Hey folks. We'll be travelling to Bonaire in August (yay!), but the only flight we could get is through Curacao. My husband is really interested in trying out the ferry. Any comments on how the ferry compares to flying with DCA or DiviDivi? Is it possible to reserve ferry tickets in advance by phone? If we get there and there's a problem (high seas or something), is it generally feasible to just buy a airplane ticket at the last moment? Thanks in advance.

Paula,

You shouldnt have any trouble getting tickets on the ferry....but you would be insane if you went that route...you will get excellent service from Divi Divi...you may get service from DCA... Since you will have to pick up your bags at Cur, I'd jump on the first plane going to Bonaire... have fun

I think the ferry might be fun if you have alot of time and don't get seasick...smile .. but I would rather be in Bonaire in 15 minutes via DiviDivi or Avia..have fun and let us know how it went

Debbie

Is Avia now running from Cur to Bon? They are running the Aruba to Bonaire flight in the evening although they claim they will start a second morning flight (from Aruba)...I think it is still DiviDivi and DCA

We flew DCA and I would not recommend it. Delays in getting our luggage...flights cancelled or not leaving on time. I would try DiviDivi.

We haven't been to Bonaire in a while and need to know what airline and route is best when traveling froom the States. Any hints?

Nancy -

I know you're excited about your return to Bonaire; we are excited for y'all.

What airline and route to take is both subject to personal experiences and from where you are starting in the States.

Let me simply state our own experiences, and other will add different perspectives.

We start at DFW. Our first trip in '99 was with American from DFW-Miami-Curacao then picking up ALM (now DCA) Curacao-Bonaire. In those days there was no direct San Juan-Bonaire nor Air Jamiaca service to Bonaire.

Everything went fine except our ALM flight was about 1+ hours late leaving Curacao.

In 2002 and 2003 we took the new service: American from DFW-San Juan-Bonaire. Simply stated, we like it. Both trips were uneventful and all arrivals actually were slightly ahead of schedule. The only thing we don't like is the early morning departure from Bonaire coming home and the relatiavely long layover in San Juan. But we do like getting home mid-afternoon instead of late at night; we do like a minimum of plane-changes; and we most definitely like not dealing with DCA.

We hear a lot about the rigors of customs in Miami. Perhaps since we are U.S. citizens and never have anything to declare, we've always breezed through. Same in San Juan. (Well, there was the time in 1988 we came back through San Juan from St. Thomas/St. John, U.S.V.I. and told the customs officer we had no liquor to declare. Our bags were thoroughly searched! Seems as if no one in those days came back from St. Thomas without booze.)

Hope this helps, Nancy. If you can, please give us a trip report on your return so we'll know what routing you took and how your trip went.

Charles Poteet
Dallas