at some hotels may mean you cannot charge to a hotel account.

Just FYI: We traveled 2-9 July 05 to Curacao and my Husband used an expired passport and his birth certificate. Jamaica accepts passports up to one year after expiration. Not sure what they looked at in Curacao, but between the two he had no questions asked of him. (I knew my passport was current as well as our children, but he managed to let his expire and we didn't discover it until the day before we left--oops!).

So you should be OK, but you will need a US passport by the end of 2005 to travel anywhere outside the US (I believe that's the deadline).

Hi, Cathy, you are lucky...they gave my husband a hard time at Newark Airport two years ago with his expired passport (3 months expired). Air Jamaica repr insisted Jamaica would not accept it nor would Bonaire. We had to produce two tons of ID at the ticket counter before they would even let us near the gate. I had to "insist" on speaking to a Manager to prove to them that Bonaire did NOT require passports at that time and that we were NOT going to be staying in Jamaica, etc., etc. After much "insistence" they let us get by the counter. It was an omen from the first moment...we never made it to Bonaire due to plane troubles in mid-air and the folks in Jamaica lost (?) Joe's voter's registration card and some other documents. It was a mess.

I am glad to hear you did OK, tho....sometimes they can be very, very ugly about it. My husband forgot to check his passport dates before we left.....a hard lesson learned!

I also believe the new US rules either do already, or are about to very soon, require passports for all travel. It's best to have one. Easy to get and worth the price. Just be very careful once you have one.....keep it securely locked up at all time and always in your possession.

I even go so far as to make certain I am handed back MY passport when someone "checks" it anywhere during our travels..be it USA or outside...I don't care who it is...I make certain it is MY passport being returned to me. I have heard of tales where someone was not given back "their" passport.....identity thieves and worse would LOVE to get their hands on a nice, valid passport if they could.

Have a safe trip! Ayo. Carole

Your full name and birth date is all the information that a passport reveals. Not nearly enough information for Identity Thieft.. Ron

We just got back from 3 weeks in Aruba and we had birth certificates. The custom lady told us as of Jan 1 2006, everyone will need a passport or you will not get out of the US. Kent

Hey Rick. Returned late Saturday and no problem going thru Immigration/Customs with just a Drivers License and Birth Certificate. As fast as those with passports. I did notice almost everyone had passports so next time so will I.