Hello! Some car insurance questions. Should we or shouldn't we get it? Some of the postings we have read say that broken windows from break ins are not covered; is that true? We are renting a truck so our personal car insurance will not cover anything on the vehicle. What is and isn't covered? Are the vehicles ever stolen? Is that covered? The reason for the uneasiness is that we have read about vehicle break ins, theft etc. on the message boards. How is personal safety? We will primarily be doing shore snorkeling. Are vehicles usually within sight from the the beach? This started out as a rental insurance question but spilled over into another area. If this should be somewhere else, I am sorry. This is our first trip to Bonaire and we are a bit excited and anxious. We will be down tomorrow. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Donna, where are you renting your vehicle from?

No matter where:

1. leave nothing of value in your car.
2. leave the windows rolled down (at dive/snorkeling sites).
3. yes vehicles have been stolen take your keys with you.
4. Relax, personal safety is not a big issue.
5. If you feel better paying the insurance do it.

Have fun.

ok donna, bonaire is unsafe and you shouldn't go. what i need you to do right now is to email me for my address then FedEx your tickets to me with overnight delivery...i'll go and check out the island(again) and see if it's safe and then you can go some other time...i'll report back in a few weeks.

seriously, you are going to have a great time. i'm jealous...we'll be there in about 2 1/2 months and i'm still jealous.

i'm not sure what the insurance really covers but i would say that if you're renting a truck you should get it...that's my personal opinion. your local insurance won't cover it and your credit card insurance won't cover a truck (except if you have an amex blue or something). relax...theft is not rampant. we have been going there since 1995 and haven't had a problem. but it's not unheard of either. when we dive we don't leave anything of value in the car. we wear ratty tee shirts and cheap sandals and cheaper sunglasses. we leave the doors unlocked and the windows down.

if you are snorkeling you will mostly be in sight of your truck except at a few sites.

regarding personal safety, i don't know of anyone, man or woman, who has ever said they've felt uncomfortable or unsafe anyplace on bonaire at any time of the day or night. last winter my wife and her sister walked around quite a bit at night and never felt worried at all.

have a great trip...don't forget to go to gibi's on tuesday night with the other BT'ers. post a trip report when you get back. plan your next trip now...you'll surely be going back

Hi,
Could someone please explain this:
"gibi's on tuesday night"
What/where is this, I have seen it mentioned several times throughout the newsgroups
Mike