What to do while waiting for a flight from Curacao to Bonaire?

[WarmWaterDiver]

We wound up doing a lot of island-hopping with DAE last trip, because Bonaire and Statia were the spots we wanted to stay, but Curacao (outbound) and St. Maarten (inbound) was a great international routing & price on AA.

I don't know what altitude Divi Divi flies at, but I e-mailed DAE before we left since we'd be doing a lot of flying with them. Here's their response. They flew us on ATR-42's if I remember correctly, and FYI we had zero luggage issues with DAE other than the fees (WinAir was another story altogether though last trip). I misspoke- I added about 2000 feet to the altitude (must be a pre-senior moment), but I personally wouldn't scuba dive before these flight altitudes.

"Dear Sir,

On the following flights these flight levels:

Bonaire to Curacao 6000 ft (FL060)
Curacao to Bonaire 5000 ft (FL050)
Curacao to St. Marteen 21000 ft (FL210)
St. Maarten to Curacao 20000 ft (FL200)

Hope to have informed you sufficiently I remain,

Regards and thank you for choosing with Dutch Antilles Express,

Jozef Nicolaas
Operations Department
Dutch Antilles Express"

We used these folks to get our DAE flight tickets - but any travel agent ought to be able to get them for you.

http://www.caribbeantvl.com/

There's no mandatory marine park program on Curacao, so you could actually snorkel before your inter-island flight, but the Curacao airport is on the windward side of the island so you will definitely need to hire a cab after you get done with the luggage recheck routine if that's something you want to do.

Have a great trip!

CC,

No bags aren't packed yet, and sleep disorder since at least age 5 has me puttering at late hours often. But I did get some new water toys for us to take along - March 12 is my wife's birthday so this is a bit of a birthday trip for her.

 

[CheddarChick]

WooHoo!! Birthday cake, where shall we meet on the 12th?!!! Hope you are asleep now, my insomniac friend. New toys for the CC's also, Aeris Atmos 2 'puters..

 

[Bosun]

Although the airport has been revamped, I think a direct flight to Bonaire is the way to go. We came home via Curacao this year and the three flights and 24 hour journey will something we will avoid again. We used our KLM points and flew Business class but the journey was still a reminder of our early trips to Bonaire before the direct flights from Amsterdam.

 

[dvrliz1]

Ok, FYI, Divi-Divi Airlines flies around 1800-2000 ft. I usually sit up toward the front or in the copilot seat so I get to see the altimeter. Also you DON'T have to have a 6 hour layover on Curacao.

You can approach the checkin desk for Divi-Divi to see if they can put you on stand by for the next flight OR When you exit the new terminal in Curacao take a right and head over to the old terminal. There you will find the DAE offices. Tell them you have a flight 6 hours later and see if they have a flight before your original flight. If they do, get on stand by or ask them to change the seat. I think it costs $14.00 to change the seat if they have it available, but if you go stand by, there is no charge.

If you can't get the flight changed, I suggest taking a taxi into Punda or Otrabanda and do so shopping. I prefer Punda to Otrabanda. Oh, if your flight is in the evening/night, you are out of luck....everything is closed. I would take a taxi to Kura Hulanda and quaint small resort and have dinner at one of the restaurants. It is very relaxing.

Good Luck

Liz

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

WooHoo!! Birthday cake, where shall we meet on the 12th?!!! Hope you are asleep now, my insomniac friend. New toys for the CC's also, Aeris Atmos 2 'puters..

We fly out March 18, so no meeting up on Curacao on the 12th for us. My in-laws (her parents) will visit the prior weekend, March 10 & 11.