Going to Bonaire in Sept - need info please

[1_T_Submariner]

Hard sole boots are good.

A copy of Bonaire shore diving made easy will make things easier.

Lots of good resteraunts the fancy looking ones are not always the best.

 

[dvrliz1]

[Please see my answers below in red. Hope it helps: Liz

My dive group is going to Bonaire next month and we need some pointers from those who've been before.

Any tips on currency exchange? Do it before or after you're on-island, etc. no problems, US Currency is accepted island wide! The currency exchange rate at the bank is 1.78 guilders = one us $. VERY IMPORTANT: DO NOT BRING ANYTHING HIGHER THAN $20 DOLLAR BILLS, MOST PLACES WILL NOT ACCEPT AMERICAN 50 AND 100 US BILLS. We also have ATM machines all over the island where you can get either guilders or dollars out of the machine. PLEASE BE SURE TO CHECK WITH YOUR BANK OR CREDIT CARD COMPANY TO SEE IF ANY FEES MAY APPLY. The banks down here do not charge a fee. MOST RESTAURANTS WILL ACCEPT TRAVELLERS CHECKS AND CREDIT CARDS. Believe you me, you don't want to stand in line for anytime on Bonaire. The banks are also closed on the weekends and their are lots of holidays, so just go with the 20s...you will be fine.

I've been told that you have to crawl over 75' of sharp volcanic rock to get in the water at every dive site. Surely that's an exaggeration....right? ABSOLUTELY INCORRECT, IT IS MORE LIKE 100'...lol only kidding. Most sites 10-20 feet. Most sites have coral rubble with a sandy base. I suggest you go to ShoreDiving.com - Your Shore Diving and Snorkeling Web Community! and check out the topography of the dives sites on Bonaire (located under the ABC Island). I think it will make you feel a bit more comfortable. You may also want to get "Shore Diving Made Easy" by Susan Porter. It is available on line at amazon.com and at shops islandwide.

Good places to eat? We all like to sample the local cuisine when we're away so we don't need directions to the local 'American food' restaurant. Any suggestions?

I live here, so here are my favorites. OF COURSE GIBY'S ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ AT GRI, you can get local foods such as goat stew, iguana, funchi, fresh fish ribs,chicken home made salads, great antillean desserts and more. You just need to make a reservation. For "local" chinese food, it is definitely Nadia Snack. My two favorites are their special with beef, tomatoes and green peppers or their version of sweet and sour shrimp. MAIKY SNACK...in the middle of now-where but true authentic antillian food. For a quick lunch, definitely try Julios in the middle of town. you can get a quick and good hearty lunch for about 8 dollars. ROSE INN in Rincon. The coldest beer on the island. Be ready for great atmosphere and bonairean hospitality. This also includes a longer wait for your food as they cook to order, well worth it. They are closed on Wednesday I think.

General do's and don'ts from the experienced? Don't expect Bonaire to be "Americanize" it is not. However almost every single person on the island speaks english well, so you will have no problem with communication. Do expect the island to be "poco poco style (slow pace). A lot of places close for lunch (most restaurants stay open until 2pm then close until dinner). Also, you will need to ask for your check when you want to go, at least 15 minutes before you want to go actually. It is a considered custom to be rude to present a check to anyone who does not ask for it. They don't want you to feel like you are being pushed out. The Antilleans are a humble, yet proud persons. They will help all they can't don't feel frightened or put off if you ask for directions somewhere and they jump in the back of the pick up or back seat of the car and say "I'll take you there, I'm going that way anyway". It is normal for us to see someone at a busstop lets say in Rincon that might work in Kralendijk, waiting for a local bus (a very small mini van, we really don't have public transportation here) to pick them up. We just ask, abo ta bai playa? If they say yes they jump in. They don't expect to be paid for this, and if you offer $ a lot of times they will take it but with embarrasment, but a lot of times they won't. They are just great people with big hears and smiles. You will truly enjoy.

Thanks for any info you can provide!

 

[highlandfarmwv]

Liz, was it difficult learning to speak Papiamento and /or Dutch?

 

[dvrliz1]

Ok, if you can speak spanish, than Papiamentu comes easy, somewhat. It took me about 1 year to get it down fluently. I took 3 months of classes 2x a week The most difficult thing was trying to translate into English. Some things just don't. I don't speak dutch, it is the next one I will learn. I do understand somewhat, and can read somewhat. I mean, hey I'm American, I only spoke English and French when I went to Bonaire. I started with Papiamentu because I had been going to Bonaire, a long time and that was the primary language being spoke amongst locals. That made it easy to learn spanish. My son just picked me up Rosetta Stone in Dutch, so that is next! If you stop by Michael's Chat n browse he has a few good books on learning papiamentu as well as some good dictionarys.

 

[reefdiva]

Correction to the post by Liz ... Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Susan Porter is NOT available at Amazon. It is available at Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, BSDME, Author Susan Porter and most dive shops in Bonaire as well as Chat and Browse.

 

[pdive]

I cannot disagree more. We've probably been to Bonaire 12 times, and thin, flimsy booties or nothing at all is NOT the answer to comfortable diving on Bonaire unless you never plan to shore dive.

The coral marl is hard, unstable & quite sharp in certain areas. And that's the stuff directly on shore. You can get similar conditions in the shallows while entering/exiting as well. Anything you can do to minimize exposure of your tender tootsies is literally a step in the right direction.

Case in point: pictures from Old Blue & The Salt Pier.

I agree with the person who brought said soft boots are fine. My wife and I have made two trips to BON and both times we work Akona booties. I guess its all in how conditioned your feet are. How often do you walk around barefoot. I suggest you try walking bare foot down your driveway to the mail box and back. If your feet hurt wear the hard soles, if not then booties will probably be fine.

 

[pdive]

My humble Bonaire tips (been there twice).

1. don't pack you entire closet. Our first trip the wife and I brought way to much clothes. Last time I wore casual clothes down on the plane to also wear going out. You'll end up wearing shorts and t-shirts everywhere. (old t-shirts for diving, much to my wife's shagrin no one has ever stolen any of my Ozzy Osbourne shirts) There are lots of things to do on the island but by the second day you'll probably get into a routine of something like wake-eat-dive-eat-dive-eat-dive-pass out-rinse-repeat. Half way into your trip you'll be figuring out how you can get another dive in there.

2. Hit the supermarkets the first day and stock up on cold cuts, cheese, bread, etc... Go when the market is stocked b/c by the end of the week the shelves will be bare.

3. The guide book to shore diving Bonaire is good, but unless it was updated the morning of your dive, the diveshops are a better source. Don't be shy either, ask your neighbors where they went, and what they saw.

4. Beers are only 8 oz - buy twice as many cases as you usually do!

5. Don't be afraid to hit the same site mulitple times. if you feel you have to see everysite b/c you are worried about missing something then you will definitely miss something.

 

[Brett1971]

19 days and counting.......tick tick tick


Another question...what kind of liquor is found on Bonaire? The usual Caribbean fare? Is it cheap?

Brett

 

[Buddha64]

I will be there 19 Sept to 26 Sept.....give a yell. Will be staying at GRI

Hey Rich, we're flying in on the 19th as well staying at Buddy Dive, we'll have to see about hooking up for some Margaritia's or at least a dive.

Who are you flying in on?

George.

 

[RICHinNC]

Hey Rich, we're flying in on the 19th as well staying at Buddy Dive, we'll have to see about hooking up for some Margaritia's or at least a dive.

Who are you flying in on?

George.

The Saturday DELTA flight.