Hi:
I was there once with my wife & friend a week in March '07. My thoughts in brief:
1.) Shore diving whenever, wherever you & your buddy want without having the book it is wonderful.
2.) For shore diving, don't put your fins on until you wade out to around waist deep water, then put them on. Take them off on your way out at about the same depth. This is common sense to some of you but I'd been taught that for shore entry you put your fins on & try to talk in backwards. Yeah, sure, on gradually sloping smooth sand maybe. But Bonaire entries are a bit rocky. This tip from my scuba instructor made a huge difference for us.
3.) One day, up in the day when it's nice & sunny, hit Washington-Slagbaii (? spelling) Park and take some beautiful scenic photos.
4.) One day, up in the day, take a dive across the rural countryside down south. Maybe you'll see a flamingo; we say 2 or 3 this way. Get out & try to catch a lizard. Take some scenery shots.
5.) One day, browse the gift shops.
6.) On varied evenings, eat at Richard's, Will's Grill (if I recall the name right) & Papaya Moon.
7.) Walk along the beach at night with a flash light & see what you can see coming around.
8.) We didn't see a lot of big stuff, but some. Tarpon aren't all over the place but dive the Hilma Hooker & you should see a few. My friend & I saw a large green moray on the sea floor by the wreck, too. We saw 2 small green sea turtles & a small school of small barracuda on other dives. Once at the surface my buddy spotted a pod of dolphin in the distance. Big parrot fish are common & colorful site. I saw the tail of what was likely a large spotted moray sticking out. My friend found a large octopus in a hole.
9.) We stayed at Eden Beach Resort; really liked it.
10.) Loved it & hope to go again.
I've noticed on this forum people who want more night life but still good shore diving tend to get referred to Curacao. I haven't been.
Richard.