Musings on Bonaire reopening to tourists

[smits]

Well some good news on our trip, the Bonaire authorities have approved a direct route from the US into Bonaire for our flight. One thing in our favour was that we owned property, both a house and a sailboat registered in Bonaire. While we are not residents the fact we had some roots there seemed to be in our favour for the ‘special’ flight approval.

Hopefully, all others plans also work out.

congrats, that's good news!!

[tursiops]

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Bonaire is creeping up. It was just 1 on Nov 27, but is now up to 6. One has to wonder where they are coming from with all the entry restrictions.

[Avalpert]

Is there anyone else flying Bon to Aruba now besides Divi?

[susan]

The number of active Covid-19 cases in Bonaire is creeping up. It was just 1 on Nov 27, but is now up to 6. One has to wonder where they are coming from with all the entry restrictions.

Just released:

Source of contamination is known:
1 person has recovered and 2 people have tested positive. The source of most positively tested persons is clear. Most people who tested positive in the past week are residents of Bonaire who had contact with business visitors from Curaçao. Among the 10 people tested, 2 positive cases of Covid-19 were discovered. On December 11, Bonaire has 7 active cases of Covid-19.142 people have recovered and there are no hospital admissions.

[Canuck52]

Thanks for the detailed update Susan.

[marybeth]

We made it down here this evening. It was worth the trouble. We flew Richmond to Charlotte to Aruba on American, then Aruba to Bonaire with a short stop for pickup/drop off in Curaçao on EZAir. The EZAir flight was the only flight that I could find late enough to make the trip in one day. It left 6 pm, arrived Bonaire 7:15 pm. I don’t think it flies that schedule every day.

I felt safe enough though I’m not at risk. The Charlotte airport was super crowded - just like old times. Richmond was busy too. Everyone wore masks but social distancing was impossible.

Be sure to know your restrictions and requirements because the airlines and airports are erratic in their knowledge. Document everything you can. We tested twice to ensure results but mine lagged, and I did not have them back when we left home this morning. American did not want to let me board without them, even for Richmond to Charlotte. We had to show her an email from Aruba Tourism stating that tests and insurance were not required if just transferring through Aruba. We also showed EZAir boarding pass and assured her we were prepared for the risk of quarantine in Aruba. You will need the Aruba ED Card though. American agent called for an override, and we left just fine. My daughter had a similar experience in Chicago.

We had similar issues in Aruba and found ourselves directed to the testing center even though we all now had negative test results in hand. After politely escalating, an authority agreed we didn’t need to jump through entry hoops for Aruba. We had to show our tickets for Bonaire. So all was well, and everyone was friendly and patient and struggling themselves to make sense of the rules.

[ChrisL]

Is there anyone else flying Bon to Aruba now besides Divi?

EZ Air

[ChrisL]

American Airlines just cancelled all Miami - Bonaire flight thru mid-January so far. The first flight I still see available is January 16th. I'm not sure if it's the Bonaire restrictions or American Airlines - their flights were pretty full. I'm scheduled to try and get there thru Curacao again on the 9th.

[Kate B]

Thank you MaryBeth, this is so helpful. I am trying to get my daughter here for Christmas (I live on Bonaire) and first her United, then her American flights were cancelled. I will try this path. I see you are on Bonaire now, are you available to talk to? Thanks, Kate

[KonaGecko]

I arrived on Bonaire Saturday evening Dec12.
SFO--EWR--CUR--BON
PCR test in hand. (3 hard copies just in case...)
Printed hard copies of the Bonaire health form.

I have several friends traveling a similar route this weekend.
I'll type up the details related getting through the Curacao maze if interested.

Basically, you can get here if you do not mind going through Curacao. The main issue is getting a same day connection flight in Curacao.
I arrived CUR at 2:00PM. Took Divi to Bon 5:00PM.