Bonaire virgin

[Queequeg]

Hey Y'all...first post. :14:

We are planning a trip to Bonaire in May.

Thinking about Capt Don's; an oasis cottage for two. We are plannning on doing shore diving our entire trip, unless there is something remarkeable about a particular site that we absolutley must do by boat? Are we missing anything....I guess is what I'm asking?

Any thoughts about Capt Dons? I 've read /heard some really positive things about them in the past, albeit as of late, it hasnt been all that positive.; ie. 2006 divers chapbook.

They told us a truck is given to us for our use for the week. Soley our use? Or is it like a rush to the desk to get the keys before someone else kinda thing? I dunno...thats why I ask.

By the way, the other place we are considering is the Plaza. Dont really know much about any other places so feel free to point out any differences, likes, dislikes about either....or point us to your favorite. But you can kinda see what we are expecting as far as lodging by our choices.

We havent dived in a about 7 years...or more, last trip was to Okinawa. Just been too busy chasing careers, degrees, etc, you know, throw life away to get ahead, then wake up 40 years old and wonder what the heck we are doing and for WHAT?!

Bottom line...my wife has busted her butt for the past few years, and I really want this to be nice for her. Any suggestions, corrections, advice, would be greatly appreciated. Really just want a laid back, quiet, no rules, no hussle bussel, kinda trip with easy diving but not boring diving.

Okay...long winded...sorry... back over to you.


Thanks.

 

[herman]

First off, welcome to the board.

Capt Dons is a nice resort. Nothing super fancy...but then no place on Bonaire is really fancy. There are lots of places on Bonaire, where you stay is best determined by your needs, wants and buget. Do you want upscale or will clean and less expensive do? Is it a requirement it be on the water or will an off water place do- they will be a good bit less expensive. No place on Bonaire is far off the water so it's not like you have to drive for many miles to get to a site. Give me your requirements and I can suggest several places to stay. Other on water places to check out are Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Eden Beach,Divi, Black Durgon, Carribe Inn and Harbor Village just to name a few. For off water places include Happy Holiday Homes, Divers Paradise and Golden Reef Inn. My personal preferences are Buddy for on water places and Golden Reef Inn for off water.
Some places include a truck with your package and others do not. In any case, you rent the truck for the week. It's yours to drive as you please for the week. If you are given a choice of vehicle, take the truck. It's by far the best choice for Bonaire.
We also drop the boat dives off the packages. With the exception of Klien Bonaire (a small island near by) and a couple of other sites, there is no need to take a boat. A dive or 2 over to Klien is worth doing but you can always add a few dives back if you choose.
Where ever you choose, I would suggest you do not get an all inclusive. There are a bunch of good places to eat on Bonaire. I would hate to be stuck eating at one place all week. The one exception to this is many places offer a buffet breakfast with the package, that's worth doing.

For tons of good hints, tips and information do a search on this board. Others and myself have posted a lot on Bonaire over the years. You will find hours of reading. Also, come over to the Bonaire board. We have lots of on island members there and anything question you can think of can be answered there. www.bonairetalk.com
Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

Again, welcome to the board.

 

[scubamax]

I have recently been to Bonaire and stayed at Capt. Don's. In general the place needs some work. Rooms are basic but becoming very dated. From what I have read this has been the case for some time. Chipped tiles, de-laminating shelves in the closets, lumpy beds, and no screens on the sometimes working sliding patio doors. AC worked fine. Rooms were clean, but a lot of stuff (i.e. bathtub) was so worn that it had chips and stains which make it look less than clean.

Did not get replacement towels one day, and was told that laundry had problems but would get some later. Never did...had to go to the front desk to complain and got a couple of thin "pool towels". No big deal but I should not have to go hunting for bath linens late at night at any hotel that says it has daily maid service.

Room safe was not available, as you need to check out a "key" (i.e. the safe door with a lock) from the front desk. But none were available so was told to come back the next day. None available next day, so just made alternate provisions for my valuables.

Food at Rum Runners was actually pretty good, but a few of the servers have a real attitude problem. Deco Bar was a fun place and generally had helpful bartenders.

Diving was great, but dive op staff was uneven. See the attached link for another diver's recent impressions:

http://www.scubaboard.com/showthread.php?t=129634


Since Buddy's is adjacent to Capt. Dons I checked the place out, and poked around a bit. Overall next time I think I would go to Buddy's. It just seems a bit more up to date and polished. Pool area is a bit nicer, grounds are in better shape, and dive set-up is right on the water like Don's. Although you don't get your own private dive locker like Capt. Dons, you get more space to hang your gear up, so it has its trade-offs. Buddy's just looks more well-kept and had more % of staff who looked like they enjoyed their jobs compared to Don's. Rooms looked nicer as well.

Had one meal at Buddy's and it was ok. Food at Rum Runners was better but had more meals there so perhaps my sampling is not a fair one. Both have great ocean views. So if you go to Buddy's, go via a side gate to Don's property and have dinner or lunch there.

Overall I did not dislike Don's, just for the same money I get the impression that there is better value and comfort at Buddy's. Prices are very similar, its just that there are enough small things which give me reservations not to recommend Don's. In other words, next time, it will be Buddy's for me.

BTW, the diving was truly spectacular. You will be happy you finally got to go there, I was, and look forward to Bonaire again sometime soon.

Scubamax

 

[RICHinNC]

Since you arent going the same time I want to try and go........check out the Golden Reef Inn.....

Like herman said...its not right by the water but that is a little overated to me. The rooms are clean and well cared for. Truck can come with the deal if that is the kind of package you purchase.

Give Liz a call or email.....worth checking out.

 

[tridacna]

Best thing about Captain Dons is the convenience of being able to dive whenever. Similar for Buddy's and any other resort on the water. The house reefs are great to dive at night and during the day too. IMHO shore diving is overrated...boats get you there quicker and much easier entry/exit. You will also want to dive many sites off Klein Bonaire - these sites are ONLY reachable by boat. Only use the truck when the boat cannot visit the site. You'll get more (and longer) dives in with less hassle. Truck is really useful when you need to go shopping though. You can load the six-packs right in the custom tank slots. You will need transport for the Salt Pier and Town Pier. You can also rent a truck for a day or two for these dives with litlle hassle.

 

[Divebuddies]

My wife and I will be at the Divi Flamingo next week. We'll give a full report with photos when we return in early March. It's our first time on Bonaire and we're looking forward to it! As an aside, 7 years away from scuba diving is a long time. You might want to consider a refresher course wherever you end up staying.

 

[tjmills]

Just so you know there has been some not so happy posts about Captain Don's Resort lately so you are likely to get some not so good reviews as you are already seeing. There are MANY places to stay down there and shore diving is the way to go for sure. You won't be able to hit them all no matter what you do and the truck is yours for the week. No rush to the desk to get it. Boat dives are truely optional there and you won't miss much by taking one if you miss anything at all.

This is truely diving without a schedule and at your own pace. I appreciate not having to meet the boat at 7:30 am or whenever. When we are ready go....where I want, when I want and how I want. I may take 1 ride on boat all week or might not but if you did, you would be diving the same sites or very similar sites from shore anyway. Each has their own preference. Mine is shore there for sure.

Make sure you also look at places like Plaza Resort, Sand Dollar and a host of other places there. They are all similarly priced and all have some good packages.

I am heading down there in 2 weeks and I am having early withdrawl syndrome at work!!! This has been the longest month in history!!!

T.J.

 

[Scuba65]

I personally like the Plaza...very clean all the staff is really nice and you're right on the beach...good for the wife if she just wants to lay out or you guy's can do some shore diving. they have Tucan Divers right there with also a really nice staff. I highly recommend them.

 

[bperrybap]

My wife and I were in Bonaire just a few weeks ago and stayed at
Capt. Dons. We had a wonderful time. We did a combination of shore
and boat dives. If you are looking for "upscale", Capt Don's isn't it.
We enjoyed the casualness, relaxed atmosphere and convenience
of jumping in right off the dock and having an onsite dive shop.
It's kind of nice to decide at 8:00pm to do a night dive and be in the
water doing it in less than 30 minutes with a nice easy giant stride off a dock.
Since we were new divers, having the rope which runs directly off the
dock and down the reef was really nice as it removed worries about
navagation on our initial ocean dives, especially on our first night dive.

Here is a WEB page my wife put together about our trip:
Bonair Trip

When we were driving around, we noticed the Plaza which is directly
across from the Airport. I'd be worried that airport noise might be an issue.

Would I go back to Bonaire again - You Bet. Would I stay at Capt Don's
again - Absolutely. I might try Buddy's though which was right next door.
It looked similar but had a different feel to it. It looked a little newer.

--- Bill

 

[boulderjohn]

If I go back to Bonaire, it will not be to Captain Don's. The reason is the staff. Most are fine, but, as you will read in some of the other forums, there are a few very rotten apples.