Bonaire Golf Carts

[Cruise till you drop]

1 hour ago, Denversail said:

We did these in Bonaire and loved it. I think we went the wrong direction but nobody seemed to care. Be careful of your weight distribution. Our son was driving with a few standing in the back and the cart did a wheelie. We had a great time and got to see so much of Bonaire.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 22, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[PapaGoose]

We just got back this week from a Panama Canal and ABC Island cruise. We had a half day stop in Bonaire. 6 am to 1 pm. We emailed Debbie at Bonaire Cruisers and reserved a golf cart. No CC required. They were very good in confirming our reservation! It was an early morning and we got off the ship around 7 am and Debbie herself was waiting just outside the gate at the port. She pointed us down the street, probably a 10 minute walk, to their place. I paid with a crisp US $100 bill and gave a second $100 as a security deposit. You can also do this with CC and the second $100 is just a hold on the card. They thoroughly described our route, gave us a map and explained all the intricacies of operating the golf cart. Take your key with you if you wander from your cart to enjoy some of the locations!
 

We travelled the South loop with many stops for photos and a couple of toe dips in the beautiful water. We saw flamingoes, wild donkeys, a salt mine, slave huts and even a very grumpy goat. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 
 

we wish we had the full day there so we could have toured the North loop as well. Next time I guess. 

 

We returned the cart with 20 minutes to spare before we had to board our ship. We were greeted warmly and given our second $100 bill back. A short walk back to the port and we were sadly on our way!

 

Bonaire is now on our “ let’s go back there soon” list!

[PapaGoose]

[ssawjo]

19 hours ago, PapaGoose said:

We just got back this week from a Panama Canal and ABC Island cruise. We had a half day stop in Bonaire. 6 am to 1 pm. We emailed Debbie at Bonaire Cruisers and reserved a golf cart. No CC required. They were very good in confirming our reservation! It was an early morning and we got off the ship around 7 am and Debbie herself was waiting just outside the gate at the port. She pointed us down the street, probably a 10 minute walk, to their place. I paid with a crisp US $100 bill and gave a second $100 as a security deposit. You can also do this with CC and the second $100 is just a hold on the card. They thoroughly described our route, gave us a map and explained all the intricacies of operating the golf cart. Take your key with you if you wander from your cart to enjoy some of the locations!
 

We travelled the South loop with many stops for photos and a couple of toe dips in the beautiful water. We saw flamingoes, wild donkeys, a salt mine, slave huts and even a very grumpy goat. It was breathtakingly beautiful. 
 

we wish we had the full day there so we could have toured the North loop as well. Next time I guess. 

 

We returned the cart with 20 minutes to spare before we had to board our ship. We were greeted warmly and given our second $100 bill back. A short walk back to the port and we were sadly on our way!

 

Bonaire is now on our “ let’s go back there soon” list!

Do you know if they have four person golf carts?

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

4 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Do you know if they have four person golf carts?

We asked recently, and they do not.

 

Tom

[ericosmith]

10 hours ago, ssawjo said:

Do you know if they have four person golf carts?

If I recall correctly they have 2.  I have no idea how to go about getting one since normal reservations are for the two seaters.

[ssawjo]

12 hours ago, ericosmith said:

If I recall correctly they have 2.  I have no idea how to go about getting one since normal reservations are for the two seaters.

I guess I can always ask, thanks.

[ssawjo]

19 hours ago, Tom-n-Cheryl said:

We asked recently, and they do not.

 

Tom

Thanks.

[wildcats40]

The golf carts sound like a great way to explore Bonaire on our own.  If we think we want to snorkel at a beach along the way, where can we rent the mask/snorkel?  Also, do they note on the map where bathrooms are located on the route? 

[wildcats40]

I read someone's post saying it can be difficult sharing the road with cars as the golf carts don't go very fast.  Has anyone had good or bad experiences with this?  I assume the roads are fairly busy when cruise ships are in port.  

[Denversail]

11 minutes ago, wildcats40 said:

I read someone's post saying it can be difficult sharing the road with cars as the golf carts don't go very fast.  Has anyone had good or bad experiences with this?  I assume the roads are fairly busy when cruise ships are in port.  

This was the opposite of our experience. Those things go pretty fast. We didn’t see a whole lot of cars. We actually accidentally did the loop going the wrong way. It was never a problem. We just pulled over when a vehicle was coming. This was one of my favorite days we have had in port. Our whole group loved it. We went out with 6 people in two 4 seat carts.

[ericosmith]

If you take the longer north loop you will spend some time on a highway once leaving Rincon.  Just stay to the right and it will be fine.  All of the cars were courteous and most even gave the local friendly beep when going by.

[itsanita]

We did this in January and had no issues with cars going too fast.  Everyone was very nice and patient with us!    We had a really great day!   There were 6 of us with 3 golf carts.

[wildcats40]

We'll be renting a golf cart in January.  Is the donkey sanctuary close to the road that we'd be taking for the southern route of Bonaire?   I love animals so were hoping to stop there.  

Also, has anyone had issues with mosquitoes or other insects in Bonaire?  I wasn't sure if I need to pack insect repellant.  

 

Thanks!

[ericosmith]

Went north and not south but didn't have any mosquitoes this January.

[PapaGoose]

The donkey sanctuary is pretty much smack dab in the middle of the southern part of the island. As you travel down around the southernmost part of Bonaire and you start heading back northbound on the east side of the island you will come across the fork in the road where you can go left and travel up to the sanctuary or stay on the right side and see more coastal sights. There’s not much else to see until you see the sanctuary on your right hand side. 

[Hawkstar33]

We have done this.   The whole Island.  It was a great time.  If sun is out, you will burn the side of your body that sticks out of cart.  So you will need to switch drivers to equal out the burn.  Suntan lotion a good idea in any event.  Bring a beverage to start out your journey..Doing it again end of April.  Already reserved.....

[Cruise till you drop]

We just got back on a cruise that included Bonaire and we rented carts from Bonaire Cruisers and had a wonderful day exploring the island.  Outside the city, the cars and golf carts played well together but closer to the city and port, there were a few obnoxious drivers that didn’t seem to respect the golf carts.

 

We did both South and North routes and hands down we preferred the South route for things to see (Slave Huts, Salt flats and mines, lighthouse, beach views, Mangroves, Donkey and Flamingo sanctuary, Sorobon Beach, etc).

The North was a longer route but most were on long non water view roads.

 

If I were to do it again, I would have skipped the North and spent more time in South

[SSAtlantic]

Does anyone have a suggestion for a quick lunch or snack on a Sunday about half way around the island? Last time we did the golf carts, we skipped lunch and were a little peaked by the time we finished. Lots of places I have seen are closed on Sundays. We may have to grab a quick bite on the ship. 

[janetz]

Always our to do when there

bring your snorkel gear also!

😊

South  route is best

[Cruise till you drop]

3 hours ago, SSAtlantic said:

Does anyone have a suggestion for a quick lunch or snack on a Sunday about half way around the island? Last time we did the golf carts, we skipped lunch and were a little peaked by the time we finished. Lots of places I have seen are closed on Sundays. We may have to grab a quick bite on the ship. 

If you take the South route first, I would stop at Sorobon Beach to a place called Sebastian Restaurant and Bar.  Great place to sit by the beach and enjoy a drink and either lunch or a snack

[moposh]

This sounds fantastic.  I would like to return to Bonaire at some point.  Maybe I'll try this.  

[kings2001]

We just had a port stop in Bonaire on May 3rd and had the absolute best day EVER renting golf carts from Bonaire Cruisers.  We rented two carts (I drove one with our 10 year old son and my husband drove the other with our 14 year old daughter).  Pickup was super easy and they gave us a map with the route we chose to go highlighted.  They also marked how to get to the Donkey Sanctuary since we planned to go there also.  We did the South Loop with lots of stops to take in the beautiful scenery and went to the Donkey Sanctuary before heading back to town and eating lunch at Mambo Cafe.  We then shopped and returned the golf carts before heading back to the ship.

 

[moposh]

@kings2001  how long did you spend at the Donkey Sanctuary?  

 

I'm not great with maps.  Is it pretty easy to follow?

Edited May 17, 2023 by moposh

[Cruise till you drop]

It’s about 45 min to an hour if you take your time.  Pretty easy to follow the route

Edited May 17, 2023 by Cruise till you drop