Try Curacao, it's the same diving as Bonaire...
Have been to and love both, any diver would be very happy at either. However, here's my non-diving wife's take on the distinction between the two:
- Bonaire is a place where divers go to vacation.
- Curacao is a place where vacationers go to dive.
Recently returned from our second trip to Curacao, and my wife is MUCH happier there. Larger island, more to do, more to see, more restaurants, large resort hotels, lots of shopping, etc.
Nothing that you'd expect from a Caribbean island is lacking on Curacao, including one of the most important things...
You mentioned "beaches" as a criteria and therefore you should understand that - other than a spit of sand at The Plaza Resort and another at Harbor Village - Bonaire has NO beaches in the proper sense of what you'd expect from a Caribbean island. Most of Bonaire's shoreline is "iron shore" - remnants of a blend of coralline and volcanic activity - which would be similar to laying out on a beach comprised of broken-up chunks of concrete slabs. Dispel any thoughts of tip-toeing through powder-white sand and wading barefoot into the water:
Curacao on the other hand has lovely white-sand beaches, ranging from those with restaurants, bars, and water-sport rentals where many people gather...all the way to tiny secluded coves where you might not see more than a few other people for hours.
But the mere
existence of great beaches is just a part of why my wife - and I - love Curacao...
Importantly, there are dive ops situated on/near many of Curacao's nicest beaches. So my family and I would go and spend a day at each of these; we'd arrive in the morning and sit on the beach, play in the sand, swim, etc. At some point I'd simply stand up, don my gear, and walk right into the water to do a morning dive; cruising the reef to the left for 45min or so, after which I'd rejoin my wife on the beach. We'd hang out for a while, read a book, etc. Then maybe I'd go for another quick dive, cruising the reef to the right for a bit.
Then we'd have a nice lunch, snorkel a bit, go for a walk, read a book a bit more, whatever we felt like doing. Then I'd go for an afternoon dive - maybe another shore dive on the reef right there or, if the beach we were at had a dive-op right on site, I'd probably jump on their afternoon boat dive. Either way I'd be back on my lounge chair at the beach in about an hour or so...with a daiquiri or piña colada in hand for my wife. We'd spend the rest of the afternoon there lounging on the beach. Or depending on exactly where we were, maybe we'd go for a hike, or visit the Sea Aquarium, or go into Willemstad for some shopping, or maybe head back to the hotel and play some tennis or swim in the pool.
Back in the hotel by 6:30pm or so, we'd make plans for dinner and the rest of the evening. Since my wife would be spending the next hour or so showering, getting dressed (and whatever else seems to take no-less than an hour even if we're just going to Pizza Hut) I would get out of her way...by walking down to the dive shop at the hotel, donning my gear, and doing a leisurely night dive on the house reef.
Back in the room an hour later I'd take a quick shower (I could be ready for an audience with the Pope in under 10min) and after four dives that day we'd go wherever my wife wanted to have dinner. Over the meal and wine we'd talk about the day and the great time we all had together, which would naturally evolve into a discussion of our plans for the next day. At some point during the conversation I'd slip in that "
...I'm was thinkin' maybe I'd dive again tomorrow..." to which my wife might well reply...
"Oh, did you dive
today?"
