Bonaire Questions

[HMaren]

The car logic in Bonaire is this - if your car is locked, you might have something valuable in it. Therefore, it could be worth breaking into. If it's unlocked, the thieves don't bother with it. Everyone leaves their cars unlocked. I did it the whole week I was there, and I'm from NY. Usually I lock and alarm my car if I'm leaving it for 30 seconds.

For food - most of the places catering to tourists are going to be fairly pricey - at least, none of them is what you'd think of as cheap. The Penguin Cafe is good - next door is an open air grill that is actually a local place. You might be the only non-Bonairians (sp?) eating there. Rice, beans, and a grilled meat of your choice, filling and delicious, under $10. Can't beat that, especially if you're into "going local", which I usually prefer anyway.

Finally, it can get buggy at night, if the winds are calm. My wife and I are not big fans of A/C and, on the first night (last August), thought it would be great to sleep with the terrace door open so that we could enjoy the ocean breeze. At about 3AM, we woke up to the sounds of buzzing in our ears, and bites on our bodies. THe doors stayed closed at night for the rest of the week.

The diving is first rate.

 

[Charlie59]

get a truck, get air conditioning, very few bugs (winds sure, but I think the Iguanas eat em) but used repellant, and watch out for great diving.

Restuarants--Casablanca, It rains fishes, Richards, The lost Penguin cafe, Blue
Cactus. Too many to mention them all.

I was there June 2-10th and saw 5 seahorses, 4 frog fish with one white, Squid, and more spotted drum than I have ever seen. Very abundant fishlife.

Can't wait to go back.

 

[Boat Chick]

The Penguin Cafe is good - next door is an open air grill that is actually a local place. You might be the only non-Bonairians (sp?) eating there. Rice, beans, and a grilled meat of your choice, filling and delicious, under $10. Can't beat that, especially if you're into "going local", which I usually prefer anyway.

That would be Julio's...they also have great burgers Keep in mind that most restaurants close after lunch (around 2PM) and reopen for dinner around 5PM. So, if you want a late lunch, Bongo's, Julio's, Whattaburger, or Chibi Chibi are some of your choices.

- AC - yes (unless you are really heat tolerant)
- Restaurants, go to http://www.bonairetalk.com and click on dining for a lot of reviews on places to eat
- Bugs - some trips I've been eaten alive, so I now take Avon's Skin So Soft and only come home with a couple of small bites each trip
- Tanks are stolen occasionally. Some of the shops will ask that you don't take extra tanks to the park, etc. The shops do lose a lot of money per year on stolen tanks. The thieves ship them to other islands and South America for resale.

Have a great trip

 

[divnlite]

Here is my trip report from January, this year. I LOVED Bonaire and can't wait to go back.
http://www.mobilegeographics.com:81/locations/4998.html

 

[mbb97fxdwg]

Hey Fellow Bubblers,
Just got back from first trip to Bonaire. I must say that my wife and I were quite impressed. Stayed at BuddyDive and we both thought that we wanted for nothing there. We were very pleased by the operations and staff there. As to Bonaire as a whole: I was pleased on how clean the island as a whole is. I have been to Jamaica several times and was always struck that the world outside of the resorts was pretty bad. Some of the shore entries were challenging by the June winds, but all in all not impossible. Anyhow we are already planning on our next trip there. I we will definetly return to BuddyDive.

 

[scubahiro]

Hi All,

Thanks for the great, and helpful information. One more question: can anyone recommend a car rental place. I was thinking of ABC Car Rental. Does anyone have any thoughts?

Cheers,

Scubahiro

 

[H2Andy]

scuba, check that your package hotel doesn't come with a truck

many places include the truck in the package

i picked my truck up at the AIrport, with Avis ... nice truck, no hassle,
and dropped it off on my way out

 

[mbb97fxdwg]

Number 11111 Gear Tip:
Get Hard-Soled dive boots for walking over lava,dead coral etc. on shore entries. This was the best thing anyone told me on my first trip.

 

[timetraveler]

We use AB Carrental Their trucks are sometimes pretty beat-up, but they've always been reliable and I think they have the best prices on Bonaire. We pick the truck up at the airport.

 

[Boat Chick]

can anyone recommend a car rental place. I was thinking of ABC Car Rental. Does anyone have any thoughts?

I've used AB, Budget, and Netty's. We go with Netty's now because she's a great gal, small business owner. We like to support the "little guys". I'd highly recommend either her, or Evert's (another small business owner).

Another reason we use Netty's is that the last time we used AB, pretty much the entire plane was renting from AB, and the line was LONG. Took quite awhile to get the car as they only have one person working the booth when the AE flight arrives.

http://www.nettyscarrental.com/home.html

http://www.evertscarrental.com/