Hi, marisa-t,
I was in Bonaire last September with Walter and Natasha and had a great time. People diving with helped make it that way as well
. On some future trips you might want to consider joining Natasha. Her trips are great and age varies from 20-60+ and everyone fits in.
With regards to the Carribean I'm always trying to figure out where to go each year but it is fun experiencing different islands. Like you I don't eat fish and want my meat and potatoes, love those fries... side of gravy and I'm there ;-)... Grand Cayman is very Americanized so for food it was the best from someone who grew up on Steak houses, pizza and Burger King. Bonaire was fine for food, just depends where you go like any other place.
I've been to a number of islands and thus far for diving and overall I rate them as follows (matter of taste):
1. Grand Cayman (Treasure Island - classic old Ramada but cheap and Lonestar Bar and Grill worth going back for!!!)
2. Bonaire (Plaza Resort - nice place, moonlit walks to town at night, felt safe, no one bothers you)
3. Curacao (Habitat Curacao- all to bed by 8PM)
4. St. John (night life better than Curacao but not diving, people nice)
5. St. Lucia (Anse Chastenet, my honeymoon, what can I say
, very poor)
6. Dominican Republic (very poor, although cave dives are awesome, too many pan handlers and never felt safe)
Suggest in Bonaire you do your boat dives but rent a car and get into the shore diving. Was the first time my wife and I really enjoyed shore dives, but it was great! New kind of freedom. If worried about theft just follow the Bonaire dive bus, Natasha will know the web site for it. You can store your stuff there while you dive. They visit a different shore dive site each day and sell snacks, etc...
Grand Cayman is still my favorite. Bonaire is something you should always do once since all divers talk about it. Then there is always Little Cayman or Cayman Brac but bring alot of books from everything I have heard.
Enjoy your trip, just get a car and tour a bit and you'll have a blast!
Kev
