I think we got lucky and will probably be returning to Bonaire again this year. The least expensive flight from Montana is through Houston with the ridiculous 5:15am arrival. What do people do when they arrive this early? Seems pretty unlikely we would be able to check in to our hotel, either Den Lahman or Captain Don's.

Gerry, check with your hotel but some places are offering early check in, or even an early breakfast buffet for the early arrivals.

We just did the red eye out of Chicago and arrived at 5:45 am into Bonaire. Got into our room early in the morning, went for a buffet breakfast and hit the beach. Had all day. It was great !

Even though you may not have arrived on this flight before, remember that the hotel folk have seen it all. Get in touch with the accommodation provider, they will have an answer but remember you may have to pay for it

this does not answer the question but seems like a good time to state that arriving later in the evening on AE is not such a bad thing - unpack and go to bed;) however, arriving in the AM? too excited to nap, too early to do anything and i bet it makes for a long day...

well, maybe not;)

good luck;)

Sorrobon Beach Resort does not make arrangements for this early arrival. We just experienced this. We got to the resort for 0600 and the staff did not arrive until 0800. We went to the beach and chilled (I did) the wife fumed. We were told check-in was 1100 but our room might be ready earlier. It was. We were told we should have booked the previous day to insure our room would be ready.

We arrived at 5am on our recent trip. I had asked the manager of the bungalow ahead of time if we could go there then. She had us pay for the night before to enter the room that early. It felt worth it to us -- we needed somewhere to change and bathe and nap after 24 hours of travel...

Sidestory, the dolphins swam by that morning and I missed them that time and every other time for two weeks!

The early KLM and CO flights do indeed inconvenience passengers seeking a haven to rest their weary heads..the simple solution as mentioned above is to book the night before, that way you can usually check in before the appointed time (which in most world hotels is after 2 PM). In Bonaire some hoteliers and managers do allow guests to check in early if the room/villa is vacant. I think that is a wonderful courtesy. Have your travel agent advise you on each property's policy prior to landing to avoid an uncomfortable arrival.

I understand that if you make arrangements in advance with your hotel, they will contact your rental car company and arrange for a rep to there as early as 6am for those of us arriving Bonaire via the Houston - Bon flight. Kon Tiki has been very helpful with this. Martin and Miriam at Kon Tiki are always a pleasure to do business with, and they will open at 7am and have our room available at that time. Between getting luggage, and getting the car, 7 is probably just about right. if we get there before 7, we'll enjoy the view over Lac Bay from the beach cabanas across the street from the hotel. speaking of which, I'll be arriving Bon at 5:15 am a week from tomorrow. I can actually start counting the hours now ...

Dwayne- the first time we stayed at Sorobon we came in on the 8:30 pm AA flight- the desk at Sorobon stayed open (they had someone meet us) and made sure that we were orientated and got into our room safely. This past time we wanted to get our rental at the airport and made a stop to pick up a (Pasa Bon) Pizza- so we told them that we wouldn't be checking in until late. This was cool with them- the desk crew went home when they were supposed to and they left an envelope with our key in it - actually on the ground inside the gate so that we couldn't miss it. Our little wagon was there and the night watchman kept an eye out for us (he helped us drag all our dive gear in. It always amazes me that we can show up at a naturist resort with three bags!!) so yeah, I think that if you did the day before thing they would be better set up for you.

TAMMI AND DWAYNE...off the subj, but i just had to comment on how cool i think it is for folks to have the presence of now to enjoy a place such as sorobon, will i ever be that at peace and one with everything? probably not, but my hat's off to you guys, no pun intended, is the reef out in front a good dive and how often are the conditions ok to dive, also is there any buoy or other marker to look for, going back for trip 8 wed and always wanted to check out that site, thanks

There was a dive boat each morning tied up to a dive buoy on the frontside of the reef. So I think there is a designated dive site there. The backside of the reef was shallow and I didn't see anyone diving, it's shallow enough that snorkeling is probably the best way to see it. The conditions were perfect the whole week I was there. The reef is prettier from mid bay working north. Mid bay south appeared pretty beat up.

On the first subject, ask yourself how many times in life you said I wish I had done that. Don't ever say it again, life is short.