Impressions from 1st Bonaire visit

[diversteve]

I will be there for the first time in 2 months and I do not want a Burger King or K-mart, but I'll bet there already is some establishment like those because the opportunity and even local demand is there.

There is a KFC downtown...but they sell Beer!

 

[under water]

There is a KFC...But they sell Beer!!!

Oh well.. I guess that doesn't surprise me. I remember walking around Shanghai in 1999 and noticing the KFC's, McDonald's & Haagen Dazs outlets next to the alleys with the local traders.
Some companies are more aggressive at establishing footholds everywhere.
Can you get the beer in a drive through :11:

 

[diversteve]

Nope, it's a walkup counter in a little plaza downtown. AFAIK that's the only chain on Bonaire - of any kind. There aren't even any chain hotels except for the Divi resort.

Hope they keep it that way. But there's pod people cruising there now also so can the rest of "civilization" be far behind.

 

[AXL72]

omg, hush!!! pod (cruise ship) people?...NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ippy01]

Ok, I feel the need to chime in here. Ippy your report was very detailed. I did however realize something, and please, no one take this the wrong way, it is just an observation, one I see very often as a American living on Bonaire. Many people come to Bonaire, expecting it to be "Americanize". Bonaire is not. Some reinforcements that may help.


Liz

I plead guilty to the charge of wanting "American" standards when it comes to cleanliness and the like. But, I certainly didn't mean to suggest that Bonaire (or islands like Saba) should change to appease people like me. We can all agree there is too much "sameness" in the world these days (get used to it, I suppose). I was simply observing that it will be tough for Bonaire to appeal to the vastly larger non-diving market without some development. If they can keep things the way they are and remain happy by just being a dive mecca -- I think that is great.

It all comes down to what you are looking for. I'd love to go back with just some dive buddies (no wife & kids).

 

[MN Lakeman]

Some fine points made here - primarily PLEASE keep Bonaire, well, Bonaire. I just have to make one response to Ippy's report: If you think Bonaire fish life is a bit small & non-abundant, I would suggest not even considering Roatan for a family trip. I would say the diverse, numerous & healthy schools of fish in Bonaire way outshined what I observed in Roatan, & quite frankly the Bahamas in general. I checked my log on my one & only Bonaire trip a year ago, & noted seeing huge morays (many times free swimming in the day time) on nearly each dive.

But hey.. variations in dive reports is what SB is all about, right?

 

[DeputyDan]

Some fine points made here - primarily PLEASE keep Bonaire, well, Bonaire. I just have to make one response to Ippy's report: If you think Bonaire fish life is a bit small & non-abundant, I would suggest not even considering Roatan for a family trip. I would say the diverse, numerous & healthy schools of fish in Bonaire way outshined what I observed in Roatan, & quite frankly the Bahamas in general. I checked my log on my one & only Bonaire trip a year ago, & noted seeing huge morays (many times free swimming in the day time) on nearly each dive.

But hey.. variations in dive reports is what SB is all about, right?

I would agree that Boniare fish life tops Roatan

 

[sea nmf]

I've only been to Bonaire once. We rented a house and it was clean and well maintained. We cooked almost all of our meals so we didn't venture out to restaurants much. But the food was fine and the service was a bit slower than our fast-food expectations but we didn't have anywhere else to be.

I liked touring the small island as well. I liked the flora and fauna. We saw flamingos, salt piles, out-of-the-way places, and donkeys and lizards all over town.

Leave Bonaire the way it is, please!

 

[AXL72]

Well, Bonaire has miniature life, like seahorses, and frogfish.

How can you complain about Bonaire??

The fish behavior and there is an abundance of life!!!

I saw two sea turtles. There are also garden eeels. The cutest lil things ever.

 

[DiverVince]

Having been going back & forth to Bonaire now for over 20 years, I can tell you all that there have been many changes on the island. The quality of the dining has increased exponentially. Yes there are many other things to do on the island outside of diving & they are far too numerous for me to list.
For those looking for more "Americanized" places to stay, Divi will be completing a very large (over 200 rooms) self contained resort to be finished I believe in early 2009.
The point is there are many many different types of accommodations available for all budgets.