Bonaire is a premier destination for those who seek the unhurried pace of the Caribbean combined with world-class diving and rugged natural beauty. Unlike many other island destinations where tourists are funnelled into all-inclusive resorts, Bonaire encourages exploration.
To truly experience the pink salt pans, the flamingos of Pekelmeer, and the remote dive entries of the north, a rental vehicle is a necessity. However, the unique landscape and specific local rental market conditions create a breeding ground for misunderstandings and, in some cases, deliberate scams.
Protecting yourself requires a blend of digital due diligence, physical evidence, and an understanding of the island’s peculiar security culture. This guide explores how to navigate the car rental process from booking to return, ensuring your holiday remains defined by the turquoise waters rather than a disputed credit card statement.
Securing a trouble-free rental experience begins long before you set foot on the island. The decisions you make during the booking phase are critical in insulating yourself from potential scams.
The digital landscape for car rentals in Bonaire is a mixture of large international franchises and smaller, family-run operations. While both can provide excellent service, each presents different risks. One of the most common pitfalls involves mirror websites. Scammers often create sophisticated replicas of well-known local rental sites, offering prices that seem significantly lower than the market average.
These sites exist solely to harvest credit card information or to take non-refundable deposits for cars that do not exist. To avoid this, always verify the security of the URL and check for a physical address and local telephone number. Cross-reference the company on independent travel forums to ensure other travellers have successfully rented from them recently.
Another critical factor at the booking stage is the insurance policy. Many travellers rely on the Collision Damage Waiver (CDW) provided by their credit card companies. However, Bonaire is a truck island. Most divers rent double-cab pickup trucks to haul gear. Many credit card insurance policies explicitly exclude trucks, 4x4 vehicles, and open-air vehicles like Jeeps from their coverage. If you book a car assuming you are covered, only to find out at the counter that your insurance is invalid, you may be forced to pay an exorbitant daily rate for the agency's in-house insurance. Always contact your credit card provider beforehand and obtain a written statement of coverage that mentions Bonaire and pickup trucks specifically.
Scrutinise the fuel and cleaning policies in the terms and conditions. Look for a Full-to-Full fuel policy, which is the industry standard for fairness. Avoid companies that mandate a Pre-purchase fuel option, where you pay for a full tank at the start and return it empty. In practice, it is nearly impossible to return a car with an empty tank, meaning the rental agency effectively steals the remaining fuel and charges you a premium for the privilege. Establish a clear, documented trail of what is included in your price before you arrive.
When you arrive in Kralendijk and head to the rental desk, you must be very vigilant. The pick-up phase is the moment where most future disputes are either born or prevented. It requires meticulous attention to detail and thorough documentation to avoid scams.
Many rental scams in Bonaire rely on false damage claims—charging a new customer for a dent or scratch that was actually caused by a previous one. Before you sign the final rental agreement, conduct a comprehensive inspection of the vehicle. Do not rely on the agent’s pre-marked diagram, which often glosses over minor imperfections. Instead, use your smartphone to take a continuous, high-definition video walk-around of the vehicle.
Start from the front bumper and move slowly around the entire perimeter. You must pay special attention to the areas most prone to damage on Bonaire’s limestone-heavy roads: the windshield, the side mirrors, and the rims. Stones kicked up by other vehicles are a frequent cause of glass chips, and unscrupulous agencies may try to charge you for an entire windshield replacement for a tiny crack that was already there.
In addition to the exterior and interior, check the emergency equipment. In Bonaire, the state of the spare tyre and the jack is paramount. Because many roads are unpaved and sharp coral rock is common, flat tyres are frequent. A common scam involves providing a vehicle with a missing or damaged jack, then charging the customer for it upon return. Furthermore, physically verify that the spare tyre is inflated and that the tools to change it are present and functional. If these items are missing at the start, you are almost certain to be billed for them at the end.
Once the inspection is complete, ensure that every single blemish you have found is noted on the paper or digital contract. If an agent tells you that a scratch is too small to matter, insist that they record it anyway. Your signature on that document is a legal acknowledgement of the car's condition; if you leave a scratch off the list, you are effectively accepting financial responsibility for it. Never leave the lot until you have a copy of this document in your hand or your inbox.
Once you are on the road, the risks shift from administrative scams to situational hazards. Maintaining vigilance during the rental period is vital for both avoiding scams and ensuring your personal safety on the road.
Bonaire has a unique culture regarding vehicle security that often confuses tourists. At many dive sites, particularly those in more secluded areas, there is a risk of petty theft. A common occurrence that feels like a scam but is actually a local reality is the window smash. If a thief sees a locked car, they may break the glass just to check the glove box or the space under the seats. The local advice, which is vital for avoiding massive repair bills from your rental agency, is to leave the car doors unlocked and the windows slightly down when you are away from the vehicle at a dive site or beach.
Leaving the windows down signals to potential thieves that there is nothing of value inside worth breaking a window for. If you ignore this advice and a window is smashed, the rental agency will hold you liable for the glass replacement and the loss of use fees while the vehicle is in the shop. These fees can amount to hundreds of dollars and are often used by less reputable agencies as a significant profit centre. Because of this, you must never leave anything of value in the car—not even cheap items—as the cost of the broken window far outweighs the value of the stolen goods.
Furthermore, be wary of staged incidents. While rare on Bonaire compared to larger Caribbean islands, be cautious if someone flags you down claiming you have a flat tyre or smoke coming from your engine. If you must pull over, do so in a well-lit, public area. Scammers may use these distractions to lift bags from the passenger seat or to cause minor damage to the car that they then offer to help you fix for a fee. Stick to the main roads when possible, and if you are heading into the Washington Slagbaai National Park, ensure you are in a high-clearance vehicle to avoid undercarriage damage, which is rarely covered by standard insurance.
The return of the vehicle is the final hurdle. Careful adherence to the procedure here ensures your security deposit is released without incident.
Many travellers make the mistake of dropping the car off in a hurry to catch their flight, leaving the keys in a drop-box without a final inspection. This is a high-risk move. Without a signed close-out report, the rental agency can claim damage occurred after you left the vehicle, and you will have no evidence to the contrary. Always return the car during business hours and insist on a live walk-around with an agent. Use the same video technique you used during pickup to document the car’s condition as you left it. Ensure the agent signs a document stating the vehicle was returned in the same condition as it was received.
To avoid fuel surcharges, always fill up at a petrol station within five kilometres of the airport and keep the physical receipt. Some agencies may claim the needle is just below the full line and charge a refuelling service fee, which can be triple the cost of the actual petrol.
Additionally, be aware of cleaning scams. Bonaire is a dusty, sandy island, and it is expected that a rental car will have some sand on the floor mats. However, some agencies charge excessive cleaning fees for standard levels of dirt. Give the mats a quick shake before you arrive at the depot. If the agency insists on a cleaning fee, ask them to show you the specific clause in your contract that defines "excessive" and take photos of the interior to prove the car is in reasonable condition.
Finally, after you return home, keep all your documentation—the initial contract, the pickup video, the return signature, and the petrol receipt—for at least two months. Monitor your credit card statement closely for any delayed charges. Scams often manifest as "admin fees" or "unpaid traffic fines" that appear weeks later. If an unauthorised charge appears, you will have the comprehensive evidence required to initiate a chargeback through your bank.
Avoiding car rental scams in Bonaire is less about luck and more about a disciplined approach to documentation and local knowledge. By researching your agency thoroughly, documenting the vehicle’s condition with video evidence, adhering to local parking norms to prevent theft-related damage, and insisting on a final signed inspection, you remove the ambiguity that scammers rely on.
Bonaire is an island meant for discovery; by taking these professional precautions, you ensure that your memories of the island are of its vibrant reefs and salt-stained landscapes, rather than an avoidable financial dispute. A little extra time spent at the rental counter is a small price to pay for the peace of mind that comes with knowing you are fully protected.
Do not be afraid of scams and logistical challenges. Secure your rental car today for a memorable Bonairean adventure! Final Rentals makes renting a car safe and easy with just a few steps. You can book via our website or through our mobile app, which can be downloaded on Google Play or the App Store.
