Questions about Bonaire

[Codyjp]

I am looking into going to Bonaire in Late August or September. We will be flying out of Los Angeles.

It seems that Continental is the most direct route and is the quickest, about 11 hours of travel time and ~$700 with a connection in Houston. Does this seem reasonable?

Also, I am looking through the different dive/hotel operations there and I am wondering if there is any that anybody would recommend. We are currently looking at Buddy Dive, but mainly because they have good marketing.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to the extra boat dives or are the beach dives the place to be?

Lastly, most places offer the one room apartments with kitchens. IS it normal, reasonable, and/or practical to cook in for dinners etc? Are the kitchens in most of these places outfitted with pots, pans and such?

Thanks for your help!

 

[Tom Smedley]

I am looking into going to Bonaire in Late August or September. We will be flying out of Los Angeles.

The Houston flight is a redeye - It arrives early in the morning. The resorts have adapted to this and your Island Orientation and first dive are done the same morning you arrive. $700 is a great price.

It seems that Continental is the most direct route and is the quickest, about 11 hours of travel time and ~$700 with a connection in Houston. Does this seem reasonable?

BDR and their staff are fantastic folks. If you are going as a couple then I might suggest Eden Beach and Wannadive Bonaire. They are personable and the resort is smaller and quiet. If staying on the water is not important then Golden Reef Inn (Diver Liz) is a great deal. It is also out of the main traffic and quiet.

Also, I am looking through the different dive/hotel operations there and I am wondering if there is any that anybody would recommend. We are currently looking at Buddy Dive, but mainly because they have good marketing.

This is totally up to your tastes. If you are the least bit adventurous then I suggest that you keep the one boat a day and explore the island. Get the beach dive guide and do a few of the easy ones first like oil slick or ol blue and then progress to the more difficult.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to the extra boat dives or are the beach dives the place to be?

It is feasable to cook in the rooms. There are several groceries. We usually get the resort breakfast package, make sandwiches for lunch, and eat at one of the many restaurants at night. On some nights we make a picnic and go to a secluded spot to watch the sunset. Keep all breads, crackers, cookies, etc in zip locks to protect from moisture and the everpresent sugar ant.

Lastly, most places offer the one room apartments with kitchens. IS it normal, reasonable, and/or practical to cook in for dinners etc? Are the kitchens in most of these places outfitted with pots, pans and such?

Thanks for your help!

Tommy

 

[del_mo]

I can only speak for myself. I stayed at the Golden Reef last year, and have one week to go before returning. We cooked two dinners while we stayed there. Our kitchen was adequately stocked.

Boat diving will take you to spots you can't reach by truck. We did one boat dive last year and have no plans to boat dive this year. Shore diving on your schedule is where it's at.

Do consider either pier dives....Salt or downtown. Downtown pier at night is way cool, but can be crowded.

We have a direct flight out of Atlanta that is running $775. So, $700 from California seems like a steal.

 

[jeanne001]

we stayed at Buddy Dive in April '08. We did all of our meals out. Will not do that again. We spent way too much $. B'fast was included with the package along with 1/2 off of lunch. The next time we go we will buy lunch stuff to make in the room along with the occasional dinner. I will say one of the reasons we spent so much on food was because we wanted to dive dive dive we ate alot at the Lions Den which got expensive night after night. Next time, we will go into town and eat at KFC or the pizza place in addition to the occasional meal in our room, should lighten the load $ wise.

We did the boat dives, will probably only do shore dives next time.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED BONAIRE!!!

 

[herman]

Dang Tommy, sounds like your on my trips...or maybe I'm on yours.

I completley agree with Tom. By beach dive guide, he means a book. "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy" is pretty much the standard most of us use.
Grab yourself an Amstel, the only proper beer for reading about Bonaire, do a search on this board using the word Bonaire and get ready to read for several hours. There are tons of great travel hints, suggestions, restaurant and resort reviews, things to see and do plus all sorts of useful information. Then if you have specific questions fire away, someone here knows the answer.

 

[oly5050user]

Go for the 6 boat dive package.This way you can get the dm to show you stuff that you may not find (try to get Pepe).Its not expensive,something like $117. for all 6...As to cooking in your room for the 2 of you, cook if you want. Depending what you cook up vs what/where you go out to eat,its almost a draw, especially if you count in that "hey,we are on a vacation"..At Buddys you can get a 50% off restaurant/bar deal and as others have said maybe do one day dinner at KFC and maybe another do a take out at Pasa Bon Pizza down the road from Buddys.Cappricco's in town is very nice,and we did not find them to be expensive for what you get (we are from NYC).

 

[georoc01]

I just got back from a week at Divi that included boat dives. Being a lazy diver, I like being able to roll out of bed, go over to the dock grab my gear get on the boat and do a couple of dives with a dive master that knows where all the cool stuff is (Saw over a dozen sea horses in a week). The downside is that you are now on a schedule vs the freedom that all of the shore diving gives you. It was also nice being within walking distance to town.

If you get a chance, do the town pier dive. You have to hire a Divemaster who clears everything with the harbormaster and takes you out there.

 

[Rig Magician]

I guess it all depends if you want a somewhere nice to stay or on the water. We have stayed at Golden reef inn and also Wannadive hut. You can eat breakfest at wannadive for somewhere around 60$ for the week per person. While wanna dive is not the nicest place on Bonaire it has clean rooms and very good people running it. It also has 3 locations to pick up tanks. I don't think there small rooms have a kitchen in them though. But don't let that stop you, you can eat great for very cheap. Try the local places, the food is great and very afforable. We usually eat out once or twice at the nice resturants but that is it. Mostly we go to Julias or another local place behind the bank. For lunch you can get great samwhichs from the little shop next to Napa auto parts. 2 people can eat there for about 8-10$. You can also stock up on samwhich stuff and eat at your room. We are returning in July and will be staying at Wannadive again. Whatever you do don't miss the rum punch parties or the sunset bar on the roof of he inn.

 

[piikki]

Also, I am looking through the different dive/hotel operations there and I am wondering if there is any that anybody would recommend. We are currently looking at Buddy Dive, but mainly because they have good marketing.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade to the extra boat dives or are the beach dives the place to be?

Lastly, most places offer the one room apartments with kitchens. IS it normal, reasonable, and/or practical to cook in for dinners etc? Are the kitchens in most of these places outfitted with pots, pans and such?

Thanks for your help!

We looked at Buddy too for both of our trips but found way cheaper pkg for two ppl at Den Laman. Also checked out Sand Dollar while we were there since it was next door. Den Laman suited us because it did not have fixed meal plans. (With our dive plans schedules just did not work)

With Den Laman kitchenette was packed with pots/pans/utensils etc, microwave and stove and all you would need for meals. We made breakfast in room, packed lunch and/or made a snacks/sammies to go. Often we had dog baggies from previous night left over. Most nights we ate out but did cook in the room. Would have been totally viable to cook in the room but we were somewhat whacked out after diving and opted for restaurant or take out. If we had stayed for two weeks we would have def made more food in the room. Lunch time we often nuked up soups, pasta etc.

We did only one boat dive, was not worth for us. We got up at crack of dawn with the guide book in hand and went. Two dives in the morning, lunch, two dives in afternoon and night dive if still some juice left.

 

[Makin Raider]

Hey there Cody,

I'll be on island via Continental from LAX through Houston, from September 6th to September 13 and we'll be staying at Den Laman. Their package with BDA was highly recommended by some locals. If you're curious about specific places and what the rooms look like go to Bonaire Condominium & Apartment Rentals If you're there that week and want to carpool to sites, I'm sure we can work something out.

Mark