LA to Bonaire

[mccabejc]

I'm planning to head to Bonaire sometime this year for some diving. After investigating a bit, it looks like the only flight options from LA are Air Jamaica, with a 5 hour layover in Jamaica, or American Airlines, with a 7 hour layover in San Juan. Yikes.

Anybody done this a better way?

 

[dvrliz1]

If I was you I'd look at AJ's website...for the money it's the best bet! They are having a huge sale right now. If you book your tickets by Mar 2 and travel to your destination prior to June 15 you can go LA to Curacao for only $397.00. You can then take BonairExpress or Divi for about $55.00. Good Luck! Liz

 

[diversteve]

I'm planning to head to Bonaire sometime this year for some diving. After investigating a bit, it looks like the only flight options from LA are Air Jamaica, with a 5 hour layover in Jamaica, or American Airlines, with a 7 hour layover in San Juan. Yikes.

Anybody done this a better way?

That's pretty much it, we're too far west to connect to the morning flights out of Houston or Miami. So unless you want to fly out the day before and stay over in Miami or Houston, that's about all your options. SW has those $99 deals to Miami frequently, we could have saved a couple hundred dollars doing that, but we didn't want to burn a vacation day traveling. What we did instead is take the AA redeye out of LAX to SJ.

So we did the 7 hrs. in San Juan. In case you've never been to PR, the airport is not somewhere to spend 7 hrs. We went to a hotel in the casino district (the Intercontinental??) left our carryons with the bellman and had lunch. It's a couple miles from the airport to the hotel. Then we had time to go to old San Juan and look around for a couple hrs. before heading back to catch our flight. The cab prices are fixed by the govt. so it's under $20 each way.

Returning it's a short layover and we cleared customs quickly in San Juan(U.S. port of entry) so you don't have to fight the crowd in L.A. I think if you fly AJ, your point of entry is LAX. Our divetravel agent warned us about delays at LAX, she said to allow 2-3 hrs. Although it's probably not an issue for you but we had to catch a Southwest flight that evening back here.

It's a small (Fokker 300) American Eagle flight from SJ to BON, I even had to check my approved size roller bag. Although they do it right on the tarmac - a bus takes you to your plane - so the chances of it being lost are slim.

 

[mccabejc]

Thanks Liz. Price is a bit better than I found on Travelocity, but still a 5 hour layover in Montego Bay. Though I suppose I could stay over a few days and dive Montego Bay too.

Hmm...........

 

[socaldiver]

Jim,

Last September we flew out of LAX to Miami on a redeye with AA. I believe it left around 11 PM and we got into Miami around 7:30 AM. By the time we got our luggage and walked over to the AJ gates we only had about 1 hour wait before boarding. Then there was a 1 hour layover in Jamaica. All in all, it wasn't bad. We slept good that night after all the traveling and doing our checkout dive.

On our return though we did have to spend a night in Miami because we could not catch a flight back west until the next day.

We actually saved a couple of hundred dollars by doing it that way. The drawback is lugging luggage and gear from terminal to terminal and going thru checkin a couple of times. We are hoping to join the group in September and this time we will take the LAX to Bonaire trip just so we don't have to go thru the hassles with everything.

 

[ChrisM]

Thanks Liz. Price is a bit better than I found on Travelocity, but still a 5 hour layover in Montego Bay. Though I suppose I could stay over a few days and dive Montego Bay too.

Hmm...........

I have never ever heard of a single decent dive report from Jamaica. I wouldn't waste the time.

AJ, on the other hand, is actually supposed to be top notch

 

[Diver_Jan]

Jim,

Last September we flew out of LAX to Miami on a redeye with AA. I believe it left around 11 PM and we got into Miami around 7:30 AM. By the time we got our luggage and walked over to the AJ gates we only had about 1 hour wait before boarding. Then there was a 1 hour layover in Jamaica. All in all, it wasn't bad. We slept good that night after all the traveling and doing our checkout dive.

On our return though we did have to spend a night in Miami because we could not catch a flight back west until the next day.

We actually saved a couple of hundred dollars by doing it that way. The drawback is lugging luggage and gear from terminal to terminal and going thru checkin a couple of times. We are hoping to join the group in September and this time we will take the LAX to Bonaire trip just so we don't have to go thru the hassles with everything.

Howdy all,

I'm thinking of going to Bonaire as well. You mention September, is that the Scubaboard Trip that Natasha is putting together??? If so, that's the one I'm tapping my finger on. I am leaving for Cozumel in a couple of weeks that Dandy Don has put together and am looking forward to that trip as well.

Jim, when are you thinking of going??? Let me know and keep me posted, ok? Is the family going tooo?

BTW, have fun in Kona and say HELLO to Big Bertha (Manta Ray). I have lots of pics and video of her. One of the coolest dives I have ever been on.

 

[socaldiver]

Jan,

The trip in September I mentioned is with Natasha's group. I have gone the last 2 years with trips she has organized to Bonaire and have been quite satisfied. We originally were a "given" for this year but we have a slight change in plans. We are taking my wife's sons to China for a week for their graduation present from us, so our trip with Natasha had to take a back seat (sorry Natasha, you know we love ya) :07: