Hola everyone and some advice please

[DS Diver]

First things first, hello everybody. I'm new to the forum and I wanted to send a shout out to the readers and posters out there.

I also, wanted some advice about a place that has been calling my name for too long--Bonaire. I did search the forum for an answer to my question and although it seems a lot of you know Bonaire well, I didn't find the info I was looking for.

Ok, here goes.

1. Does anyone know of any budget accomodations on Bonaire. I don't want a resort, just a hostel where I can fall down at the end of the day. Everything I have found has more upscale and is usually a package deal. That's great for a family, but I am going from Spain to Venezuela to Bonaire and back to Spain so I need to keep it simple.

2. Many have mentioned places like Buddy Dive and others, but they haven't mentioned the prices. Perhaps a package deal with room, breakfast, and car rental could be cheaper than doing everything separate afterall. An idea of the per night rate would be greatly appreciated.

Ok, sorry for showing up and asking for all this info, but I can make it up to you. I own a travel company in Sevilla, Spain and would be happy to offer any insight into Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

Thanks and happy diving.

Eric

 

[sasscuba]

You can get all the info. off Buddy Dive site...http://www.buddydiveresort.com/ and http://www.buddydive.com/

 

[paulwall]

I dived with http://www.bonbinidivers.com/ from a cruise ship. They have a hotel next door - Tropical Inn. I really enjoyed their service- small boat, excellent diving off their bulkhead, etc. (no beach). Bonaire is not known for white sandy beaches, though.

The website is in Dutch, but email them, and they can provide all the info you need.

 

[ReefHound]

A simple tip for this trip and all your future ones.

Most places these days have some sort of web presence, often a very good one. Not to say there aren't a few excellent places here and there that are still in the Dark Ages, but generally you can Google on the name of a hotel or restaurant or dive charter or whatever and get their website and a lot of associated info as well.

In this case, searching Google for "Buddy's Dive" brings up their website www.buddydive.com as the very first result. People love to help others find the information they need, at the same time you owe it to others to make a good faith effort to find it yourself.

 

[diversteve]

1. Does anyone know of any budget accomodations on Bonaire. I don't want a resort, just a hostel where I can fall down at the end of the day.

One of the least expensive is Bonaire Inn. Sort of a hostel, private rooms, shared other facilities. It's a short walk from downtown. http://www.friarsinn.com

Take a look at Golden Reef Inn also, it's owned by dvrliz1 here on Scubaboard. She has some great package deals in the $5-700 range including car/diving/transfers etc. It's in Hato, a short walk from all the major dive resorts and the beach, but you'd probably want a car for everything else from there. http://www.goldenreefinn.com/

Most of the budget options are here: http://www.infobonaire.com/hotelbudget.html

hth,

 

[dvrliz1]

Steve, we are not "inland" from all the major resorts, we are 1 block, and we are NOT talking a New York City block, in from all the major resorts. You can walk to Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Hamlet, Capt'n Don's Habitat, Sand Dollar Grocery, Chat n' Browse, Den Laman, etc between 5-10 minutes. Best for island when you are on a budget is either a bike around $8.00 a day and scooters starting around $12/day. There are 2 or 3 places on the island that rent them. Thanks for the support!

Liz

 

[diversteve]

Steve, we are not "inland" from all the major resorts, we are 1 block, and we are NOT talking a New York City block, in from all the major resorts. You can walk to Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Hamlet, Capt'n Don's Habitat, Sand Dollar Grocery, Chat n' Browse, Den Laman, etc between 5-10 minutes. Best for island when you are on a budget is either a bike around $8.00 a day and scooters starting around $12/day. There are 2 or 3 places on the island that rent them. Thanks for the support!

Liz

Since I've never been able to precisely place where you are, I've modified my original post. Is Hato/GRI less than 1/2 mi. from the Buddy's/Lions/Sandollar strip? On the other side of the road? Up from the intersection where C/B & Lover's is? I guess I'll find out next trip, you're on the short list of places to stay, we liked the Belnem area(stayed at BelMar) since it's so quiet at night but I think I'd rather be north of town next time. Maybe this fall...

 

[dvrliz1]

Steve,

Thanks! Yep, that's us!!!! We are actually one block in from the main road, so it's quiet back here in Hato! But you can walk to Rum Runners for some yummy pizza at Capt'n Dons Habitat in about 5 minutes! I'm usually in the office M-S 9a-6p, usually later during high season, so feel free to stop by and say hello...always love to meet fellow SB's!!!!

 

[DS Diver]

First of all, thanks for the great info. It's definitely helping plan things out.

In response to what Reefhound said, I did a thorough (read: I googled it) search for bonaire accomodations, but as expected most of the results were fore upscale resorts or third-party reservation sites. I work in travel and have found that lots of hostels that charge in the 20-50 euro per night range have no web presence. And that's what I'm looking for.

Now, I'd be interested to see what some Bonaire veterans think though. I'm planning on just crashing some place cheap (40-50 USD for a double) and renting equipment and a car and just diving on our own. Do you think we'd be better off going through one of the dive operators?

Gracias!

 

[dvrliz1]

DS,

first of all there is only one place on Bonaire that you would get below $50/night and that doesn't include taxes or surcharges, or extras. That is Bonaire Hotel. Second, you have to go through a "dive operator" to get your tanks & air and you have to buy a Marine Park Tag for $25.00. You also have to have an "orientation dive". Equipment rental can add up depending on what you want, BCD and Reg average $17-19/day rental, if you need mask snorkel and fins, you are looking at $25+ per day. A pickup suitable for diving will cost you a minimum of $40.00 per day, and that is you decide not to take car insurance, than you have to post a $572.00 deposit....PM for further details.

Liz