Bonaire the Hard Way

[cirwin]

Hi All,

I just got back from the trip of a lifetime to Bonaire, but getting there was a nightmare. I thought I would share my experiences as a cautionary tale for those of you heading down...

First off, I live in L.A. and my plan was to take the redeye on Delta to Atlanta and then fly Air Jamaica (a Delta partner) from Atlanta to Montego Bay to Bonaire. Simple right? Unfortunately, Delta cancelled my flight 5 hours before takeoff, but did not update their info or notify anyone until 2 hours before the flight at 10:30 PM. At that point, it was too late to get another flight to Atlanta, and I was told I would have to wait until the next morning at 5 AM. The only problem with this is that Air Jamaica only does their Montego Bay to Bonaire flight once a week. So there I am in the airport listening to the agent tell me "sorry. looks like you aren't going to be able to take that trip to Bonaire. we can't get you there." Ouch. I asked the Delta agent to put me on a flight using another carrier and to get me to Bonaire somehow. I didn't care how. Unfortunately, Bonaire isn't a well-known destination and the guy had no clue how to get me there. Eventually, we got it sorted out and I flew from LA overnight to Boston, missed my connection, took another plane to San Juan, and then arrived at Buddy Dive 24 hours after leaving my house. And the bags didn't make it! The agent accidentally sent them on the wrong plane and they came later in the week. Buddy Dive was awesome and gave me free loaner gear.

For all of you planning on going to Bonaire, it might be good to know the following:

Airlines that serve Bonaire:

American Eagle: daily from San Juan, Puerto Rico
Continental: once a week (I think) from Houston
Air Jamaica: a few times a week from Montego Bay, Jamaica
NAE: not sure, but I saw the planes in the airport
KLM: same as above

If you miss an Air Jamaica or Continental flight, your best bet is to ask the airline to get you to San Juan (through Boston, Newark, or Miami) and then on American Eagle to Bonaire.

May you all have better luck than I did!

P.S. Buddy Dive was awesome, Bonaire was amazing, and I managed to get in 20 dives and my AOW in the 5 days I had to dive. Not too shabby...

 

[sasscuba]

Buddy Dive is my favorite place to stay and I have stayed at 5 different places. Glad you had a great time despite the flights. Bonaire is awesome!!!!!

 

[DeputyDan]

I was at Buddy Dive from 7/22 to 7/29 with Herman and GypsyJim on this board.

We did the Continental overnight "thing" out of Houston and I must say that except for the over night part - the trip was as smooth as possible.

 

[scubarealtor]

gonna try to get delta to give me some award tickets to go to bonaire. hopefully it will work out. anytime in jan or feb will be fine with me, so they should be able to accomodate me.

i've done some reading here and at bonairetalk.com. Buddy's is recommended more often than any place else. thats where i'm gonna stay.

 

[herman]

The best option is to get to either Aruba or Curacao. From there you can catch one of several commuter flights to Bonaire. PR is your worst option. AA has a horrible record from PR to Bonaire and stolen gear/late is very common.
Buddy does run a great operation. I have a lot of friend on the staff and for me it's almost like visiting family. DD, Gypsyjim and myself just spent a great week there.
If you don't mind being off the water (nothing is far from the water on Bonaire) and a slightly less upscale place is OK, look at Golden Reef Inn. Liz and Ed will do anything they can to make your stay a great one and the saving can be considerable. They are a smaller place and only a couple of years old so they don't yet have the rep Buddy does but it will not be long until they do.

 

[Tom Smedley]

From the Bonaire Reporter August 2, 2006:

[FONT=TimesNewRoman,Bold]

Air Jamaica’s losses are now
placed at $85 million​

​

[/FONT]as of the end of
June, The Caribbean Business Report​

wrote last week. Reports from sources
within Air Jamaica say that in 2005 the
company lost $136 million. The airline
has cut most of the value-added services
which distinguished it from other carriers,
like the flying chef and regular meals
on all routes. It has been bedeviled by
lateness and growing dissatisfaction by
passengers with its service. These factors
have served to compound its problems.
With jet fuel set to go up further and a
reduction in the number of routes and
flying time, a loss of $175 million in
2006 seems to be a distinct probability.
Air Jamaica still continues to fly to Bonaire
every Saturday.

​

 

[DocVikingo]

Hi cirwin,

Are you sure the planes you saw at the airport weren't Dutch Antilles Express (DAE)?

Regards,

DocVikingo