laikabear
Contributor
Hi,
I'm planning a one-week trip to Bonaire in November for a dive buddy and myself. I've looked at a lot of old threads about Bonaire and did some price checking and I think I've settled on Happy Holiday Homes, but wanted some insight.
My male buddy and I are not a couple and I'd prefer a 2 bedroom. He is fine with sleeping on a sleeper sofa if we get a 1 bedroom that has one in the living room, but I think most of the places don't have pull-out sofas.
Having a good house reef is important to me because I want to be able to get in a lot of dives and I think we'll do more diving if we have a really close option. I think both Happy Holiday and Sand Dollar have a house reef, although I'm not sure of the quality. I saw in a previous post that Happy Holiday does NOT have a house reef but I think that's a mistake.
I like the idea of a breakfast buffet. Sand Dollar has one, ($102 extra per week) but Happy Holiday doesn't. I think my dive buddy is a little more financially conservative than I am, so he might not want to do the breakfast anyway. So, not a dealbreaker either way.
Both places use Dive Friends Bonaire. It looks like their nearest location is 2.5K from Happy Holiday, but they have a location on-site at Sand Dollar. Happy Holiday is located south of the airport and away from some of the more popular places to stay. Not sure about pros and cons to that location vs. the Sand Dollar. They still seem relatively close, and we will have a truck, so...
Otherwise the two both have - unlimited shore diving, Nitrox, truck rental, AC in the bedrooms, and a full kitchen. I am arriving at 1:30 PM on a Saturday and Louise from Happy Holiday assured me I could have enough time to check in, do the mandatory orientation, and get diving that evening. I haven't heard back from Sand Dollar yet on that particular question. Buddy hasn't purchased plane ticket yet so I don't know when he arrives. Probably earlier than me because he's East Coast based and I'm West Coast?
At Buddy Dive, they said no. The last orientation daily is at 2 PM, so no diving that first day. I also looked at Buddy Dive, Divi Flamingo, and Eden Beach Resort. I ruled out Eden as they didn't reply to my queries and I think it's more expensive than we want, ruled out Divi because it's only a hotel room and not a condo style, and ruled out Buddy Dive (probably) because it was more expensive than HHH and SD and they said no diving the first day.
I priced the 2 bedroom units with the included stuff at $1449 per person at Buddy Dive (includes b-fast), $1088 at Sand Dollar (1190 with b-fast), and $822 at Happy Holiday (no b-fast option). I wasn't sure on the prices of the other 2 - Divi replied with for 2 divers (in their hotel room, no kitchen and no separate bedrooms) would be $1848. I'm not sure if that was per person or total. I emailed them again but received no reply yet. Eden didn't reply at all and based on the website I was unsure of the price.
As far as the truck rental goes, HHH uses Budget at the airport and you get the truck there, which sounds good to me. Sand Dollar uses Avis and I'm not sure if you get the truck at the airport or not, probably.
One thing I was potentially interested in was meeting other divers and maybe going for some dives together. I don't know if this will be less likely at HHH, since Sand Dollar seems to be more popular. I love meeting other divers on trips and that's how I got hooked up with this buddy.
I've emailed several questions to HHH and Sand Dollar and am trying to stop bothering them and ask SB for any final advice before I decide. Buddy and I met on an NC wreck diving trip and hit it off but this is our first trip together since. He doesn't seem like much of a planner so I think whatever I pick will be ok with him. Cheaper is better.
Any advice about places to eat (seafood and pizza are favorites, looking for cheap to moderate, nothing fancy) would be welcome. I wasn't going to do any boat diving but a friend recommended that I see Klein Bonaire. The packages I priced don't include any boat dives. I figure we'll play that part by ear and see about scheduling some boat dives once we arrive.
I'm not opposed to considering other places to stay. Any advice or things I forgot to think of?
Thanks!
I'm planning a one-week trip to Bonaire in November for a dive buddy and myself. I've looked at a lot of old threads about Bonaire and did some price checking and I think I've settled on Happy Holiday Homes, but wanted some insight.
My male buddy and I are not a couple and I'd prefer a 2 bedroom. He is fine with sleeping on a sleeper sofa if we get a 1 bedroom that has one in the living room, but I think most of the places don't have pull-out sofas.
Having a good house reef is important to me because I want to be able to get in a lot of dives and I think we'll do more diving if we have a really close option. I think both Happy Holiday and Sand Dollar have a house reef, although I'm not sure of the quality. I saw in a previous post that Happy Holiday does NOT have a house reef but I think that's a mistake.
I like the idea of a breakfast buffet. Sand Dollar has one, ($102 extra per week) but Happy Holiday doesn't. I think my dive buddy is a little more financially conservative than I am, so he might not want to do the breakfast anyway. So, not a dealbreaker either way.
Both places use Dive Friends Bonaire. It looks like their nearest location is 2.5K from Happy Holiday, but they have a location on-site at Sand Dollar. Happy Holiday is located south of the airport and away from some of the more popular places to stay. Not sure about pros and cons to that location vs. the Sand Dollar. They still seem relatively close, and we will have a truck, so...
Otherwise the two both have - unlimited shore diving, Nitrox, truck rental, AC in the bedrooms, and a full kitchen. I am arriving at 1:30 PM on a Saturday and Louise from Happy Holiday assured me I could have enough time to check in, do the mandatory orientation, and get diving that evening. I haven't heard back from Sand Dollar yet on that particular question. Buddy hasn't purchased plane ticket yet so I don't know when he arrives. Probably earlier than me because he's East Coast based and I'm West Coast?
At Buddy Dive, they said no. The last orientation daily is at 2 PM, so no diving that first day. I also looked at Buddy Dive, Divi Flamingo, and Eden Beach Resort. I ruled out Eden as they didn't reply to my queries and I think it's more expensive than we want, ruled out Divi because it's only a hotel room and not a condo style, and ruled out Buddy Dive (probably) because it was more expensive than HHH and SD and they said no diving the first day.
I priced the 2 bedroom units with the included stuff at $1449 per person at Buddy Dive (includes b-fast), $1088 at Sand Dollar (1190 with b-fast), and $822 at Happy Holiday (no b-fast option). I wasn't sure on the prices of the other 2 - Divi replied with for 2 divers (in their hotel room, no kitchen and no separate bedrooms) would be $1848. I'm not sure if that was per person or total. I emailed them again but received no reply yet. Eden didn't reply at all and based on the website I was unsure of the price.
As far as the truck rental goes, HHH uses Budget at the airport and you get the truck there, which sounds good to me. Sand Dollar uses Avis and I'm not sure if you get the truck at the airport or not, probably.
One thing I was potentially interested in was meeting other divers and maybe going for some dives together. I don't know if this will be less likely at HHH, since Sand Dollar seems to be more popular. I love meeting other divers on trips and that's how I got hooked up with this buddy.
I've emailed several questions to HHH and Sand Dollar and am trying to stop bothering them and ask SB for any final advice before I decide. Buddy and I met on an NC wreck diving trip and hit it off but this is our first trip together since. He doesn't seem like much of a planner so I think whatever I pick will be ok with him. Cheaper is better.
Any advice about places to eat (seafood and pizza are favorites, looking for cheap to moderate, nothing fancy) would be welcome. I wasn't going to do any boat diving but a friend recommended that I see Klein Bonaire. The packages I priced don't include any boat dives. I figure we'll play that part by ear and see about scheduling some boat dives once we arrive.
I'm not opposed to considering other places to stay. Any advice or things I forgot to think of?
Thanks!