2022 Bonaire Roll Call

[tursiops]

So for us it generally works out best to do a VRBO, since places that do packages tend to be based on two or four or six, and they don't generally discount for a larger group. I do miss the total vacation resort experience a bit, but the cost difference is often insurmountable. A truck and a decent rental for a week can be had for around $2500 on Bonaire, unlimited air packages are around $30 a day or 900 for the week for five of us. A three bedroom at Buddy's is $850 pp times 6 for $5100 a week they might discount it by 3-4 hundred for five, so your paying $1100 for breakfast for five for a week. Plus you get more space, more privacy at a VRBO and often much nicer accoutrements and a private pool.

Not sure where you get your Buddy Dive numbers. Low season, 6 people in a 3BR unit with no boat dives is $844.35 pp, breakfast, car and air included. For 5 people, the cost is $939.62 pp. If you add 6 boat dives to that, the price goes up $210 pp. All rack rates.

 

[drrich2]

A truck and a decent rental for a week can be had for around $2500 on Bonaire, unlimited air packages are around $30 a day or 900 for the week for five of us.

I don't want to veer too far from the topic, but it's worth following this tangent up. Does that 'decent rental' you get tend to include oceanfront accommodations? I ask because for some people that's a 'thing,' and it'd be good to know where these tend to be located.

 

[arew+4]

Not sure where you get your Buddy Dive numbers. Low season, 6 people in a 3BR unit with no boat dives is $844.35 pp, breakfast, car and air included. For 5 people, the cost is $939.62 pp. If you add 6 boat dives to that, the price goes up $210 pp. All rack rates.

So at 940 pp you come to 4700.

This house

Five unlimited air shore diver $900, a truck for the week. $350. Total call it $3750. Breakfast at Buddy's costs me $950 for the week. All rack rates, and probably not the best I can do. Also, I would not consider these to be equivalent accommodations, and while not water front, it appears to be water view.

 

[tursiops]

It's worth it to me, when on vacation, to not have to cook all my meals, to not have to go through multiple hoops to arrange for acommodations, air, and a truck, to have someone else clean my bathroom, to have easy access to the water 24x7 (especially for night dives), and to have easy access to a boat for some of the great sites on Bonaire that cannot be accessed from shore. If I want to dive for a week as cheaply as possible I'm not going to go to Bonarie anyway.....unless I measure the cost *per dive* in which case Bonaire is competitive, especially with readily accessible shore access a few steps from my acommodations.

 

[arew+4]

It's worth it to me, when on vacation, to not have to cook all my meals, to not have to go through multiple hoops to arrange for acommodations, air, and a truck, to have someone else clean my bathroom, to have easy access to the water 24x7 (especially for night dives), and to have easy access to a boat for some of the great sites on Bonaire that cannot be accessed from shore. If I want to dive for a week as cheaply as possible I'm not going to go to Bonarie anyway.....unless I measure the cost *per dive* in which case Bonaire is competitive, especially with readily accessible shore access a few steps from my acommodations.

You seem to be all about, I, me, and my and that's cool different strokes for different folks. When it was just the wife and I, it was glass floored bungalows on stilts over the water. Now we are "dragging" three children around the globe with us, trying to expose them to different cultures, customs etc. and share with them something that has been source of great joy and brought us closer together through the last 30 some years. You do you, I'll continue to do a little extra to save a couple of bucks, so I can share something I'm passionate about with my children

 

[drrich2]

Since the cost of eating out vs. cooking in came up, though it be a tangent to the topic, here's a menu from Oct. 2019 from the Cactus Blue food truck (which I see online is temporarily closed). Looks like a cheese burger ($9), chips ($2) and a can of soda (hard to read here, but blown up on my computer, $2) will set you back $13. It depends on what you're used to; I think of Bonaire costing half-again what food back home does.

And part of the menu from Eddy's Restaurant:

In the past I've seen Buddy Dive Resort's breakfast priced at $15/day, but it's a good buffet and way to start the day.

 

[Jersey]

Just Us Divers (Lin & Tim) are back March 12 - 26, 2022. Hoping to be joined by The Joes (Joe Sr & Jr) for at least a week. Buddy Dive

UGGGHHHH - hoping to be there Saturday - 10/2 PCR nasal swabs sent off this morning (48 hrs) but hear testing is backing up to 48-72 hrs due to mutations.

 

[arew+4]

@drrich2

Damn, Lionfish burgers were $10 back in 2016, wonder where they're at now.

 

[tursiops]

You seem to be all about, I, me, and my and that's cool different strokes for different folks. When it was just the wife and I, it was glass floored bungalows on stilts over the water. Now we are "dragging" three children around the globe with us, trying to expose them to different cultures, customs etc. and share with them something that has been source of great joy and brought us closer together through the last 30 some years. You do you, I'll continue to do a little extra to save a couple of bucks, so I can share something I'm passionate about with my children

LOL. Good job with misrepresenting my message!

 

[DustyC]

The best I've done was 2016. 3 of us. Bonaire Exclusive 3 bedroom for 669, truck add on 300, 20% off through dive friends, iirc, 144 each. So 467 each, plus food. I flew business on points, and ate cheap. So I spent less than 1k. The current trip, well thank God my new woman makes REALLY good money lol