1. Departure Tax - how much:
2. How much to send a post card to the states (not taking the laptop)?
3. Anyone been out with Larry's Wildside Diving? If so would you go again?
4. How much to budget for a week's worth for lunch/dinner for 2?
5. US dollars accepted or better to use local currency?
6. Are gas prices there as bad as they are in the states? $3.15/gal?
7. anything I missed feel free to post up if you feel it's relevant...
TIA!
8. do they have analyzers at the fill stations or should we bring our own?
#1. The departure tax is $34.50 which includes the departure tax of $32.00 and the security departure tax of $2.50. You now must obtain your boarding pass in order to get your departure tax. The window is located at the airport and opens at 5am. You can pay with US, Antillean Guilder or credit card (NO AMEX).
#2. It can take forever for a post card to get back to the States! You can utilize Chat N Browse and access the internet there very inexpensively. It is a couple dollars US$ to send a post card, I think (not sure), but Michael also has people that stop by that are returning to the States and they take mail, and drop it off at the post office once they hit the states, so in that case it would be whatever it is in the US at this time.
#3. There is a lot of info on Larry's Wild side diving. Some people love it, so don't. Some think the cost is worth it, some don't. Do a seach on Larry's and read all the comments to make your own decision.
#4. It all depends on what you want to eat and spend. I would get to budget between $80-$100.00/day for the 2 persons total.
#5. US$ are accepted all over the island. The likelihood is that you will recieve Antillean Guilders back in change (the exchange rate varies, anywhere between 1.75-1.80 Florin for every US$, depending on where you go). DO NOT BRING ANYTHING LARGER THAN A $20.00 US BILL in denomination. Most places will not take $50 or $100 bills (some restaurants may, but the grocery stores, etc don't). There are also ATM's available all over the island, where you can take either US or Antillean money out. The local ATMs do not charge a fee, but be sure to check with your bank at home to see what they charge for international withdrawals. The exchange rate at the bank is 1.78 for selling and 1,82 for buying...
#6. Actually gasoline is more expensive. It is currently aroun 1,92 FL (Antillean Florin) per litre. It works out to be about $4.28 per gallon. It is all relative here though (at least I think so). I used to drive 1.5 hours each way back and forth to work, now I only drive 5 minutes. This is a small island.
#7. This is an opened question....there are so many answers! A couple of things.
Bring Mosquito spray...the no seeum's are not nice at dusk. Don't forget your sunscreen (I usually recommend nothing less than a 30). We are 12 degrees north of the equator and the sun is really brutal. Our suntan index goes all the way up to 16!
The tap water here on Bonaire is excellent to drink. It is desalinized sea water. Bottled water is not necessary.
When you are at a restaurant, you will need to ask for the check when you are ready. It is considered by locals to be "rude" to just bring you the check. They don't want you to feel they are "chasing" you out.
Our electricity is 127v/50c. For short term usage such as hair dryers, etc it is fine. For battery charging, phone charging, etc. is is suggested to bring a surge protector to protect your items from surges of brown outs or black outs (though rare these days), but it does happend.
The island is NOT Americanized. Everything is on a slower pace. The majority of the people here on the island do speak English and are very hospitable and friendly people. As they say here on Bonaire "poco-poco" (loose translation, take it easy).
Oh, most of the shops do close for siesta. It can be anywhere for 11:30 am until 2 pm. The closures usually last for about 1.5-2 hours. Great time to chill out and enjoy a leisurely lunch and get ready for your next dive! Cultimara the grocery store is open as well as restaurants, but businesses, banks, shops, etc. do close.
#8. I can only speak for our dive operator and they do have analyzers on site. I am sure the others do to. If not you can either rent one, I am sure, or bring your own. Safe bet, bring your own.
Hope this has helped!
Liz
