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Getting to Bonaire: Comming from st. louis what is the best way
Bonaire Talk: Getting to Bonaire: Archives: Archives 2006-2008: Archives - 2008-03-01 to 2008-12-31: Comming from st. louis what is the best way
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By theresa vogel (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Sunday, May 11, 2008 - 4:41 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

going to bonaire for 2 weeks starting june 20th. the best flight option i have come across is aa.stop in miami then to san juan then to bonaire.the price is reasonable, but we are talking 13 hour flight time there and 11 hours flight time back. is there an easier way?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By John "Smack" Anderson (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1551) on Sunday, May 11, 2008 - 6:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

You could try Continental red eye from Houston.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By theresa vogel (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Sunday, May 11, 2008 - 7:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

thanks i will look into that.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jim Woodward (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #132) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 12:12 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Or Delta NonStop from Atlanta.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Goodwin (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #208) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 1:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Has anyone from the midwest done the Delta out of Atlanta?

If so, I'm assuming you had an overnight in Atlanta on Friday. I haven't been able to find a flight arriving in Atlanta early enough to make the 9:50 connection comfortable.

Dave Goodwin

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Goodwin (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #209) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 1:58 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Has anyone from the midwest done the Delta out of Atlanta?

If so, I'm assuming you had an overnight in Atlanta on Friday. I haven't been able to find a flight arriving in Atlanta early enough to make the 9:50 connection comfortable.

Dave Goodwin

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #110) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 2:08 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Seems like the 6 AM Delta flight from STL gets you to ATL in plenty of time to make that connection.

You need more time on the return for customs, of course...

Use kayak.com to search for flights like this...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By April (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #162) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 2:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We just did Pittsburgh to Atlanta and was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it all flowed, both going there and coming home. Our 6am flight out of Pittsburgh left almost an hour late and we still had plenty of time to make the 10am connection in Atlanta. And coming back home through Atlanta, even after all those nasty storms earlier in the day, we arrived perfectly on time and clearing customs even for this amateur traveler was a breeze.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Goodwin (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #210) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 3:18 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tom,

What time does the 6AM St Louis flight arrive in Atlanta?

For a 9:50 departure, I would think you would need to be in Atlanta no late then 8:00AM. Especially if you need to take any of those shuttle trains at the Atlanta airport. Been there once - seems like a madhouse to me.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #111) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 3:28 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I think it gives you just over an hour between flights. Check either kayak.com or delta.com websites to get exact schedule times.

An hour should be fine under normal circumstances but if you had significant weather delays departing STL, yes, it could be a problem.

I was just at ATL coming back from Jamaica Wednesday. The shuttle train works just fine, actually, assuming you're not confused about the basic layout and know what terminal/gate you're looking for.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #713) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 3:31 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We came out of Detroit and took the direct flight from Atlanta. We decreased the possibility of missed connections by flying down the night before and spending the night, then spent the night in Atlanta on the way back. It was MUCH less stressful, especially considering they only fly out once a week. ATL airport is unbelievably busy, and a glitch will cause a lot of backups and delays.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #112) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 3:38 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yes, I'm thinking that's the best thing for a once a week flight.

We flew DL to Las Vegas between Xmas & New Years and due to weather issues departing Providence, missed our connection in ATL. But DL has 7 flights a day to Las Vegas from ATL so we were able to standby for a later flight.

If you miss the only flight to BON, what can they do? Who has had experience with this situation?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #383) on Monday, May 12, 2008 - 11:01 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Here are the major ways:
a) AA via SJU to BON
b) AA to MIA then CUR. Take Divi over to BON.
c) Delta via Atlanta to BON
d) CO via EWR to BON
e) CO via IAH to BON

I have done a, b, and e. I think b is my favorite. Here is why:
a) A is great except it you get in late evening, after you spend several hours at the SJU airport. It is a once a day thing as well.
b) B is my favorite -- if you can get the early flight out of MIA to CUR. You get in late afternoon and leave around lunch. There are two MIA to CUR flights a day. The Divi flight is blast and uber reliable.
c) C would be great except for the price. And the once a week thing is a risk if you miss the connection.
d) D sucks in that you get in and depart at o-dark-30. And the once a week thing is a risk if you miss the connection.
e) E sucks in that you get in and depart at o-dark-30. And the once a week thing is a risk if you miss the connection.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6401) on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 11:14 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Nice summary David. In fairness there is one more way.

f) Anyone to Aruba then DAE to Bonaire.

I have done a, b, c. C is the easiest if you can keep the price down.

f) sucks due to a lousy DAE schedule and worse customer service.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By David Johnson (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #386) on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 12:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Cecil:

I agree that option C would be great if you could keep the price within reason (when I checked, I could do first class on CO via IAH for about $100 more than economy on Delta).

Has anyone tried www.tiara-air.com for an Aruba Bonaire leg?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Cecil (Supreme BonaireTalker - Post #6403) on Tuesday, May 13, 2008 - 2:55 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tiara Air's schedule is not very good (fly there and back early evening and early morning). Getting there you would be stuck in Aruba for hours with no way back short of spending the night in Aruba. They should be flying mid-afternoon and back mid-morning but NOOOOO.












 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Gillan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #301) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 8:34 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

TV,
I agree with Cecil and David, but add this:
-if you do C, then you have to get the first flight out of Mia to Cur, in order to catch the daylight only hours of Divi.
- I would add the nice Sat ~8:30 a.m. flight from EWR to Cur and Divi over to Bon. Maybe not for you, but others reading.
- also, I never go through SJU.

Bud

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bud Gillan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #302) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 9:59 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

that would be B not C in terms of Divi daytime only flight connnections.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By pat murphy (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1518) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 12:19 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

the advantages of the CO flights are that you get a full first day on bonaire instead of arriving at your hotel at about 930PM, unpacking, unwinding for an hour or two then going to bed. with CO yes, you arrive in the dark but most hotels will allow you to leave your luggage somewhere while you have breakfast and waste time till you can get in your room. as far as leaving at o-dark-30 both AA and CO leave early in the morning.

the disadvantage to both the CO and DL routes are that they only fly on weekends so you can't do anything other than full-week trips....no 10 day trips on either airline. and there is always the issue of what happens if you miss a connection at either IAH or EWR...are you just screwed out of your trip till the next week?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #113) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 12:27 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Less a problem with the CO red-eyes since they leave later in the evening. So you can take an earlier flight to EWR or IAH and do dinner there prior to the flight to BON.

So if your originating leg is delayed an hour, you don't miss much...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Bill Thorpe, (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #305) on Wednesday, May 14, 2008 - 10:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

For those of us living on the west coast, going thru Miami to Curacao is the easiest and cheapest.
Just booked for late July, Las Vegas/Mia/Cur/Bon for about 700$. It's taking 13 hours, which is about the same length of time as the Continental Friday night red eye, plus you can stay as many days as you wish!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By ChrisA (BonaireTalker - Post #54) on Monday, May 19, 2008 - 12:33 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I traveled from Louisville to ATL to BON. No problems at all. 7:30 flight from Lou to Atl. Still plenty of time. Just keep an eye out for flight changes. I got moved from row 20 to the last row on the plane when they switched planes. Had to fight with them to get moved back up.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Robert Newton (BonaireTalker - Post #20) on Monday, May 19, 2008 - 10:14 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Louisville? That's where I am from but I am doing this from CVG, its at least $200 cheaper and on AA. Had to move my flight from Sat to Mon due to family reasons.

I am not alone :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Matthew Van Sickler (BonaireTalker - Post #71) on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 2:05 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We're going from Denver to Atlanta to Bonaire on Delta. We leave Denver at 1am (!!!!!) and have a 4 hour layover in Atlanta so not too worried about missing the connection.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Jeff Fafoglia (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 3:48 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

It seems as if the Delta flights through Atlanta are fairly expensive. For a flight in November I can find nothing less than $1200 out of STL or O'Hare. I've tried a variety of dates, times, etc. Same fare.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tom Schamp (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #116) on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 3:56 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Yes, so best not to book Delta when they're over a certain dollar level. Let 'em fly half-empty planes, that's what I say.

If your heart is set on flying Delta, you can get to Curacao for <$700 and then hop over to Bon on Divi Divi.

Or just fly AA to BON for a bit over $600, from ORD anyway...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By theresa vogel (BonaireTalker - Post #16) on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 - 5:32 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

i decided to fly with american out of st. louis because of the price. twice as much to fly delta or continental. so yeah i agree with tom, let them fly half empty planes.

 


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