Has the economic situation had any material effect on Bonaire yet? With the market dropping like a rock this week, it would seem like its only a matter of time until its effect hits Bonaire.

What's the current price of gas on Bonaire?

We paid $76 to fill up our 4-door Toyata pickup 10 days ago there with about 1/8 of a tank remaining, so fuel prices aren't dropping like they are in the U.S. I think fuel prices are set more by the NA government than by the free market.

There's a lot of construction activity on Bonaire right now, so it looks "healthy" economically.

They are preparing to install a dozen electricity generating windmills over by Sorobon and the article I read said that project is NOT dependent on financing from US banks, so that's good news for them!

From what I hear on the island the economy is stable and not as affected by events as in the US. Gas prices certainly are in the $6-7 per gallon range as I recall from October. There is talk of real estate prices leveling off but construction is proceeding rather rapidly from what I saw. I can not say I have seen any dramatic changes in the last 4 years. So long as the world's economy does not tank dramatically people will find the funds to get to BON and dive so the economic basis of the island still seems bright and stable.

Regular gas is still about $5.85-ish and premium is $6.01. There's been no corrections in on-island gas prices since oil's dropped.

I'm surprised that there hasn't been some slow down in tourism. Maybe people are just following thru with tickets purchased far in advance. It will be interesting to see what happens by spring if there is not some good news on the economic front. If people have quit buying cars, houses, and etc., it only seems that they will not be taking expensive vacations either. Our tickets are paid for so we will still be coming in Feb. However, if the tickets weren't paid for, I would probably hang on to the cash.

Who is keeping the windfall on the gas prices? The station owners or government?

My take is this: Bonaire is a specialty dive destination as well as a windsurf destination. Folks who dive and windsurf are pretty much passionate if not obsessive. Their economic background is such that they have the means to travel and will continue to do so. It is my impression that other Caribbean destinations may suffer economically more than an island that has a niche such as Bonaire. That is my two cents.

Annie..I think you hit the nail on the head. I quite agree with your assessment. Which is why it's so extremely important to take care of her reefs. If I had but one wish for Bonaire it would be the completion of the waste treatment plant.

We booked our flights for next Easter back in May, so we'll still be coming. However, we live in England and the change so far in the exchange rate (US$ to British Pound) means that our holiday will be costing 35-40% more than we expected! Next Easter will be our 5th trip in 3 years - I can't see that we'll be visiting so often in the future, if at all.

Ditto, we're from the UK and would love to come back next year, but we can do a week's liveaboard in the Red Sea for half the price. Not as good, but...

Well.....even with the economy crashing and burning around us here on the West Coast, we just made plans last week to visit Bonaire in January. We dove Puget Sound for the first time a few weeks ago, and both realized how much we missed warm-water diving and Bonaire particularly.

Ann is pretty spot on....obsessive divers (a category into which we fall), even in times of economic downturn, tend to continue to do what they love, even if it means cutting back in other areas. I am saving my pennies now for Bright consumption on island

I retired September 1st. I am now on a somewhat fixed income. I have a credit card that earns Continental miles. I am using it to fly from Sacramento via Minneapolis then Newark and on to Bonaire. If I had to pay full fare, as I am for my wife, it would be a big consideration as making the trip. We are starting to look at places closer to home,like La Paz Mexico, as alternative dive destinations. Bonaire is the finest dive destination, for what it is, that I have ever visited. This will be my 10th year visiting Bonaire. Having said that, yes cost will be a consideration as to future visits.

I was having lunch with a peep the other day. She just got tickets to Oahu for 250 round trip from SNA. She asked me what a plane ticket cost from SNA or LAX to BON...I said around a grand (cheapest I've ever gotten was 739, and that was in 2003). She said "geez, you could go to Australia for that!" I said, I know, but you've never been to Bonaire...I'll take Bon over Australia any day...lol!

Yep, it's definitely the cost of the flights that is the limiting factor rather than the cost of services on the island. To quote Orville "I wish I could fly.."

I just checked flights for a potential March trip and it was $735 r/t from Boston which is a pretty good price considering what it was a few months back.

I just purchased non-stop tickets from JFK for February for $588. Even at this price the only way I could afford the trip was to use airline miles for the tickets. This will be our first trip to Bonaire, and from everything I've read here (thanks!) it will be well worth it.

I can't imagine NOT making at least an annual pilgrimage to Bonaire. Our internal clock is pretty much set at a trip every 9 months....

Other than work, a random golf outing, a few trips to my dad's house in Arkansas, and working on my bloody novel, I do very little else. I would say that airline tickets would have to crest beyond $2K a piece for us to think about not going.

Not to say that I don't look for the best price I can find. It's just that there's something about Bonaire that continues to call us back.

I can't put my finger on it. And I find it hard to put a price on it.....