Recommended Hotel/Dive Shop - Bonaire

[scuba.gator]

OK, I'm leaning toward Bonaire for sometime in April/May. For anyone who has been there, could you please send me your recommendations for accomodations and dive shops. I'm trying to keep the $$ outlay to a minimum yet still have a good experience. Fancy hotels not required.

Thanks in Advance!!

-Gator

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
Assuming you are happy not on the water, and no place is far from the water on Bonaire, give Liz at Golden Reef Inn a email. Nothing fancy but clean, safe, great host and everything you need to have a good time on Bonaire. Their rooms have small kitchens so you can cook if you like. We don't typically cook but we do have a lot of PBJ's for lunch. She uses Wannadivebonire as her dive op. Bart and company are great to work with. Overall GRI is about a good of a value as you will find on the island. If you just have to be on the water, I have several places for you to check out but to save bucks, getting off the ocean frount is the way to go.
www.goldenreefinn.com

 

[Scuba65]

Hi, i was there in April and stayed at the Plaza Resort and loved that place..clean and very nice and Tucan Diving is also there. I wouldn't stay anywhere else when i go back and that will be in April once again.

 

[RICHinNC]

Ditto on the GRI from Herman.

 

[Jetwrench]

Welcome Gator!

If you can be a little more specific on price(lodging+dive package+truck) per week, I could be of more help. Herman has a good option for you with GRI. Liz and Ed are great and prices are very reasonable. I booked a condo through them last Oct. for 2 weeks and loved it. One of the properties they own and a bit more than staying at the inn but it had everything I could ever need.

If you want "low cost", you can check out WannaDive Hut which is run by Bart and Bob who also run the dive op. You will not find better people to deal with than them. The Hut is much like a hotel room(bedroom w/ac, tv, small fridge, bath) and works very well if you just want a place to rest and relax. Improvements to the Hut have been made since my last stay so I'm sure the upgrades would make it even more appealing.

I have also stayed at Eden Beach which I always enjoy and is right on the water. A very nice place to stay and very convenient for that early morning dive before the sun comes up. WannaDive is on site and Bongos bar has good food and drink.

Buddy Dive, Capt Dons, Plaza, Divi, and a host of others are your options depending on what you are looking for.

Look at infobonaire.com and browse the sites for your price range, but remember to check for what is included in the price of a stay. Does it include a vehicle? Does it include a dive package? Personally, I don't hold back on spending a little extra when it comes to a dive vacation. After all, it is MY TIME to play! YMMV

 

[paulwall]

OK, I'm leaning toward Bonaire for sometime in April/May. For anyone who has been there, could you please send me your recommendations for accomodations and dive shops. I'm trying to keep the $$ outlay to a minimum yet still have a good experience. Fancy hotels not required.

Thanks in Advance!!

-Gator

I visited on a cruise and dove with Bon Bini divers. I'd definitely use them again. Their web site is in Dutch, but they answered my emails in english. Very Nice, small boat, and really great wall diving. http://www.bonbinidivers.com/

Their hotel was basic, but the people there seemed happy. Shop was right at the hotel. Boat was a few blocks away.

 

[robstone]

I have been to Bonaire a couple of times and stayed at Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn. Its small, clean, seemed relatively inexpensive and has a good dive shop that is very accomodating to shore diving. which is incredible. No restaurant on site but has kitchenettes that were fine most of the time.

 

[knives]

I just came back from Bonaire, stayed at Eden beach, dove with wannadive ....It was great!!!! Eden beach was clean comfortable and safe. and the wannadive folks were lots of fun...goood dive operation.
Can't wait to go back....

 

[Willar]

Recently back from Plaza Resort and was very happy there. Tucan Divers (resort dive shop) was outstanding. Resort was nice but food was too expensive. Go to the store and buy your own food. The diving right off the resort was very nice... a long reef with 3 entry points and good marine life. Nice thing is that Toucan keeps tanks at the entry points so you don't have to carry tanks around the resort. If going off proprty, pull up your truck, throw in a few tanks, and off you go. Just be sure to check o-rings or bring spares.

 

[blawler1]

We've stayed at the Yachtclub Apts the past four times to Bonaire. They are clean, cheap and have fully equipped kitchens for $55 a night for studio or $67 for a 1 bedroom. They also offer an apartment/truck special which is the way to go. They are located across the road from Harbor Village very near to Sanddollar/Buddys/Capt Dons.

While we were completely satisfied with these apartments, we decided to stay at the Den Laman condos for our upcoming trip in February as they are owned by the same group as Yachtclub, are brand new and are adjacent to Bonaire Dive and Adventure (Sanddollar) (who is running a special 6 days unlimited nitrox tanks/weights for $105) We have used them and well as Buddy's on our previous trips and you couldn't go wrong with either one.