Bonaire Questions

[scubahiro]

Hi All,

Was thinking of going to Bonaire and had a few questions, which I hoped to consolidate in one thread. Here goes:

1. For shore diving, does it make sense to rent a truck (where tanks would be on the outside of the vehicle) or a jeep (where tanks would be on the inside of the vehicle), considering the theft problems in Bonaire?

2. How warm does it get in Bonaire in August/September? Is AC a necessity?

3. Any recommendations for dinner/lunch in Bonaire?

4. How bad are the bugs in Bonaire? Is bug repellent necessary, especially at night?

Thanks for your help!

Scubahiro

 

[sasscuba]

Yes. Truck is easier.
80's
Restaurant at Buddy's is good.
not bad at all. Mosquito repellent is what we bring.

 

[El Orans]

#1 no-one steals tanks.

#2 Hot. Yes.

#3 Lots of them.

#4 Not a major problem in September.

#5 www.bonairetalk.com

 

[J75]

Trucks are easier. Tank theft is not an issue at all. There is no real market for them, since they are usually stamped and marked with the shop name. Just be smart about not leaving expensive sunglasses or watches in your truck while diving.

Due to the constant tradewinds on the island, mosquitos aren't an issue.

 

[herman]

1. truck are the best option, tanks are rarely taken
2. 90s but the trade winds make it feel cooler. I don't need AC in general but do insist on it for sleeping. I don't sleep well when I am too hot. Most all the places on Bonaire have AC in the bed rooms.
3. I agree with El Orans, there are a bunch of places. Most of the resort restaurants are good but you really should eat around. I do suggest that you get the breakfast if your resort offers a buffet breakfast, mostly for convience.
4. Depends, they love my wife....one or 2 bite me and die a painful death, the rest stay away.

 

[trstange]

There's no theft problem. Like j75 said, don't leave things in plain sight.
Just got back, air temp 86 - 90 water temp 82 a/c is necessary
There are a lot of very good restaurants, the Blue Moon is one
Bring mosquito repellant.

If you go with Buddy Dive (first class operation) they have a drive thru air-fill station so you just drive up, swap tanks and drive away. Way cool. They also have a great breakfast buffet.

 

[H2Andy]

1. For shore diving, does it make sense to rent a truck (where tanks would be on the outside of the vehicle) or a jeep (where tanks would be on the inside of the vehicle), considering the theft problems in Bonaire?

truck is indispensible. jeep is not necessary, just don't leave any valuables in it.

i haven't heard of anyone stealing scuba tanks.... not sure if this is a problem

2. How warm does it get in Bonaire in August/September? Is AC a necessity?

high 80's. for me, AC is a necessity. i can't sleep in the heat.

3. Any recommendations for dinner/lunch in Bonaire?

try the local places. they're all pretty good. Penguin Cafe is good for breakfast
and good lunch. we ate at four or five local restaurants and they were all good.

my wife is a food snob, and she loved the following: Mona Lisa, Rendesvous (it's a tapas restaurant), Chez Lucille (probably the best one we went to), and Casablanca (awesome Argentinian-style steaks).

4. How bad are the bugs in Bonaire? Is bug repellent necessary, especially at night?

i didn't notice bugs too much. we didn't use repellant the whole time we were there

 

[ScottB]

I just got back from Bonaire, stayed June 10th-17th at Buddy Dive..

1) Pickup truck.. Left windows down .. never had a problem..
2) Didn't check the temp, but as long as the doors to the apartment were open to create a breeze path, I was comfortable.
3) Best steak I've ever had in my life : Casablanca's Argentinian Grill About $22 for a Filet Mignion main course.. was huge, no veins of fat, and utterly spectacular

Best Pizza: Paso Bon Pizza
I think my bill came to be around 20 bucks for a medium pizza and two drinks.. not positive..
I didn't care for Rum Runner's Chicken Club Sandwich.. it was liek 1/4 inch thick slabs of chicken,..
I didn't care for Buddy's Chicken Quesadilla
Crochantino (spelling) was pretty good italian..
Other place's people in my group raved about:
Den Lamar : Seafood
RibFactory : BBQ
Cactus Blue : um.. I don't know, but they have two for one drinks and I think half price appetizers in the early afternoon
Lover's Ice Cream: Some members from my group ate lunch there almost every day.. they have 100% beef hotdogs..

Buddy's had a free rum punch hour on Friday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm.. I think it is open for anyone.. they didn't check anything to see if we were staying with them.. (which we were, but they still didn't check)..

Town pier was an excellent add on dive... they only allow a very limited number of people down there at a time... it was wall to wall spotted morays.. saw one of three frogfish from my trip there, and the only sea horse of my trip there..

I sprung for Larry's Wild Side Dive .. 100 bucks for two tank boat dive off the island's east coast.. It wasn't really too bad out there when I did the dive, saw two great barracuda and a green sea turtle there,.. also saw spotted drums for the first time there, but I later saw the spotted drums on some normal shore dives..

Diving off Buddy's Dock was the easiest diving I did there.. two staircases to get in and out of the water with.. And there is a spotted moray living in the rock pile between the two staircases.. Nice to point out to the kids snorkling over it

Shore diving was alright... just make sure you have good footing.. the dead coral lining alot of the shore entries does a good job of cutting up knees and palms if you slip .. don't ask how I know .. it really wasn't too bad though..

Well.. enough of my trip report for now.. take care,

Scott

 

[ScottB]

Oh yeah.. and for bugs... Something left some small red marks on my feet/calfs up.. didn't itch while I was there, .. it's itching a bit now... One girl in my group had what appeared to be mosquito bites all over her legs that raised up.. She used repellant, I didn't... I saw maybe 3 small flying insects and two moth's in the week I was there.. I don't know what, if anything, actually bit me..

I am pretty sure that I did *NOT* contact any stinging marine life.. I was very careful to avoid touching anything on the reef.. though I did scratch against some dead coral on some shore entries/exits, those marks are not in the same locations as the itchy places..

-Scott

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Use some Mrs Dash (Meat tenderizer) on those red itchy spots. Kills the nematocysts much better than simply vinegar would. I had them on my wrists, ankles and collar area where my stinger suit touched open skin. It had nothing to do with brushing up against anything. Just stuff that was floating in the water at one particular area of diving. Everyone's tolerance in the group I went with was so very different to them . The untanned fair skinned people had the worst reactions. Probably best to clean your swimwear in a soapy solution.