I have been to Roatan 5 times and lived there as a dive manager for 4 months. It's a great place with a wide variety of diving in various parts of the island. As many have suggested, most people just stay at one resort and don't get out much. I drove the roads daily for 4 months and never had a problem though their are some crazy drivers especially in the taxi's. They do have occasional roadblocks with local police but they don't hassle visitors in most cases. Never give them any money for any reason.
Most dive operatons on south or west end dive in a relatively small area though the diving is still very good. There are other operations that are even more isolated but dive parts of the island rarely seen by most.
Paya Bay - This is a terrific get away resort. It is on the far north end of the island with the final 4 miles being down a rugged dirt road. They can arrange rental cars for site seeing or they'll even take you out once in a while. They no longer have their own dive operation but another group picks up divers daily for as many as 4 dives a day. This resort is small and family run. All rooms have terrific views. It has two beaches one of which is completely private. I highly recommend this place if you want something a little different. Diving is done on the north side of the island or south side depending upon weather. Most north side dives have incredible structures and swim throughs while the south side is mostly wall diving. I lived at this resort for 4 months.
Reef House - This resort is about 6 miles from Paya Bay on the south side of the island. It is also family run. It's an older place and more of a dedicated dive resort. It's on a tiny little island with about 40 local homes. Access is via water taxi. I highly recommend a taxi tour during your stay. The area is beautiful and you'll get a chance to see how the people really live. Be prepared, they are extremely poor but friendly The diving again is almost all wall diving but they have much of the diving to themselves since they are much further east than most operations. I've been there 3 times and really like it.
Bay Island Beach Resort - I only visited this place once but liked it as well. The service was outstanding as was the food. They have a nice beach bar on the premises that my wife and I visited nightly. You travel inside the reef and go right through by the Anothony's Keys area daily. This place is on the main road but still a long way from West End.
Anothony's Keys - I stayed here twice a very long time ago. It is a great place with lots to do but a little too structured for me. Lots of room choices including some high above the water and others on a small key accessible via boat. This is a well run operation and you can't go wrong with this place.
I've also been to West End many times. It's party time almost all the time over there. If you like that kind of thing, it's the place to be. Diving is excellent but sometimes crowded. The actual "town" is really just a bunch of tourist places on a dirt road. Fun to visit but I wouldn't stay in this area myself but it's great for younger folks looking for some night life in additional to good diving. Lots to do here.
Bonaire - Been there twice and loved it. As others have said, it seem to be a lot less 3rd world. If you stay on the main roads, it's much like any other resort town. Lots of tourist joints and good restaurants. The island is a desert and is very dry and hot. Most people shore dive but boat diving is really cheap and gets you to more places including the nearby island. Diving is very good everywhere. I stayed at smaller places including Belmar Condo's. This is a great place with spectacular views and very private. A dive operation is on the premises so tanks are readily available. You'll need a car but all packages include one anyway. I never had any bug problems on this island. Diving is almost all gradual slopes which aren't that interesting to me but there are a fair number of smaller fish and things to see. This can be a very difficult island to get too sometimes. They have had airline and baggage issues for 15 years or more. I'm not sure of the current status but it's something I'd check. This island also has terrible problems with petty theft including dive gear. The local government tries to deal with the problem but has been largely unsuccessful. For a while, they even had a bus that you could follow that would provide security while you went diving. This is not a problem with resort diving by the way. It is only a problem with remote shore diving. Some people are fanatical about this place and I've never understood why. The diving is good but not exceptional.
Have fun regardless of your choice.
Most dive operatons on south or west end dive in a relatively small area though the diving is still very good. There are other operations that are even more isolated but dive parts of the island rarely seen by most.
Paya Bay - This is a terrific get away resort. It is on the far north end of the island with the final 4 miles being down a rugged dirt road. They can arrange rental cars for site seeing or they'll even take you out once in a while. They no longer have their own dive operation but another group picks up divers daily for as many as 4 dives a day. This resort is small and family run. All rooms have terrific views. It has two beaches one of which is completely private. I highly recommend this place if you want something a little different. Diving is done on the north side of the island or south side depending upon weather. Most north side dives have incredible structures and swim throughs while the south side is mostly wall diving. I lived at this resort for 4 months.
Reef House - This resort is about 6 miles from Paya Bay on the south side of the island. It is also family run. It's an older place and more of a dedicated dive resort. It's on a tiny little island with about 40 local homes. Access is via water taxi. I highly recommend a taxi tour during your stay. The area is beautiful and you'll get a chance to see how the people really live. Be prepared, they are extremely poor but friendly The diving again is almost all wall diving but they have much of the diving to themselves since they are much further east than most operations. I've been there 3 times and really like it.
Bay Island Beach Resort - I only visited this place once but liked it as well. The service was outstanding as was the food. They have a nice beach bar on the premises that my wife and I visited nightly. You travel inside the reef and go right through by the Anothony's Keys area daily. This place is on the main road but still a long way from West End.
Anothony's Keys - I stayed here twice a very long time ago. It is a great place with lots to do but a little too structured for me. Lots of room choices including some high above the water and others on a small key accessible via boat. This is a well run operation and you can't go wrong with this place.
I've also been to West End many times. It's party time almost all the time over there. If you like that kind of thing, it's the place to be. Diving is excellent but sometimes crowded. The actual "town" is really just a bunch of tourist places on a dirt road. Fun to visit but I wouldn't stay in this area myself but it's great for younger folks looking for some night life in additional to good diving. Lots to do here.
Bonaire - Been there twice and loved it. As others have said, it seem to be a lot less 3rd world. If you stay on the main roads, it's much like any other resort town. Lots of tourist joints and good restaurants. The island is a desert and is very dry and hot. Most people shore dive but boat diving is really cheap and gets you to more places including the nearby island. Diving is very good everywhere. I stayed at smaller places including Belmar Condo's. This is a great place with spectacular views and very private. A dive operation is on the premises so tanks are readily available. You'll need a car but all packages include one anyway. I never had any bug problems on this island. Diving is almost all gradual slopes which aren't that interesting to me but there are a fair number of smaller fish and things to see. This can be a very difficult island to get too sometimes. They have had airline and baggage issues for 15 years or more. I'm not sure of the current status but it's something I'd check. This island also has terrible problems with petty theft including dive gear. The local government tries to deal with the problem but has been largely unsuccessful. For a while, they even had a bus that you could follow that would provide security while you went diving. This is not a problem with resort diving by the way. It is only a problem with remote shore diving. Some people are fanatical about this place and I've never understood why. The diving is good but not exceptional.
Have fun regardless of your choice.
FIBR was all inclusive and we found the food to be mediocre and the place itself a little more rustic. The Plaza was not all inclusive. They had 2 quite good restaurants on site and the town had many really excellent places. Expensive though! The rooms in the Plaza were much nicer than FIBR. But again I am only comparing one place on each island so for sure not a fair comparison, only what I experienced. Frankly I can't see you going wrong in either case, depending on your primary criteria. I agree with others who say you will find Roatan a bit more rustic and well, central american-ish whereas Bonaire has a more continental flare. You are just going to have to weight your needs. Oh and the ability to get to each place may make your choice easier! I actually wanted to go back to Roatan this past Sept., but getting there would have taken 2-3 stops and several hundred $ more each. Bonaire was either a 1 stop daytime flight or a non-stop red-eye. So in the end that was our deciding factor in Bonaire. Sorry, I rambled on. Feel free to ask for details.
