The view from our patio in Crown Court 44A, our rental villa

When we looked into an island getaway earlier this year, we wanted to work part of the time and vacation part of the time. To do that, we had to have a high speed Internet connection and a reliable phone line.

We set our sights on Bonaire, a small Dutch island in the southern Caribbean known for its relaxed ambiance and fabulous diving. It was difficult to plan our trip with certainty. Finding out what speed and type of Internet access was available at our hotel proved so challenging we gave up. A waterfront rental villa with high speed Internet access became available at the last minute and we decided to take our chances.

In the end, it all worked out. To our surprise and relief the cable modem Internet connection at the Crown Court 44A villa was great. It was fast enough for a VoIP, allowing us to use our Vonage phone line for U.S. and international phone calls.

After a week working at the villa, we moved to the Harbour Village Beach Club, a favorite spot, for our vacation. Although we were officially on holiday, we still had to connect to the Internet multiple times a day and check voicemail messages daily. The WiFi connection in our suite was weak. Phone calls with the VoIp were unreliable. After several attempts, we gave up and used our cell phones. Although the Internet connectio cut out intermittently during the day, we were able to connect well enough for essentials.

Overall, working remotely from Bonaire was a success made possible thanks to the excellent quality Internet connection at the rental villa. Staying in touch while at Harbour Village was a welcome bonus. Although next time we’d rather spend the entire time relaxing, it’s good to know we can work remotely again if we have to.