Information seeking

[lmorin]

My info re Plaza is dated by 8 yrs. We stayed there on our first trip to Bonaire and liked it except for the fact that our 2 br unit was at least a 7 min walk (about as far away as was possible) from the dive shop and boat. Forgetting something was a bit of a drag. We'd have liked it even more if it had been all inclusive at that time. Admittedly, the carting of gear to the shore dive entry was a bit of a schlepp. Now, we stay at Sand Dollar all the time and cook for ourselves and we have many more dives under our weight belts.

 

[Tunaman68]

Only one trip to Bon for us, but I am an OCD researcher and we really loved our week there -

All of this is IMHO so take it at face value - From the outside, the Plaza isn't in the most convenient location for town or our preferred dive sites. It's HUGE and seemed like you could do a lot of walking with gear if you're inclined to use the truck and dive all over the island (you REALLY SHOULD the variety of sites is amazing)! Also, choosing a dive op that has multiple tank pick up/drop locations to the north and south is really cool (don't know if Plaza has this). We used both Dive Friends and Wannadive and loved being able to get to fresh tanks easily regardless of where or when we were at. We LOVED the reefs in the Buddy Dive/Captain Don's area and would likely use one of those two options in the future - As someone else noted, I think you can get a 'nearly AI' option at these places. We really liked Oil Slick Leap as a site, and the Caribbean Club property looked nice, but it is secluded to the north and the road is dark at night so even if you can get an AI style option, I would not choose to stay that far out of the action. We were NOT knocked out by the dives in the 18 Palms area, but again that is just personal preference.

We did boat dives to Klein and the sites north that you can't do from shore (Rappel, and Bon Bini na Kas) and thought they were ALL great. Forest on Klein was a fav for sure! 11 boat dives seems like a lot to me - but if easy is more important than cover as much ground as possible,, that might be great!

We had the face plate stolen off our radio the second night in Bonaire, and Caribe truck rental did not charge us and were very accommodating about it. We DID have the CDW insurance and were glad we had it - we didn't have any other trouble, but we saw others that had lost keys, trucks stuck in sand, flat tires etc that I'm sure would have been bigger deals without coverage?? Don't know, maybe that's just for accidents. We had a friend involved in a collision (fender bender) and they put him in the 'inspector's' van and asked questions as if he'd killed someone, so if there is an accident and anyone wants to make a big deal of it, I'm sure you would really want to have the insurance. This may be a rare occurrence, I don't have enough experience to know.

This site Bonaire Panoramas - Bonaire Map is really cool and gives you a fairly nice idea of what things look like. I did not buy a book, and just used all the info on line to plan the dives. Also, the truck rental place gave us a great map with dive sites and descriptions that we used. I did drop $5 on this kindle book and it was fine, but not all that much 'unique' information. Amazon.com: Diving Bonaire eBook: George Lewbel: Kindle Store

If you want to shoot lion fish, go with Bas BAS Diving to the east side and have an adventure! He's awesome and so is the diving over there! I don't know if you need to take a class to be able to shoot, but he does a LOT of hunting.

Have fun!!!!

 

[Sorrows]

I normally prefer AI resorts for diving, but not in Bonaire. There are too many interesting and good places nearby and you already have a truck, so why not have a little adventure? Of course, we will sometimes find somewhere to eat between dives if we are on one end of the island. Or we'll go back to our apartment and throw something together for lunch. This is just my preference, mind you--and perhaps you are more likely to make new friends whilst staying at an AI?

 

[Donnah]

We have also stayed at the Divi and really enjoyed it. Good breakfast, lunch and dinner on your own. Easy walk to town. Lots of good shore diving, nice boats, good dive operation. You can't beat it!

 

[texas23]

Caribbean Club Bonaire is a great place to stay. It includes a daily breakfast & they have a restaurant for food purchase throughout the rest of the day. All rooms include a kitchenette so you can save $$ and cook for yourself. The dive operation is associated with Buddy Dive. You can get tanks from either CCB or Buddy Dive. Very convenient so you don't have to drive all the way back north when switching tanks. We did bother with the insurance because you never know what can happen. There are donkeys & goats everywhere. Not to mention the scratches you may get on the truck. You can add boat dives but we have yet to do this. We come for the freedom of shore diving & don't want to be on someone else's schedule.

 

[jujubeess]

Hello,
I would take the insurance with the truck....just in case. We always rent from Poppy Telerin. She is no fuss. We usually get in at the airport at 5am and she is there with truck...all you do is sign and off you go. Drop off is also quick( you leave car at airport in short term parking with key in ashtray) Never a problem. She also takes AMEX. All insurance you get when you use your VISA card with a rental, does not include pick up and that is what you need if you go shore diving or want to go through the park( a half day adventure-dirt roads are bad- and its only a big one way loop around). If you rent from Hertz(at Divi) and use your visa opt out of the insurance- it will save you $. Always remember, to leave your windows down when diving and leave nothing in car.

 

[midas6t6]

We've stayed there 4 times in the past 5 years and can see the improvements each time. It was sold some time back and the new owner is working to fix up everything. The junior and grand suites have all been redone; they are working on the villas now as well as the Tipsy Seagull.
Tanks are available 24 hrs/day if you are diving air, the nitrox room is open 8 AM to @5 PM. The locker room is next to the parking lot so it's not a long walk with gear unless you are doing a night dive on the house reef. Air tanks are staged at 2 locations for the shore dive - by the pool and near the Tipsy Seagull restaurant. If you want a nitrox tank for the night dive there, get one in the afternoon. put you name on it, and let the shop know. They'll place it at either location for you.
As far as the AI option, unless you drink a lot I'd skip it and just get the breakfasts. There are too many good restaurants and it works out to about the same. The resort restaurants do not have enough variety, IMHO, to eat there all week.

The 4D package includes the truck with full insurance, it's a good easy package. Going in October the resort (and island) will not be too crowded. You may also get the breakfast package thrown in, we did for this past September's trip.

 

[DesertDiver505]

The Plaza is pricy and known as a "high end resort". It has a great beach but the resort itself seems worn out and in need of a total remodel. The house reef is in rough shape and difficult to navigate equipment from the gear lockers. If you're travelling with a family it may be a good option for wife, kids, non divers who intend to lounge around. All inclusive is an option but why limit yourself to the same old slop when Bonaire offers so many great restaurant choices?

The insurance is @12.00 per day and worth it due to vandalism and theft problems on the island. DO NOT leave any valuables or LOCK the truck while unattended. They will break the windows to steal a t-shirt. Be sure to check tire pressure and demand the rental company provide a spare, jack and tire iron. A lot of them don't due to theft!

The auto insurance is expensive but so is replacing a vehicle while on vacation whether you wrecked it or someone else did. Be sure to contact your credit card company to verify if their additional coverage's are valid on Bonaire. Hunting lionfish is fun-find a local who's certified to have an ELF spear gun.

 

[uncfnp]

......delete, already posted