First Trip to Bonaire

[diversteve]

If you want to get an idea of prices for a nice meal - It Rains Fishes Bonaire

A lot of these linked restaurants also have menus - Bonaire / Restaurants, Cuisine, Dining and Nightlife

This is most of the ATM's on Bonaire: Branches & ATM's | Maduro & Curiel's Bank (Bonaire) N.V.

 

[lmorin]

Thanks everyone for the good info... I'll probably take a modest amount and then wing it.

Gee... I feel like I'm back in my 20's where I thought nothing of taking off across the US on an old beat up motorcycle with $20 in my pocket, and a sleeping bag... kinda liberating....

Jim

Stay liberated!!! Be a Bonaire Beach Bum. Take 4 tanks to a dive site (say, Pink Beach) and camp, diving afternoon, dusk, midnight and dawn! Then, report back to us about re-living your youth.

 

[rocdoc]

I'm interested in this thread since I am going to be in Bonaire for the first time shortly after you, in August, also at Buddy! Glad for all the info.
To chime in on a couple of points: Discover is indeed a "no foreign transaction fee" card, but it's not accepted in many places - you may want to check if it works in Bonaire. If so it's a good choice.
Have fun!

 

[uncfnp]

I'm interested in this thread since I am going to be in Bonaire for the first time shortly after you, in August, also at Buddy! Glad for all the info.
To chime in on a couple of points: Discover is indeed a "no foreign transaction fee" card, but it's not accepted in many places - you may want to check if it works in Bonaire. If so it's a good choice.
Have fun!

Haven't tried it everywhere in Bonaire obviously but I do know that Van Den Tweel accepts Discover as well as all the other local markets that I have tried.

Eric and I are also pretty frugal when it comes to meals. Typically a high protein breakfast in. Then head out for 3 or four dives with packed snacks. We are fortunate that we have a grill at the villa where we stay and typically fix dinner in. We often grill enough for leftovers. One or two meals out at 30 to 50 dollars for the two of us. I would estimate that we spend about 200 to 250 on groceries, including Eric's beer. We use cc for all these charges.

We use cash to pay for gas, usually about 50 to 60 dollars. Also check with the car rental company. The last one we used accepted cc but charged a fee. So we paid cash for the car rental too.

 

[jimbeeler]

If you want to get an idea of prices for a nice meal - It Rains Fishes Bonaire

A lot of these linked restaurants also have menus - Bonaire / Restaurants, Cuisine, Dining and Nightlife

This is most of the ATM's on Bonaire: Branches & ATM's | Maduro & Curiel's Bank (Bonaire) N.V.

Good links... I'm perusing them now. Things are a bit pricey, but I guess that's to be expected on an island. We'll get it figured out....

Thanks again.

Jim

 

[drrich2]

The switch to the U.S. dollar did not eliminate foreign transaction fees across the board; last month I paid Buddy Dive [FONT=Arial, Helvetica]$1,788.43 for an upcoming trip. [/FONT]

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]Shortly after that posted to my account, this posted:

[/FONT][TABLE="width: 99%, align: center"]
[TR="class: ltrow"]
[TD="class: mainfont, align: left"]BUDDY DIVE RESORT 04-21 BONAIRE DEBIT CARD INT'L TRAN FEE $53.65

(I eliminated the last 4 of my card #).

[/TD]
[TD="class: mainfont, align: right"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
So, the amounts posted separately to my account.

Therefore, I can attest that as of April 2014, international transaction fees still exist.

Richard.

P.S.: See what a loyal, dedicated Scuba Boarder I am? I went and booked a Bonaire trip last month to test out whether there were still foreign transaction fees.

 

[jimbeeler]

P.S.: See what a loyal, dedicated Scuba Boarder I am? I went and booked a Bonaire trip last month to test out whether there were still foreign transaction fees.

Yea, and I just looked at my account and sure enough it's there for Buddy as well as Insel-Air. Oh well. Most of the damage is already done.

Jim

 

[uncfnp]

Richard and Jim. You guys really need to get a different credit card (or two). I can attest that they are out there.

 

[jimbeeler]

Richard and Jim. You guys really need to get a different credit card (or two). I can attest that they are out there.

Yea, this may be the time (after the fact) that I look into it. With no fees and cash back (over $1000 last year) I'll to calculate whether it's worth it in the long run.

Jim

 

[KeithG]

Cash? What's that? Didn't it go away when they abolished cheques?

We have a mason jar full of "left over currency" from our various travels. We either ran out, or came home with way too much. Now we take a very small amount and do everything on credit card (which is hooked to an airline travel mile program). The cash in my mason jar would cover any credit card fees. But is not enough to be able to convert it once back home.

Bonaire is easy since you can use your funny green money there. But not much need for cash.

My general "cash" travel strategy is to take a bunch of small "tip" bills and then a few 20's. $100 total is lots. If it is really foreign travel, then I just grab cash from an ATM when I get there.

Last trip to Bonaire we used cash for park fees, tip to taxi driver for luggage,... Nothing else..