This is a two-parter question...

Part 1 is how necessary getting a reservation is for, say, Richards, on a USA holiday such as Thanksgiving later this month.

Part 2 is if the answer is yes (as I expect it to be), how much leadtime is appropriate?

- can we wait until we're on-island?
- call long distance before we leave? (BTW, dining guide doesn't list Bonaire's area code for international calls)
- "sorry, already too late for this year"?


-hh

Re: Richards Rest-- Great question-- never even thought about it. My husband and I will be on island over Thanksgiving as well. Does anyone have the answer?

I would recommend calling for reservations anyway if you would like a table near the ocean. If you are arriving the Saturday before, you can probably wait until you get here to call.

The question that comes to mind is "Do you want to have a traditional turkey dinner?" If so you might want to be checking now to see if the restaurant plans on providing a holiday meal or not.

You might also want to check Richard's reservations policy, as I beleive they only accept reservation for parties of 6 or more. If they are serving a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I am sure it will be wonderful. But if they are not and you are looking for one, Dock of the Bay Restaurant at Buddy Dive Resort is serving the whole menu, soup to nuts. So is Rum Runners at Captain Don's (same menu as Dock of the Bay.)

When we have been on Bonaire for a holiday, Richard's would not accept a reservation for 2 people -- sometimes you can find another group and then get reservations that way.

My husband & I will be in Bonaire for thanksgiving as well. We're Canadians, so we will be celebrating our thanksgiving this weekend with a traditional turkey dinner. It would be great to celebrate the American thanksgiving with a special island flare. Looking forward to it! Levon

Many places will be able to accomadate you with all the trimmings. Hopefully, the turkeys will arrive on time this year.