| LOCATION: |
The
most eastern of the Leeward Islands, Bonaire is located
50 miles north of Venezuela and 30 miles east of
Curacao. |
| SIZE: |
Twenty-four
miles long and 3 - 7 miles wide, the total land area
is 112 square miles. |
| POPULATION/LANGUAGE: |
The
official language for Bonaire's +13,000 residents
is Dutch. The island language, Papiamentu, English
and Spanish are widely spoken. |
| CLIMATE: |
The
year-round average air and water temperature is 82
degrees, and rainfall averages 22 inches. Bonaire
is located outside of the Caribbean hurricane belt,
allowing for good weather year-round. |
| ENVIRONMENT: |
Bonaire
has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to preserving
and protecting the environment both above and below
the water and was the first Netherlands Antilles
island to establish a national park. With forward
thinking environmental policies and strict government
legislation, Bonaire's Marine Park was the recipient
of " Islands" Magazine's 1994 ecotourism
award. |
| ACCESS: |
BonaireExel
with daily flights from Aruba and Curaçao.
Dutch
Caribbean Airlines (DCA) offers daily flights from
Miami via Curacao. Air Jamaica offers Wednesday,
Friday Saturday and Sunday flights from select
U.S. gateways with a connection in Montego Bay.
American Airlines/American Eagle offers Thursday,
Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday flights from
San Juan, Puerto Rico. Royal Dutch Airline (KLM)
offers daily flights from Amsterdam, Ecuador and
Peru. |
| ACCOMMODATION: |
The
hotel accommodations meet with the international
standards established worldwide and the staff is
multi lingual. |
| GOVERNMENT: |
The
island is part of The Netherlands Antilles, an autonomous
region of the Netherlands. The Lt. Governor is appointed
by the Queen of The Netherlands, and the locally
elected legislature has three island commissioners. |
| ECONOMY: |
The
Bonaire economy is based primarily on tourism, salt
harvesting and oil transshipment, apparel manufacturing
and construction. |
| CURRENCY: |
The
official currency is the Netherlands Antilles Florin
or Guilder. U.S. $1.00 = NAfl. 1.78. U.S. dollars
are widely accepted. |
| VISITOR
REQUIREMENTS: |
U.S.
and Canadian citizens must prove citizenship with
a valid passport, original birth certificate, or
a voter's registration card and show return ticket
as well as photo id. |
| TIME: |
Atlantic
Standard Time, which is one hour ahead of Eastern
Standard Time and the same as Eastern Daylight Savings
Time. |
| ELECTRIC
CURRENT: |
127/220
volts, 50 cycles. Adapters are necessary in some
cases. |
