Bonaire, Belize or Costa Rica?

[Kat]

Bonaire and Belize are central america?

Belize is Central America. Bonaire is the Caribbean.

Have not been to Costa Rica, but if I had to choose between Belize & Bonaire...no contest! - Bonaire!

 

[ZzzKing]

My father has led flyfishing tours down in Belize, fishing for bonefish on the flats. Dunno how close those areas are to the great diving locations others are speaking of, however.

Belize has wourld class flats fishing for bones, tarpon and permit. He could get a grand slam.

 

[n8Delta]

Leaning towards Belize...anyone have any trip photos and/or tips for restaurants and nigthtlife? hotels etc..

We just got back 2 days ago. Apparently tourist season is picking up right now. It was actually pretty quiet while we were there. A.C. is fabulous. A little pricey compared to some other latin destinations, but you also don't feel like you're getting ripped off all the time. We will be back for sure. Next time we'd like to spend about 25% of our time on the mainland (jungles, rivers, ruins, etc). My girlfriend and I are both 27 years old btw.

On AC, all travel is done by golf carts (which you can rent by the day, but was too pricey for us), bikes, and walking. We preferred walking (75%) and biking (25%) --- we stayed at the Caribbean Villas which was perfect! No TV, no radio... just the warm, relaxing breeze, and books to keep us occupied during our down time. I would recommend getting a place with a fridge/microwave, so you can store some cold Belikins. Ramons looked like a really fun place to stay, and a good location from town and dive shops. The north end caters all the resort-like places, so if you like to mingle in the town with people, I dont think it's the best choice.

You can't really swim in the water off the beach, but you can from the end of the piers. Most water sports (aside from kayaking, hobie cats, etc) you have to pay people to participate in. There is some snorkeling off the end of the piers, but it's not that great.

Diving was fabulous, but not as much life as I had expected (you aren't swarmed with fish). Don't get me wrong, it was fabulous, with great vis. Ecologic and Ramons were our favorite. I heard Amigos and Protech (from people on the island) are really good. Aqua Dives were not good for us (blue hole).

Night life is ok, and mostly consists of middle-agers drinking brews sitting down and telling diving stories. The Jaguar club is apparently a todo place for partying... we seemed to always be diving, so drinking heavily wasn't on our list. Besides the island puts you into a rhythm of going to be early and walking up early. Crazy Cannucks, and BCs always seemed to had people bellied up to the bar.

There's a number of to-do restaturants. You don't really need tips on where to eat, just go out, and try a new one everyday. The Reef was really good for the price... there's a guy doing BBQ near Crazy Canucks that was awesome (fresh catch, chicken, and steaks). Crazy Cannucks has a to-die-for pina coloada.

Stock up on beers from the local distributor---the big grocery store is a rip off.

I haven't been to the other places, but would recommened Belize to family and friends.

Remember it's tourist season right now, so it may be crowded. Not sure, as it was very calm while we were there (nov 13 - nov 22)

Nate

 

[ronbeau]

We would like to have some fun topside as well and plan to Dive 2-3 days while we are there.

If you had to choose one for a 5 day vacation. Which would you pick and why?

For divers with less than 15 dives under their belts.

If you are considering Bonaire you might also want to consider Curacao.

We stayed at Breezes Curacao and one shore dive was provided at no extra cost (including all equipment except wet suit/dive skin).

From everyone I have talked to there is definitely more to do topside in Curacao than Bonaire.

I am not trying to dissuade you from going to Bonaire. As a matter of fact, my wife daughter and I might spend one week of a 2 week vacation in Bonaire and the second one in Curacao next summer.

 

[scubamax]

I agree about Curacao. It has more topside attractions as Bonaire and diving is just about as good. That said, Bonaire is really nice and pleasant island, whereas Curacao is more industrialized and busy, with a bit of edge to it, but still pretty nice.

Having been to Belize and Bonaire in the past couple of years, I would say that based on the limited number of dives you have so far that you might be a bit more comfortable with Bonaire as the diving is so very easy. Belize diving tends to be deeper, with less visibility and sometimes more difficult surface conditions to deal with getting back on the boat. With the deeper profiles, if your air consumption is on the heavy side your BT will be limited compared to Bonaire where if you want you can stay in 30 feet or so of water for the entire dive and still have a great time.

We saw a couple in Belize who were not real experienced divers, and after dealing with the surface currents while getting back on the boat (hand up belt, take BC off and hand up, then fins and get up on a small ladder), they were not really prepared for the physical tasks at hand and decided that the diving there was not for them!...At least plenty of neat things to do topside.

Not to put you off Belize, Ambergris is a great place, but with limited experience you may be more comfortable in Bonaire or Curacao. (Have not been to CR).

Scubamax

 

[Missdirected]

I know this is an old thread. However, I was thinking if someone were to do a search later, wanting to use the information contained here, that I would add something to what the other's have already said.

As for Costa Rica, I just love that place. One thing I didn't see anyone mention was the deep sea fishing. I took my son for some sailfishing and he had a wonderful time. Just a thought - something else to add to the list while you are there or if there is a non-diver in your party. Note, it is catch and release!

One more thing, I fly into Liberia and do my diving and stuff there. Later there is a lil plane I catch that takes you to SanJose (cost is $80). From SanJose is where you will sign up for the white water rafting and zipline tours if you would like. Afterward fly from SanJose home. The airlines are quite used to people doing this.