morecowbells
Contributor
This was my second trip to Bonaire. Group of 6 of us (5 divers) flew in using Delta. Connection in ATL was tight, but I would rather run to my next terminal and gate than hang around an airport for any longer than I have to. Everything was timely and it was nice to check into our condo within an hour of landing. Part of our group stayed at Den Laman. By the time my husband and I booked our rooms, there were not any ocean front or ocean view rooms left. That was a deal breaker, so we rented a condo at the Playa Lechi complex.'
Lodging:
We could not have been more happy with our condo(Kralendijk Vacation Rental - VRBO 489003 - 2 BR Bonaire Condo, Ocean Front Condo at Playa Lechi Residences W/ Dive Locker). Parking lot was gated, with ample spots. We would literally back our truck into a slot and unload our scuba gear into dive locker. Locker was clean, large, locked and well ventilated. Our unit appeared even nicer than the VRBO pictures showed. Comfortable, newer and upscale furnishings. Beds were wonderful and rooms quiet. Patio had amazing views with ample shade. We had a retractable bug net and bamboo shades of the sunlight became too intense. We were a stones throw to the Dive Friends Bonaire Yellow Submarine shop. Easy and pleasant walk into downtown.
Dining:
Most of the time we ate breakfast and lunch on our condo patio. A couple of times we went to 'Between Two Buns' for lunch. Their Prosciutto and pesto sandwich was to die for. Boudoir was also a great place for fresh, tasteful lunches. For dinner all meals were very good. Pasa Bon Pizza, Mi Banana, Paradise Moon were all great places. The night prior to departing, we had an excellent dinner at 'At Sea'. We tried to grab dinner at the Peruvian place in the Den Laman complex, but I think it was opening night. After an hour of ordering our drinks, to no avail, we decided to head over to Pasa Bon Pizza.
Diving:
In the past we used Dive Friends Bonaire and were quite happy with them. Not only are they like friends with their customer service, they consistently had tanks filled at or above 3000 psi. They also did an excellent job servicing and repairing issues I had with my regulator. Our friends have used BDA in the past and wanted to stick with them, especially the convenience of the pier. Visibility was an issue. I would guess somewhere between 30-60 feet. The upside was the abundant marine life. Numerous, large schools of fish. On a couple of dives we spotted some large grouper which we did not see on our previous trip. I found the visibility to be worse on the southern sites, and improved on the northern sites. Although the marine life did not seem as rich on the north. North Sites: While diving Oil Slick I noticed a squid swimming in front of my husband and I. He seemed curious and rather social. Out of nowhere, five more squid joined us and swam in a 'V' formation for about 5 minutes then became tired of us and dispersed. Karpata was an interesting dive with steep terrain and interesting coral formation. Probably the best visibility during our trip. Witches Hut was somewhat of a let down. Not much color or marine life. South Sites: Salt Pier is always a guarantee on finding tarpon and sharp tail eels. We lots of both critters. I enjoy this dive since the entrance is easy and dives are long due to shallow waters. Angel City was a new dive for us. Definitely worth swimming to the second reef. I felt this was the healthiest coral on the island. Entrance and exit was a big P.I.T.A.
Ultimately, I found the best diving in the central part of the island. The area from Den Laman to Hamlet were my favorites by far. I did not tempt fate by trying to use the pier at Den Laman. We would wave at our friends using the pier, swim out and meet up before descending. It was at Bari Reef that we spotted a frogfish and an octopus which was foraging coral heads for food. Some people were perplexed by our decisions to dive Hamlet three different times and Bari three different times. Those sites never became boring or dull. Marine life was constantly changing.
Last day blues : :depressed:
Since our Delta flight did not depart until 3:50 we decided to visit the donkey sanctuary. What a wonderful diversion! We purchased 3 bags of carrots and it still did not seem sufficient. My favorite part was entering the nursery section. There was one baby who loved hugs and nuzzling my shoulder.
Flight to Atlanta was packed and left on time. A few months prior to our vacation, Delta informed us that the late flight between Atlanta and St. Louis had been cancelled, we would need to overnight it in Atlanta. We had to walk for what seemed like an eternity to get to our shuttle bus taking us to the airport Hilton. It took us only four hours of travel time to leave heaven and officially enter hell. The Hilton was hosting a children's beauty pageant. Big hair, boas, glitter-you name it.
I love Bonaire. The food and diving are always rewarding. I just hope something materializes with Delta's flight schedule. I know it sounds petty, but that added overnight is a major buzzkill.
Donkey Sanctuary
Flamingo Tongue
Frog Fish at Bari Reef
Tarpon at Salt Pier
Octopus at Bari Reef
Lodging:
We could not have been more happy with our condo(Kralendijk Vacation Rental - VRBO 489003 - 2 BR Bonaire Condo, Ocean Front Condo at Playa Lechi Residences W/ Dive Locker). Parking lot was gated, with ample spots. We would literally back our truck into a slot and unload our scuba gear into dive locker. Locker was clean, large, locked and well ventilated. Our unit appeared even nicer than the VRBO pictures showed. Comfortable, newer and upscale furnishings. Beds were wonderful and rooms quiet. Patio had amazing views with ample shade. We had a retractable bug net and bamboo shades of the sunlight became too intense. We were a stones throw to the Dive Friends Bonaire Yellow Submarine shop. Easy and pleasant walk into downtown.
Dining:
Most of the time we ate breakfast and lunch on our condo patio. A couple of times we went to 'Between Two Buns' for lunch. Their Prosciutto and pesto sandwich was to die for. Boudoir was also a great place for fresh, tasteful lunches. For dinner all meals were very good. Pasa Bon Pizza, Mi Banana, Paradise Moon were all great places. The night prior to departing, we had an excellent dinner at 'At Sea'. We tried to grab dinner at the Peruvian place in the Den Laman complex, but I think it was opening night. After an hour of ordering our drinks, to no avail, we decided to head over to Pasa Bon Pizza.
Diving:
In the past we used Dive Friends Bonaire and were quite happy with them. Not only are they like friends with their customer service, they consistently had tanks filled at or above 3000 psi. They also did an excellent job servicing and repairing issues I had with my regulator. Our friends have used BDA in the past and wanted to stick with them, especially the convenience of the pier. Visibility was an issue. I would guess somewhere between 30-60 feet. The upside was the abundant marine life. Numerous, large schools of fish. On a couple of dives we spotted some large grouper which we did not see on our previous trip. I found the visibility to be worse on the southern sites, and improved on the northern sites. Although the marine life did not seem as rich on the north. North Sites: While diving Oil Slick I noticed a squid swimming in front of my husband and I. He seemed curious and rather social. Out of nowhere, five more squid joined us and swam in a 'V' formation for about 5 minutes then became tired of us and dispersed. Karpata was an interesting dive with steep terrain and interesting coral formation. Probably the best visibility during our trip. Witches Hut was somewhat of a let down. Not much color or marine life. South Sites: Salt Pier is always a guarantee on finding tarpon and sharp tail eels. We lots of both critters. I enjoy this dive since the entrance is easy and dives are long due to shallow waters. Angel City was a new dive for us. Definitely worth swimming to the second reef. I felt this was the healthiest coral on the island. Entrance and exit was a big P.I.T.A.
Ultimately, I found the best diving in the central part of the island. The area from Den Laman to Hamlet were my favorites by far. I did not tempt fate by trying to use the pier at Den Laman. We would wave at our friends using the pier, swim out and meet up before descending. It was at Bari Reef that we spotted a frogfish and an octopus which was foraging coral heads for food. Some people were perplexed by our decisions to dive Hamlet three different times and Bari three different times. Those sites never became boring or dull. Marine life was constantly changing.
Last day blues : :depressed:
Since our Delta flight did not depart until 3:50 we decided to visit the donkey sanctuary. What a wonderful diversion! We purchased 3 bags of carrots and it still did not seem sufficient. My favorite part was entering the nursery section. There was one baby who loved hugs and nuzzling my shoulder.
Flight to Atlanta was packed and left on time. A few months prior to our vacation, Delta informed us that the late flight between Atlanta and St. Louis had been cancelled, we would need to overnight it in Atlanta. We had to walk for what seemed like an eternity to get to our shuttle bus taking us to the airport Hilton. It took us only four hours of travel time to leave heaven and officially enter hell. The Hilton was hosting a children's beauty pageant. Big hair, boas, glitter-you name it.
I love Bonaire. The food and diving are always rewarding. I just hope something materializes with Delta's flight schedule. I know it sounds petty, but that added overnight is a major buzzkill.
Donkey Sanctuary
Flamingo Tongue
Frog Fish at Bari Reef
Tarpon at Salt Pier
Octopus at Bari Reef
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