Bonaire in April 2013

[diverrex]

Right Jen, it was ok but nothing i'd dream about.

In 3 trips to Bonaire we've eaten at Pasa Bon once. It was ok but too many other good restaurants there to use up a night a Pasa Bon.

 

[RJP]

get the booklet "Bonaire - Shore Diving made Easy". It gives you locations and info on EVERY dive site, a full page on each one. Worth every penny, we use it every trip, write in margins what we saw, conditions, etc. Great stuff.

A voice from the other side of this one - BSDME is a complete waste of money. There are plenty of places that list all the dive sites with maps and fair descriptions. There is ZERO need to pay a penny for this information.

Pasa Bon Pizza (fresh ingredients, it was good, others swear by it)

It's "the best pizza on the island" which is sort of like being "the tallest midget" in my book. Most people seem to think it's good, but most people don't know what good pizza tastes like. If you like pizza sold at the mall, the airport, or any pizza chain... you'll like Pasa Bon just fine.

 

[Doctorfish]

Not even the tallest midget. I did not mention Pasa Bon earlier but I have been there twice and was underwhelmed both times. The owner tends bar and smokes like a chimney and there are usually other smokers at the bar which is juxtaposed to the dining area, so there is always a thick tobacco fog and odour there. The pizza is take out quality. Pre made frozen crust, greasy bland cheese and commercial tomato sauce. Yuck. I went the second time because of all the positive reviews on this board and I was hoping the first bad experience was an anomaly. Nope, just as bad the second time around.
I was bitten to death by mosquitos both visits as well. Habitat Run Runners and Donna and Georgio have much better pizza. There are so many better places to eat on Bonaire that it surprises me that Pasa Bon is still in business.

 

[diversteve]

Donna and Georgio have much better pizza

+1. I liked it rains fishes also, good food and view. Higher priced.

If Menno still has the RIB ask him to take you East side diving. Much greater chance of seeing big stuff.

Some of the better dive possibilities - mostly north to south - but they're all good.

Karpata
Rappel (boat only)
1000 Steps
Cliff
Bari Reef
Angel City
Invisibles
Salt Pier
Vista Blue

 

[uncfnp]

1+ Between 2 Buns. A deli style restaurant. Serving from breakfast through lunch. A little pricey but the sandwiches were excellent. It's at the Sand Dollar Shopping Mall.

 

[DiveMaven]

I will agree that you can find all of the information in Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy in many other places. However, we bought the book before our first trip and wrote our own notes on the pages of the dive sites we visited. That turned out to be a huge help for our second trip, where we did some new sites and put more notes on the pages. I forgot to pack it for our third trip and realized that although we didn't "need" it, we liked having it as a reference. Now we're returning to Bonaire this summer after a 3 year absence and I'm happy to have the book to use as a refresher with our own notes in it.

Do you "need" the book? No.

We're also folks who like Pasa Bon Pizza, but in context. Is it pizza we would get at home? I doubt it. Is it a decent pie that's not too expensive that yields great lunch leftovers? Yup!

 

[jimw]

We will be at Habitat the same week as the op--April 20-27. I look forward to your impressions of Goood!

 

[uncfnp]

I will agree that you can find all of the information in Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy in many other places. However, we bought the book before our first trip and wrote our own notes on the pages of the dive sites we visited. That turned out to be a huge help for our second trip, where we did some new sites and put more notes on the pages. I forgot to pack it for our third trip and realized that although we didn't "need" it, we liked having it as a reference. Now we're returning to Bonaire this summer after a 3 year absence and I'm happy to have the book to use as a refresher with our own notes in it.

Do you "need" the book? No.

I do the same with my dive log book and will add photos of the site but I like the idea of the guide book too.

 

[midas6t6]

We always make sure we get to Casablanca and Unbelievable. Hotel Roomer, a couple miles south of the airport, is very good as well. Definitely stop at Gio's if you like gelato. Btween 2 Buns, formerly across the road known as Elle's Deli, is very good for lunch, pricey for breakfast IMHO.

Must dive southern site for me is Sweet Dreams, northern would include Tolo, Nukove, Candyland, Karpata. Haven't done any of the park sites because of the time involved but will probably take 3 tanks next trip and make a day of it.