Bonaire information - all inclusive or just rent

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saf1

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My and my brother in law are looking to get away for a week or more to go diving. Roatan is one choice with Bonaire being the second. With Roatan we can go all inclusive and there are several notable resorts with good reviews that I've read.

Bonaire - on the other hand - seems that it offers a ton of great beach dives and we could probably get more diving for overall cheaper cost. Not that cheap is good or bad but with the economy I have to consider air fair and other things while I'm planning this.

So my question I guess for those who dove in Bonaire before does it matter if you go all inclusive or just rent a flat, truck, and dive; with boat dives here and there? Outside of diving in Hawaii I'm a local Ca guy who dives in the cold waters of Monterey :)

Thanks for any info. Plan is to head out sometime in December of January.
 
On Bonaire - just rent. very small island and easy access to everything. Lots of good places to eat.

I have only done COCO View on Roatan but I think you could go either way there. COCO View meets my needs + some so I am happy with them as an AI...
 
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No need for all-inclusive in Bonaire.

I recently stayed at the Plaza Resort on a package that was unlimited shore diving, two boat dives a day, free nitrox, rental truck, and included breakfast. My buddy and I made PB&J sandwhiches for lunch and ate dinner at a bunch of great restaurants. The island is tiny, and if you stay right in/near town you can walk to 80% of what's available.
 
both are excellent options for diving... I would do as DeputyDan says - go to CCV resort on Roatan OR go for a regular room with kitchenette on Bonaire. Price is about the same for both once you work in the truck rental on Bonaire and the food. I can recommend Buddy Dive Resort on Bonaire. They have the truck and free breakfast buffet each day included in room cost, along with one boat dive each day.
Welcome to the Buddy Dive Resort website

see my Bonaire videos: Bonaire on Vimeo



We are heading back to CCV in March........ that place makes me smile every time I think about it. :D
Welcome to CoCo View Resort
CCV_grounds236.jpg


can't beat an oceanfront room in a small resort with great boats and crew and the best shore diving around outside of Bonaire.

robin:D
 
both are excellent options for diving... I would do as DeputyDan says - go to CCV resort on Roatan OR go for a regular room with kitchenette on Bonaire. Price is about the same for both once you work in the truck rental on Bonaire and the food. I can recommend Buddy Dive Resort on Bonaire. They have the truck and free breakfast buffet each day included in room cost, along with one boat dive each day.
Welcome to the Buddy Dive Resort website

see my Bonaire videos: Bonaire on Vimeo



We are heading back to CCV in March........ that place makes me smile every time I think about it. :D
Welcome to CoCo View Resort
CCV_grounds236.jpg


can't beat an oceanfront room in a small resort with great boats and crew and the best shore diving around outside of Bonaire.

robin:D

NICE shot Robin!!! you are right CCV makes me smile everytime I think about it too!!
 
We used to do the all inclusive, but now we rent a place threw Remax, a truck threw AB Cars, and do an unlimited shore package threw Buddy dive. Buy our groceries there and do most of our cooking, with a few really good meals in a couple of Bonaire's many great places to dine.
 
I'm a local Ca guy who dives in the cold waters of Monterey :)

Thanks for any info. Plan is to head out sometime in December of January.

I can remember when Monterey was my first WARM water dive. :shakehead: Compared with New England Atlantic, and long before I discovered the Caribbean! :D

That time of year is high season, a bit more rain than our usual July trip, but waters were @82d f this last Jan when we were there, and the diving was great!
 
I stayed in bonaire last year, and the bay Islands the year prior (Guanaja, not Roatan). I'd recomend Bonaire for the better diving. Specifically I rented this place and a car on my own. Belnem vacation rental by owner: 2 bedroom Villa rental that sleeps 6. Modern Tropical Oceanfront Villa with Spectacular Ocean Views

The Bel Mar in Bonaire was right next door and also seemed very very nice.

I hate to argue with you on this but having done both places, I can say that the diving is great on both Bonaire and Roatan. Guanaja is not the same as Roatan! Even the north side of Roatan is very different than the southside (where CCV resort is located and dive sites). You can't say that Bonaire is better that Roatan just because you went to another island near it!

Bonaire = sloping walls, clear water, very little current (except the southern points), and lots of fish. I call it easy diving. Some dives are like a swimming pool/bathwater where you can just hang out in 30' deep water surrounded by fish. Very easy and relaxing. Walls are colorful but no swimthroughs and all reefs are somewhat the same in topography. A few small wrecks and the Hilma Hooker which is very nice.

Roatan, southside = very dramatic, sheer walls from 20' straight down to the abyss, tons of swimthroughs and deep gorges, very little current, and lots of fish. Walls are very colorful and lush, fishlife is excellent, vis is not as good as Bonaire. There are several wrecks, big and small. I also think there is more of a range of easy to adv diving because of the ability to go deep on almost every dive. Beginner divers and adv divers can do the same dive - beg divers just stay on top of wall in 30' deep water and the adv divers go deeper and through the swimthroughs or gorges at whatever depth they want. There is also a shark dive. And there is nothing like Mary's Place, Calvin's Crack, or Valley of the Kings on Bonaire!

The Northside of Roatan is much more the topography of Bonaire from what I have been told.

Yes, Bonaire is great and we love it, but the southside of Roatan is great, just different with different topography and different, very different diving! :D

I didn't get any good video of our trip to Roatan as I had camcorder ******** issue the second day. But there are great videos by Ronscuba (a SB member) right here:
the swimthroughs: Roatan Scuba Part 5 Swimthroughs on Vimeo
the walls: Roatan Scuba Part 1 on Vimeo
the sharks: http://www.vimeo.com/743480


robin:D
 
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I was at Coco View two weeks ago and I go to Bonaire (Capt. Don's Habitat) every February. Visability much better in Bonaire. Usually less boat rocking in Bonaire. Restaurants in Bonaire are excellent but expensive. The locals are much nicer in Roatan. Coco View boats much less crowded. More daily boat dives at Coco View. Time to dive sites much less at Coco View. Shore diving great in Bonaire. Bottom line: great diving in both locations.
 

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