Advice on bonaire

[Swim_mom]

hi All,
We are a family of 4 - (kids are 16 and 14)
3 of us are divers -
we are planning a trip in august to bonaire. we are in the Toronto area.
Would appreciate some advice on how to get to bonaire (direct flights) - has anyone flown there from Toronto?
We were thinking of driving to Charlotte, NC - what are some thoughts on Insel vs other airlines?
We were also looking at staying at the plaza or flamingo and would appreciate advice on whether to get a meal plan or not - are restaurants expensive on Bonaire?

thanks in advance

Swim Mom

 

[DeputyDan]

Continental/United flies direct from Newark and Houston. Both flights are over night (and only on the weekends)
Delta flies direct from Atlanta on Saturdays

When we go - we fly American to Curacao and take a local carrier Divi Divi from Curacao to Bonaire.
Alot of folks will fly to Aruba (lots of flights from the USA to Aruba) and then take a local carrier to Bonaire.

You might send a PM to GypsyJim and ask him how he goes to Bonaire. He lives in the upper New York region.

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
If you do a search you will find hours and hours of reading on Boniare.
Nothing wrong with Divi or Plaza and there are a lot of other options, depending on what you like, want or need. Several other places to look at are Buddy Dive, Belmar and Den Laman. I have stayed at all 3 of the and will again, just confirmed Buddy later this year. When compairing packages, be sure to compair apples to apples. Some include a nitrox upgrade, some don't - some include a vehicle, others you have to rent your own. You will want a vehilcle and the best one is a 4 dr pickup, cars do not work well for shore diving on Bonaire.
I recommend not getting an all inclusive at any place, there are way too many great places to eat on Bonaire to be stuck at a resort restuarant. Getting the incuded breakfast is Ok if you like or you can save a lot by buying breakfast items at the local store.
Your perspective on the cost if restuatants on Bonaire depends on a lot of things but compairing them to local restuarants here, there is not much difference.
Another money saving thing ($130ish per diver) is to drop the boat diving from your package. IMO, the boat dives eat up too much time and limit me to too little bottom time, I much prefer to do my own thing on my own schedule. You can always add back in a boat dive or 2 if you decide you want to do them.

 

[darook]

Herman has great advice. I would add Djambo as a place to check out. I have not stayed there but looked over on my last visit and it looked great. It is not on the water but is not far, is an easy walk to most of the eateries and I believe has a Nitrox deal.

 

[herbdb]

We stayed at the Plaza last summer and liked it. Our package included breakfast only. We just snacked for lunch and ate out in the evenings. Entrees were typically in to 20-25 dollar range. If you stay in the Plaza villas you will have a full kitchen so you can be as frugal as you wish.

Be sure to make time for a trip to the Donkey preserve. Kids of all ages love it. Here is a link to the pictures from our trip? Bonaire 2011

 

[TheWizard]

Driving from Toronto to Charlotte sounds like a novel way to start/finish a trip to Bonaire!
Consider flying from TOR to CUR for around $900 each, any day of the week.
Do breakfast at your dive resort for your first trip, less complicated than doing it yourself although that's just what we're planning to do for our next BON trip.
Most folks eat out at various place for dinner; prices are higher than back home, but you can check menus in advance to avoid sticker shock...

 

[Doctorfish]

Another option re flights is Delta, Toronto-Atlanta and then Atlanta-Bonaire. Leave Toronto at 6.30 AM, land in Bonaire by 2 PM. Hard to beat that. I would not go all inclusive as there are lots of local inexpensive restaurants and eating local food adds to the trip. I agree with Herman with respect to shore diving vs boat as well as looking at other housing options. In my opinion, the Plaza is too spread out and the house shore dive is not nearly as good as the places on the north side of town like Buddys, Sanddollar, Habitat. Divi has an excellent house reef as well. Cannot speak for Den Lamen, never stayed or dived there.

 

[BDSC]

I'm not sure I can add a whole lot to what has been said. I have been to Bonaire numerous times and I have found the diving to the north to be better so we like to stay at Buddys or Sand Dollar. I think for an all-around good place to stay it's hard to beat Buddys. Sand Dollar is right next door and will save you a few dollars if you stay there. We do the "breakfast included" package at Buddys and staying there includes a vehicle. The shore diving along that area is pretty good and it's easy in and out. Like Herman said, skip boat dive packages and just buy them as you see fit.

As far as eating out, I think the prices are reasonable and there are lots of good restaurants.

If you want to look at a lot of different options all on one site try this site. I have booked thru them many times and they are great to work with. Bonaire Travel : Diving, Windsurfing, Snorkeling, Hotels & Resorts on Bonaire | BonairePros.com

Finally, while Delta has one of the best schedules for getting to Bonaire it's usually quite expensive. We usually fly into Miami and then take Insel Air from Miami non-stop to Bonaire. We have never had any problems with this route and it's usually cheaper for us to go this way.

 

[KeithG]

We used to fly to curacao / aruba and then transfer via a local puddle jumper to bonaire. It was not always a good experience. We now fly directly into bonaire from a us hub (charlotte, newark, altanta, houston,...depends on the airline chosen).
The drive to charlotte is easy, but adds 2 more travel days as it is around 14 hours from toronto (we were forced to do this a few years ago due to snow in toronto closing the airport).

Do not get a meal plan - just breakfast. Bonaire has lots of good quality restaurants at many price levels from basic hamburgers all the way to venison steaks. Food is priced similar to Toronto restos. Staying at divi means it is an easy walk into town to eat at night.

 

[Mr. Bill]

Hello Swim Mom

I am located here in Southern Ontario as well. For the past 15 years I arrange a dive trip somewhere warm and sunny for a small group of divers and non divers. This year we return to "Beautiful Bonaire". I have found that the least expensive and easiest way to get to Bonaire is on the red eye out of Buffalo. Continental Airlines flys weekends only from Buffalo to Newark to Bonaire. You depart Bufallo at about 5:00 pm Friday and arrive in Bonaire about 5:30 am on Saturday morning. This year our tickets were only about $700 each all taxes included.
About the accommodations.....I have always booked private homes or villas. This year we have our own private villa right on the ocean with five bedrooms. Beautiful spot and about the same cost as doing the resort thing when I factor in a vehicle rental and unlimited shore dives. We find that this way we spend quality time together, we share in the cooking duties and go out for meals a few times. I have found that restaurant meals are about the same as they would be here in Toronto. You can do it for under $20.00 or you can spend $50.00 or more in some spots. Lots of great spots to eat out. Have a great time with your family in Bonaire. If I can help with your plans shoot me off a private message and let me know, I will get back to you.