Bonaire experiences... need advice

[chrisu]

Hi,

I'm going to Bonaire on my honeymoon in september, and need some advice.

We have two options to choose our accomodation:
1. Divi Flamingo Beach Resort
2. Captain Don´s Habitant
Any recommendations or experiences on these? Pros/Cons?

We are going to dive and do a lot of UW-photo on the trip. Has anyone done any solo diving to the house reefs? Is that ok? So if my wife would like to get tanned on the beach, I could do some photo on the house reef at the same time... Is this ok in Bonaire?

Any must-go reefs in Bonaire? Anything to think before going?
Water temp is around 26-28 deg celcius, right?

All ideas, recommendations and advices are most welcome, on the board or by email .

/nico
Finland...

 

[texas-buzzard]

we will be there sept 17-24. staying at capt don's for the fourth time. the staff, rooms and food are great. their attitude on diving is if you have a c-card you are on your own if you want. if you are a new diver, Jack and his staff will give you all the assist you need. solo diving is up to you. i did several solos on habitat reef when my wife didnt want to dive. all the reefs on bonaire are great so if you have time grab a car and try the island out. there are markers on the road for the dive sites. don't take any extras that you can't swim with. there has been episodes of looting but i have never had any problems. mayby we will see you there.
monte

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
I would think either place would be fine. I have not been on Divi's property but based on what I have heard you may would prefer Capt Dons. My reason is that Capt Dons is a little smaller and more romantic than Divi. The dive off Capt Dons is pretty nice with a small wreck out frount. There are no scuba police on Bonaire so solo diving is not a big problem, just be sure you are well with in your comfort zone and be conservative. Most of the stuff worth photographing is in 11m or less of water but dives over 30m are easily done off CD's dock. As for "beaches" there are very few sandy beaches on Bonaire. Most all of the shore line is coral rubble and stone. At Capt Dons there are several areas by the water where you can sun (I don't recall if they have made any sand "beaches") Be very aware that at 12 deg latitude you will burn VERY quickly. Much faster then most people realize, I would hate for your new bride to get burned on her honeymoon. After 25 years of marrage I can tell you a burnt wife is not much fun .
You will want to rent a truck while on Bonaire as there are lots of very good shore dive spots. Some shore dive sites I would recommend are Old Blue (very easy entry), 1000 steps, Witches Hut, Alice in Wonderland and Hilma Hooker (85m ship in 30m of water).
If you have not already, come join us on the Bonaire board, lots of great info and people. www.bonairetalk.com

 

[chuck e]

Hi,

I'm going to Bonaire on my honeymoon in september, and need some advice.

We have two options to choose our accomodation:
1. Divi Flamingo Beach Resort
2. Captain Don´s Habitant
Any recommendations or experiences on these? Pros/Cons?

We are going to dive and do a lot of UW-photo on the trip. Has anyone done any solo diving to the house reefs? Is that ok? So if my wife would like to get tanned on the beach, I could do some photo on the house reef at the same time... Is this ok in Bonaire?

Any must-go reefs in Bonaire? Anything to think before going?
Water temp is around 26-28 deg celcius, right?

All ideas, recommendations and advices are most welcome, on the board or by email .

/nico
Finland...

Nico
Having been to both resorts, I would choose the Divi. It was renovated in 2002 and the new oceanfront rooms are very nice. It's also close to town and can be walked if you don't have a car. OTOH, Capt. Don's house reef is the best, but no beach. The Divi has a small beach and nicer pool, but the only real beach is at the Plaza.

Chuck

 

[Jetwrench]

Welcome Nico!

I just returned from my fourth trip to Bonaire. I have not stayed at either Divi or CD so if you are going to select from one or the other, I defer to others with experience with them. I stayed at Eden Beach Resort which is near CD and away from town to the north. If you would like I can give you more info on it. A peek on Bonairewebcams will give you a live look at the beach as Eden is one of the sponsors. Few people seem to know about this resort or recommend it. I can't figure out why. Dive operator Wannadive is top notch.

Must do list: I loved Invisibles, and anything near Red Slave. Angel City to the second reef is nice, and Karpata to the north. You should do at least one boat dive to Klein. Great reefs out there and only accessible by boat. DO NOT take a boat to a site that is easy to drive to and dive. I see it all the time. Herman listed others that you will love as well. Get a site map to familiarize yourself.

Solo diving: I dove with a buddy twice and all the rest were solo. It's not an issue and is easy as long as you stay within your limits. No one to bail you out, so behave and be smart.

Feel free to pm me if you have other ?'s

Jet

 

[Damselfish]

Many people will say don't do boat dives in Bonaire to anyplace you can shore dive. I feel the opposite - don't do a shore dive anyplace you can take a boat - at least if you are staying at a place on the water where the boat is right there. Sure shore diving is cheap and you can do it on your schedule. But boat diving on Bonaire is cheap compared to other islands and there's much to be said for the convienience of strolling down to the dock, grabbing your stuff, and hopping on the boat, rather than humping gear and tanks around and worrying about stuff in your vehicle - unless you really like to do that or are looking to save as much money as you can. Just a different viewpoint.

 

[scubaaaronh]

Windsock and 18 palms are also nice spots. A must do dive is the town pier. lots of neat life there. You need a guide and permits. We did a dive there with dee scarr from touch the sea and would reccommend her to anyone. We only did one dive with her but next time back will do the three dive package. she showed us things we never saw before. She will also teach you about the coral and sponge life there Take a look at my pics we were there the last week of Feb on our honeymoon, Oh by the way Congtats on the wedding. The fish in that area are used to her and come for handouts and you get to feed angelfish and a snake eel. It was well woth the money trust me. Check out her site, http://www.touchthesea.com/ . A few good places to eat are Casablancas. Get the Mixed grill for two, you will be impressed if you like beef chicken and pork. Richards for fish and seafood, a little more expensive but right on hte water and a nice place to watch the sunset while eating dinner. Old inn by plaza for lunch their subs were great on homade sub rolls. and City Cafe for internet and lunch Best burgers around and only about 6 bucks, US. Bistro De Paris is a nice little place call and make res there, if you like conch the conch choder in a bread bowl was out of this world. We stayed at the plaza and will return their in a year it was a great resort. We found not to eat at the resorts the food is ok but their are a lot of other better cheaper places.

 

[bilznut]

Jetwrench, I agree with you completely about Eden Beach Resort. I am headed there again in July. You don't see it advertised or hear about it because it is (Was, after this post) the best kept secret on the island. Those of us who have stayed there, want to be sure there are vacancies for our next trip. So....shhhhhhhhh.
P.s. The beach and Wannadive...excellant stuff.

 

[chrisu]

Thanks all!

Seems like we are goint to the right place whatever accomodation we choose..
Looking forward diving the Bonaire, and chilling out..

My solo diving idea was just to get practise on my UW-photo on the house reefs, I am quite conservative diver... I am not going to be on the news..

I think that we would enjoy Divi a bit more because it is situated close to the town, but then again, smaller places are bit more romantic...

And for the record, I am not going to allow her to get burned in the sun..

/nico