Good morning, BT'ers.

I am looking into rental cars for an upcoming trip. I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts about turning in a rental car the day before departure and taking a taxi to the airport.

The return flight is the 7:00 am Continental flight. My thinking is it would be easier to turn in the rental the afternoon before and take a taxi the day of departure. Does anyone know the taxi fare between Divers Paradise and the airport and if it is possible to even arrange a taxi at 4:30 am? Any other thoughts?

Thanks,
WT

Don't know the fare. It is possible to arrange a taxi at 4:30 am. That said, I tend to do the opposite.

When I arrive on the CO flight, I take a taxi to my hotel. I then pick up my car around lunch time. Why?

1) That inbound flight is brutal on my body and my first priority is often a nap.
2) I avoid waiting in a line at the car rental place.
3) I don't have to drag my bags to the car rental place.
4) It often means I avoid an extra day of car rental.
5) For a first time visitor: they know how to get to the hotel.

When I leave, I drop the luggage and one person at the airport curb area and park in the lot. We then check in at the airline desk and they take the checked bags. Next, we return the rental car. Then we go through security and into the departure lounge.

I keep the rental car.

I go to the airport early with my luggage and check in, go back to the lodging and shower, check out and then go back to the airport and drop the rental car. That way I am 'fresh' on the airplane, for my benefit and that of my fellow passengers! :–)

I know 0700 is early but so were the AE flights at 0615!

Yes, It is possible to arrange a taxi to pick you up at 4:30 am. One question though, if you drop off your vehicle the day before, how are going to get back to Dive Inn, taxi? Then to the airport in the morning, taxi again. The cost would be same as a rental for a day I believe.

I always take a taxi to my place at LBR, I have my own truck, so don't do rentals, but fare is $15 for two folks to get to LBR which is only about 4 kilometers from airport, Dive Inn is further,so more money and add a tip, we usually give $5 and you are pretty close to a days rental for sure especially if taking a taxi anywhere from after dropping off car.

So, I would keep the rental. No big savings when you look at it.

Once you have seen the small distances on the island, at the airport and within the terminal and once you realize how few planes are actually coming into Flamingo Airport, you don't worry about picking up/dropping off a rental car for your travels. This is Bonaire, everything is going at a different pace with very little crowds. Last weekend my daughter arrived at the airport within 1 hour of her CO departure, her itinerary had changed, while she was on the island (didn't get an e-mail!). No problem, she was on the plane 12 minutes after arriving with her 3 suitcases in the terminal. The motto on Bonaire is NO STRESS!

Thanks to everyone for the great tips.

I think the best thing to do would be keep the rental and turn it in on departure day.

WT

I've rented my car with AB Carrental during our last visit and I must admit they make it pretty easy... their office isn't at the airport, so their taxi driver was waiting for me in the arrival hall to pick me up and take me to their office at the Plaza Resort free of charge.. when I left I did the same as Glenn: I first dropped off my husband and our luggage at the airport and then parked the car + dropped off the keys at the old AB Carrental office opposite the airport.. once at home I’d already received an email from them thanking us for our business! Not bad!

We decided to keep the car this trip (left July 19). Ran into an issue out of our control and AB's.....woman in thge shuttle to the airport needed to go back to her resort where she left her family. What a mess. As a result of this we missed our flight at 6:00 a.m. on CION. We arrivedat the airport at 5:05 a.m. and they would not let us board (even First Class passenger tickets in hand). We had to wait for the Houston 7:30 a.m. flight was all checked in to determine if we could get on that one and then on to Newark. We did and we are home but it cost more money, stress and delay in returning home.

We will return to bringing the rental car back to AB the nite before and take a cab to the airport in the morning.

AB is wonderful and we have used them for ten years in a row now and will continue to do so but they don't open up until 5:00 a.m. I guess we should have tried to check in at the airport at 4:00 a.m. with the luggage and then return the car, etc. but it seemed like such a hassle.

Leson learned o;n ouur end. We had no way to contact our limo company in NJ regarding the plane changes, either, so they were at the airport for two hours Sunday morning waiting for us. I did call them from Houston once we got there but it was later than the EWR arrival time so damage was done. They might not charge us for the first trip to the airport as we did use them later on. I'm hoping.

We are already booked for 2010!! Booked our room and bought our plane tickets today, too. Can't keep us away. Will use AB Car rental again, too. LOVE Bonaire! Have a great trip.

Oh, if you take your car back the evening before the flight and it is by 8:00 p.m. AB will drive you back to your place. If it is after 8:00 p.m. you must get a taxi or have someone else bring you back to your accommodatations. cb

If using AB, just drop the car off across the street from the airport. They have you sign a waiver and they pick it up at their convenience. I've done this twice...no problems. You don't have to return it early or worry about a taxi.

Yeah Id definitely recommend AB .. I rented a pick-up truck with a special dive rack in the trunk, very practical.

Its pretty easy to book online through their website too.. and a special thanks to Jose (at AB) who was of great assistance to us!

Cheers

Just try Voyager Events Car rental
its the same pick up trucks like AB , butt cheaper, and their service is great, the owner is john with his great team. You can check also the posting from bonairetalk, people who rent before from voy.
www.voyagereventscarrental.com
greetings Harry

As Tribs says,do the disclaimer with AB. Use your rental to drop people and luggage off Flamingo, then go across the street and drop off the vehicle. Keys go into a slot at the old AB office. If you want, take pics of the vehicle as you left it. I too have done this for the last two years with no problems.

Thanks to everyone for the tips.

I ended up renting a car from Poppy. AB did not respond to my email rate request. Poppy offered a good rate and I have read many good posts about her service.

WT

Poppy is my girl! You can't go wrong dealing with her! Good service, and a good price... Ron