Kralendijk

Only if you go in the water or enter Washington Slagbaai National Park. Cruise passengers pay a discounted $10 single-day Nature Fee for entering Washington Slagbaai. Anyone diving, snorkeling, or doing watersports inside the Bonaire National Marine Park — which is the entire coastline, including most beaches — pays the standard $40 annual Nature Fee. Walking around Kralendijk, eating, shopping, and lying on the sand without entering the water: free. Shore excursions sold by your ship usually bundle the fee; independent operators usually don't, so ask.

The Epic water taxi runs from Bonaire Nautico Marina (a short walk from either cruise pier) over to No Name Beach on Klein Bonaire. The crossing is about five minutes. Round-trip is $25 per adult, $15 for children 12 and under, with optional add-ons like a beach chair ($5) or a lunch-box bundle. Klein Bonaire is uninhabited and undeveloped — bring water, sunscreen, a hat, and reef-safe everything, because there is no shop, no bar, and no shade beyond what you create yourself.

Yes, by Caribbean cruise-port standards Bonaire is on the quieter end. The U.S. State Department keeps Bonaire at Travel Advisory Level 1 — exercise normal precautions, the lowest tier — and the island has a small population, a small police force, and very little of the cruise-port hustle you find on bigger islands. Standard precautions apply: don't leave valuables visible in a rental car, lock your hotel room, don't wander unfamiliar areas alone late at night. There is no organized cruise-passenger scam culture here in the way Aruba or Curaçao have built up.

U.S. dollars — officially. Bonaire became a special municipality of the Netherlands in 2010 and adopted the U.S. dollar on 1 January 2011. There is no separate Bonaire currency to figure out. Cards are widely accepted at restaurants, dive shops, and supermarkets; smaller market stalls and some taxis prefer cash. The Caribbean guilder you may have read about is the new currency of Curaçao and Sint Maarten — it does not circulate on Bonaire.

Yes, and you don't need a tour. The Pekelmeer flamingo sanctuary sits at the southern end of the island next to the Cargill salt works — about 20 minutes by taxi or rental car from the cruise piers. You view them from the road; the sanctuary itself is closed to the public to protect the breeding colony, so don't wander into the salt pans. The pink salt mountains and the nearby slave huts are the same drive. Combine with the 1000 Steps dive site on the way back if you have a snorkel kit.

Tight but yes, if you start early and rent a vehicle with clearance. The park is at the northern tip of the island, roughly 25 km from Kralendijk, open Tuesday–Sunday 8:00 AM–5:00 PM with last entry at 2:30 PM. Cruise passengers pay a $10 single-day Nature Fee at the gate. Most of the interior loop requires a high-clearance vehicle — a regular rental sedan will not survive the rougher route. Plan four to five hours minimum once you're inside, and confirm your all-aboard time before committing.