Bonaire...what's changed, if anything?

[chauncy19]

Well DiveMaven I have to take slight exception to Bonaire being very expensive. it maybe expensive but very expensive--I guess its a matter of where you've been and your definition of very...
I thought for most part its quite reasonable but I don't do fancy and like the local places. Having said that its more expensive than home.

 

[MegaBMan25]

Well DiveMaven I have to take slight exception to Bonaire being very expensive. it maybe expensive but very expensive--I guess its a matter of where you've been and your definition of very...
I thought for most part its quite reasonable but I don't do fancy and like the local places. Having said that its more expensive than home.

I agree with you. What is expensive to someone can be just a little more than normal. When i go this weekend (trip w/LDS) our room is going to buy some food at the supermarket. I expect it will cost more than at home, but still a little cheaper than eating at the resort restaurant. Otherwise, when we go out as a group, i'll suck it up and get what i want. Mean it seems like a paradise problem. "man, my USA 15.00 steak dinner costs 20.00." Given the circumstances of how they get food to the island, not a problem for me

 

[DiveMaven]

Agreed, HOW expensive is definitely relative to where you live. So I live most of the time in Washington State, and compared to here, Bonaire is pretty darned expensive for food items. However, when compared to my part-time residence in Hawaii, Bonaire is on par!

Thank you for the correction.

 

[gypsyjim]

Well DiveMaven I have to take slight exception to Bonaire being very expensive. it maybe expensive but very expensive--I guess its a matter of where you've been and your definition of very...
I thought for most part its quite reasonable but I don't do fancy and like the local places. Having said that its more expensive than home.

Agreed. See you there in less than a week? WAHOO!

Thanks for the tip. I'm really tipping back and forth between Bonaire and the Keys for my first saltwater dives, so this input really helps.

We've returned to Bonaire at least once a year, for 5 to 6 years now, and have only dived the Keys once, so I can't claim to be an expert, BUT.....

We loved the absolute freedom of shore diving on Bonaire, any time, and anywhere we wished, while diving in the Keys involved booking boat trips.

Booking boat dives not only made me have to fit my diving into other people's schedules, and limited my dives to two tanks a day, but quickly the cost of those boat dives ate up all the $$ we thought we were saving by not flying to Bonaire.

Eating in FL wasn't cheap either, unless we tried to hit the blue hair specials, and go to the places that cater to the Q-tips.

 

[octopuppy]

They are putting in new sewer lines all over the island. Have heard there were no funds allocated to smooth over road work. Be ready for detours, narrow lanes and tire destroying holes. The BEST lionfish - Bistro de Paris.

 

[Drewpy]

I find the expense reasonable for a tropical destination..you do get lots of diving for the $$..Tahiti on the other hand is EXPENSIVE!!!

 

[Doctorfish]

No comparison. Bonaire has increadibly easy shore access, calm water and more prolific marine life then anywhere else in the Caribbean. It's not that expensive if you choose local type eateries and include a breakfast plan with your lodging.

 

[herbdb]

In terms of cost per dive Bonaire is by far the best value. When we fly to the Keys ($250 each), we have to rent a large vehicle to accomodate divers and equipment ($400+). Rooms run in the $100+ range per night and food is not really cheap. Diving is $75-$90 for two dives, nitrox extra.

So a week for four divers, 2 rooms, 20 dives each, the minimum cost would be $6000 plus food.

Next week, four of us are flying to Bonaire, staying at Capt Don's in a 2 Br villa, 4 door pick up, unlimited shore diving, breakfast buffet, nitrox. The room, breakfast,vehicle and diving package is $3400. We are using reward points for half of the tickets, but if we were paying they would be about $700 each. So the cost is roughly equal for the two locations.

We usually do more than 20 dives at Bonaire. It is no contest unless you can drive to the Keys.

 

[Firebird2XC]

We've returned to Bonaire at least once a year, for 5 to 6 years now, and have only dived the Keys once, so I can't claim to be an expert, BUT.....

We loved the absolute freedom of shore diving on Bonaire, any time, and anywhere we wished, while diving in the Keys involved booking boat trips.

Booking boat dives not only made me have to fit my diving into other people's schedules, and limited my dives to two tanks a day, but quickly the cost of those boat dives ate up all the $$ we thought we were saving by not flying to Bonaire.

Eating in FL wasn't cheap either, unless we tried to hit the blue hair specials, and go to the places that cater to the Q-tips.

Agreed. I actually did the math.. and Curacao worked out to be cheaper by far than the Keys. Considering additional airfare cost to Bonaire, it's cheaper just to rent a car from the hotel for a few days.. then drive your gear and tanks to a dive site.

Funny how that works.