We would love to go back to Bonaire, but ...

[KathyV]

We have been to Bonaire several times over the years and we've always loved it. It remains one of our favorite dive destinations. The last time we were there was a few years ago and it was great, but the airfare was very expensive, inconvenient and difficult. We will be traveling from Chicago and I am wondering if the air travel options have improved?

Bonaire became part of the Netherlands, rather than the Netherland Antilles, shortly before we arrived last time and we couldn't see much difference, has the island changed much since then?

We are looking for 2 weeks in an apartment or kitchenette (not a studio, a separate kitchen area). We would want a rental car with AC and unlimited shore diving. We don't need luxury but it has to be nice and clean with full air conditioning.

I guess we sound kind of demanding, but we only get one dive trip per year so we want to make it a good one; and we are getting older and are looking for easier diving options. Frankly, it would be hard to beat the valet diving that we've enjoyed in the Cayman sister islands in the past.

Any suggestions for lodgings and diving on Bonaire that would appeal to a couple of demanding old codgers that still love the island and still love to dive?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

 

[DiveMaven]

Den Laman would be worth looking at. They have a Dive/Drive/Stay package that includes unlimited shore diving (nitrox is free), a rental truck, and accommodations. The 1 and 2-bedroom condos have a full, separate kitchen, A/C in both the living and bed rooms, they're large at 1000 square feet, and with only 16 units and a keyed entry to the stairwell, very secure as well. Den Laman in ocean-front and the ocean-front 1-bedroom units have complete unobstructed views of the ocean and Klein Bonaire. The balconys run the entire length of your condo and are shaded for most of the day.

We're booked for our 4th two week visit to Bonaire and our 3rd time staying in a 1-bedroom ocean-front unit at Den Laman. We love the drive up tank room, the 24 hour access to both tanks and the gear room, the convenience of the dock and diving Bari Reef for our house reef, and the comfort and security the condo offers us.

 

[Doctorfish]

I've been back to Bonaire twice since the change in government and the only thing I could appreciate was in the currency switch. ( which is for the better ) Obviously there are many other political issues but they would not seem to affect tourists.

You might want to look at Belmar appartments as well as Den Lamen. They have renovated self contained suites, a nice pool and are affilitiated with the Buddydive op which is a high guality operation in my opinion. I agree with DiveMaven, Den Lamen is a great choice as well and gives you direct shore access to the amazing Bari Reef.

Getting to Bonaire is always a bit of a challenge but lately we have been taking the direct Delta flight out of Atlanta, pricy but reliable. Should not be difficult for you to get from Chicago to Atlanta.

I have not been out with any operator in Bonaire who provides valet diving of the Cayman variety, but my experience with Buddy Dive has been positive with large boats, and very good DMs. You will have to haul your own gear and do your own setup, which is not so terrible.

There is one longstanding DM at Buddy Dive, Murphin who is an absolutely special individual. He speaks 4 or 5 languages fluently, is very gracious, knows the waters well and has great eyes for spotting the small critters. Diving with him is always one of the highlights of our trips to Bonaire. He is frankly the reason we choose to dive with that op out of the many good choices on the island.

 

[diverjen]

Plus its hard to beat Bari Reef and the nice dock setup - doesn't get any easier or more convenient than that!

Den Laman would be worth looking at. They have a Dive/Drive/Stay package that includes unlimited shore diving (nitrox is free), a rental truck, and accommodations. The 1 and 2-bedroom condos have a full, separate kitchen, A/C in both the living and bed rooms, they're large at 1000 square feet, and with only 16 units and a keyed entry to the stairwell, very secure as well. Den Laman in ocean-front and the ocean-front 1-bedroom units have complete unobstructed views of the ocean and Klein Bonaire. The balconys run the entire length of your condo and are shaded for most of the day.

We're booked for our 4th two week visit to Bonaire and our 3rd time staying in a 1-bedroom ocean-front unit at Den Laman. We love the drive up tank room, the 24 hour access to both tanks and the gear room, the convenience of the dock and diving Bari Reef for our house reef, and the comfort and security the condo offers us.

 

[KathyV]

Den Laman would be worth looking at. They have a Dive/Drive/Stay package that includes unlimited shore diving (nitrox is free), a rental truck, and accommodations. The 1 and 2-bedroom condos have a full, separate kitchen, A/C in both the living and bed rooms, they're large at 1000 square feet, and with only 16 units and a keyed entry to the stairwell, very secure as well. Den Laman in ocean-front and the ocean-front 1-bedroom units have complete unobstructed views of the ocean and Klein Bonaire. The balconys run the entire length of your condo and are shaded for most of the day.

We're booked for our 4th two week visit to Bonaire and our 3rd time staying in a 1-bedroom ocean-front unit at Den Laman. We love the drive up tank room, the 24 hour access to both tanks and the gear room, the convenience of the dock and diving Bari Reef for our house reef, and the comfort and security the condo offers us.

I've been back to Bonaire twice since the change in government and the only thing I could appreciate was in the currency switch. ( which is for the better ) Obviously there are many other political issues but they would not seem to affect tourists.

You might want to look at Belmar appartments as well as Den Lamen. They have renovated self contained suites, a nice pool and are affilitiated with the Buddydive op which is a high guality operation in my opinion. I agree with DiveMaven, Den Lamen is a great choice as well and gives you direct shore access to the amazing Bari Reef.

Getting to Bonaire is always a bit of a challenge but lately we have been taking the direct Delta flight out of Atlanta, pricy but reliable. Should not be difficult for you to get from Chicago to Atlanta.

I have not been out with any operator in Bonaire who provides valet diving of the Cayman variety, but my experience with Buddy Dive has been positive with large boats, and very good DMs. You will have to haul your own gear and do your own setup, which is not so terrible.

There is one longstanding DM at Buddy Dive, Murphin who is an absolutely special individual. He speaks 4 or 5 languages fluently, is very gracious, knows the waters well and has great eyes for spotting the small critters. Diving with him is always one of the highlights of our trips to Bonaire. He is frankly the reason we choose to dive with that op out of the many good choices on the island.

Plus its hard to beat Bari Reef and the nice dock setup - doesn't get any easier or more convenient than that!

Thank you, we will look into those options! I would hate to think that we might never go diving in Bonaire again!

 

[uncfnp]

I have only been going for 3 years so can not compare too far in past but I do love the new supermarket Van den Tweel! And I think but can not confirm that electricity and sewer may be a bit more reliable.

 

[handben]

We are looking for 2 weeks in an apartment or kitchenette (not a studio, a separate kitchen area). We would want a rental car with AC and unlimited shore diving. We don't need luxury but it has to be nice and clean with full air conditioning.

I guess we sound kind of demanding, but we only get one dive trip per year so we want to make it a good one; and we are getting older and are looking for easier diving options. Frankly, it would be hard to beat the valet diving that we've enjoyed in the Cayman sister islands in the past.

Any suggestions for lodgings and diving on Bonaire that would appeal to a couple of demanding old codgers that still love the island and still love to dive?

Thanks in advance for your advice!

I did my 6th trip to Bonaire in January. I've stayed at Belmar 3 times, Windsock apartments once, Bellevule once and last time Beachcomber Villas. I think that Beachcomber Villas would fit the bill well for what you have described. The owners Tim and Leanne have come as close to "Concierge" as I have seen on the island. I don't require are ask for help handling my gear - but they are most willing to give you a hand loading and unloading, rinsing and so on. They have a great reef off the back of their property (The Cliff Dive site). I wonder though depending on how much "pampering" you want how well Bonaire is suitable. As I am sure you are aware, most folks do shore diving rather than boat diving. By necessity, this means schlepping gear around quite a bit - fetching and returning tanks, rinsing gear, donning and doffing gear and making one's way over the rough shore and uneven entries. I've never had anything more than cuts and scrapes on the rocks getting in and out but I can see how it might be a challenge for "a couple of demanding old codgers". If you want "valet service" of someone to set-up and break down and rinse the gear daily, I don't know that you'll find that on Bonaire - I'd look to the Caymans or Cozumel for that type of service.

 

[KathyV]

I did my 6th trip to Bonaire in January. I've stayed at Belmar 3 times, Windsock apartments once, Bellevule once and last time Beachcomber Villas. I think that Beachcomber Villas would fit the bill well for what you have described. The owners Tim and Leanne have come as close to "Concierge" as I have seen on the island. I don't require are ask for help handling my gear - but they are most willing to give you a hand loading and unloading, rinsing and so on. They have a great reef off the back of their property (The Cliff Dive site). I wonder though depending on how much "pampering" you want how well Bonaire is suitable. As I am sure you are aware, most folks do shore diving rather than boat diving. By necessity, this means schlepping gear around quite a bit - fetching and returning tanks, rinsing gear, donning and doffing gear and making one's way over the rough shore and uneven entries. I've never had anything more than cuts and scrapes on the rocks getting in and out but I can see how it might be a challenge for "a couple of demanding old codgers". If you want "valet service" of someone to set-up and break down and rinse the gear daily, I don't know that you'll find that on Bonaire - I'd look to the Caymans or Cozumel for that type of service.

Thanks, I will look into Beachcomber Villas

 

[oldschoolto]

I would bet that you would be able to find a young man to go to dive spots and hump the gear and wash it when you got done... A few hundred bucks would be great for a really pampered trip... And your truck and gear would be safe as you guys dive... Just a thought..

Jim....

 

[diversteve]

but it has to be nice and clean with full air conditioning.

Unless it's changed since the renovations, Belmar only has A/C in the bedrooms. It's also in Belnem so a 5min. drive to any sort of food - market or restaurant. It does meet all your other requirements. We also found Belnem to be very quiet at night.

One nice thing is that it's a compressed property so nothing is very far away. If you have a ground floor unit, the pool is probably 25' from your patio - the dive dock down a few steps 20' past that. They stage tanks there also. If you want to boat dive, Buddy's sends a boat down a couple days a week. Also you get a paper at the dive shop so you can use the Buddy tank drive-thru when diving north. Usually the buddy staff member there will load/unload tanks for you also.

For local shore dives, there's a tank pickup street side at the south end of the Belmar property - 50' from your back door max. Ground floor units have individual dive closets behind the back door, upstairs units have lockers at the dive shop. Your room key gets you into the public areas of the shop 24/7 for tanks, nitrox analyzer, suit storage etc. Five minutes. drive south to the Hooker and the start of all the good south dives from there.

We like it but next time I'm going to try Den Laman. The appeal of living on Bari Reef is why. Also it's newer and looks nicer than Belmar.