Paying In Bonaire: Cash, Card And Digital

That surprises Dutch visitors, who often arrive with euros: the island is part of the Netherlands, but the euro is not legal tender here and shops will not take it.

Cards are widely accepted — Mastercard, Visa and Maestro in almost every shop and restaurant — and you are charged in dollars. Cash machines are easy to find in Kralendijk and at the airport, and they pay out in dollars. The one thing they do badly is denomination: most dispense twenty-dollar notes, which is more than you want to be handing over as a tip.

Which brings up the practical point. Tipping is ten to fifteen per cent, and most places cannot add it to a card payment — so it has to be cash. Ask the hotel front desk to break a couple of twenties into fives and ones on your first day and the rest of the trip is easier. Keep some cash on you regardless: several food trucks, the smaller beach places and the ice cream shop in Rincon take nothing else.

Prices across the island run above Dutch levels because almost everything arrives by ship, and that gap is widest on imported groceries and restaurant wine.