I am planning a trip to Bonaire in early August for two weeks. My wife and I are non-divers (snorkelers) and plan to see many sites around the island.

We are renting a vehicle for two weeks, but do we need a truck or will a car / minivan be adequate. The price difference is not large ($30), but the truck is guaranteed to have air conditioning while the car may not. Is air conditioning needed or just nice to have? How about gas prices?

Thanks!

In January '03:
92 octane gas $3.05/gal
95 octane gas $3.24/gal
Diesel $1.27/gal

Robert: I bet you get different opinions on this one; I've read some posts from people who are fine with "Island Air." That said, we prefer a pickup truck with air conditioning. We always go up into Washington Park which is a fairly long, and hot, drive. The long route is about 4 hours from entrance to exit and the short route is about 2 hours if I remember correctly. When you go to Bonaire I recommend you check out the park - I think it's an important part of the expirience. The road conditions in the park are best handled by a truck in that they are unpaved and bumpy, ruts etc. I can't speak to the minivan but we have found the trucks are great for hauling scuba gear(i.e. tank racks,wet gear outside the vehicle versus inside, and ease of load/unload). I recommend you rent one with a solid tailgate versus a net tailgate; I think this makes it easier to gear up. I'm sure a minivan can handle it but it just seems to me that the terrain and road conditions on Bonaire are best handled with a truck. I don't think I would personally be comfortable using a minivan especially when it comes to shore diving. We think air conditioning is more than nice to have given Bonaire's location on the planet. Hope this helps.

Robert: Sorry! I missed the nondiver part in your orginal post. I would still recommend a pickup w/ air to you for the reasons, other than scuba gear issues, I stated above. Have a great Snorkel!

I'm with Marcus on this get a trunk with A/C, or there will be a time doing the week when you desperately wished you had more ground clearance.

Joe and I wouldn't last long on Bonaire without an air conditioned vehicle! We rent the RAV 4 SUV from AB Car rental. We, too, are snorkelers and the RAV is perfect for us and the cooler and gear. I vote for A/C....better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it....Carole

Well, I guess I'm differant.......

We never turn the air conditioner on. Not in the condo, the bedroom, or the truck. I really enjoy the breeze, and find that after a day, the heat doesn't bother me.

But then again, I don't mind these 95 degree/100% humidity midwest summers either.

My preference is to enjoy the nice tropical breeze for as long and often as possible.

I agree about the A/C being really nice. I don't think we would have spent as much time driving around the island seeing the sights without it.
I have some allergies and was really bothered by the gasoline fumes in the truck we rented when we left the windows down for very long.

We drove the Toyota twin cab truck a lot all week and used up one tank of gas, which cost us around
$46 American.

(and, though we started out the week with a functional tailgate, it broke with us leaning on it while we were gearing up at Salt Pier, dumping us on the ground, tanks and all. The supports were rusted through. Be careful!)

I fill my own gas tank because the people who do it for you at Lisa gas consistently overfill the tank, splilling gas all over Bonaire and stinking up your vehicle.
Also, never fill up the truck, leave it at about a quartert tank to avoid being used as a gas station by siphoners.
The AC is nice to have as an option, we hardly use it though, it's so breezy!

So, looks like we'll go with the truck because we do plan on going to Washington Park. And the A/C is not a 'must-have' for us, but sounds like it wouldn't hurt.

Thanks!