Bonaire 2002 part#2

[Natasha]

Hello future Bonaire divers:
Here are all the confirmed plans.
I am holding 15 rooms for September 14th to September 21,2002.
Prices are 643.00 for a share
1216.00 for your own room
This includes:
7 nights laguna view large room Plaza Resort Bonaire
6 one tank boat dives ( for 84.00 more we can have 12) Toucan Diving (we'll go to Klein Bonaire with the boats)
24 hour unlimited shore diving on the best shore in the world!
All taxes and transfers
Welcome Bar B Que Beach party dinner
You can start sending me deposits to hold your spot.
100.00 US. check made to Coast to Coast Travel
1135 Elder Road
Homewood,IL. 60430
Deposits are refundable up to final payment.
Final payment due July, 1st 2002
More questions call me. 708-957-8616

[Dee]

Originally posted by Natasha
.....Prices are 643.00 for a share
1216.00 for your own room


Natasha, what do you mean by 'a share'? Sounds like I'd get space on the floor or I can pay $1216 and get a whole room!

I'm guessing that's for half of a double room and you'll assign me a roommate if I need one.

[Natasha]

Yes. maam. You guessed right. No one sleeps on the floor in my resorts! LoL.
A share is any two people in a room. Lots of my men divers like to take their own room. They say they don't want any loud snoring man next to them! {Little do they know they snore too}
That's why I post a " Your own room" price.
Can I count you in?

[Dee]

Originally posted by Natasha
.... Can I count you in?

Not just yet! Still taking notes on possible places to go. We're mighty pleased with CoCo View in Roatan, it's hard to beat.

I do have a couple of questions for ya though....

Is the shore diving done at the resort? I think I've heard that you need a car/truck to drive to places to shore dive in Bonaire. Isn't that where you can drive through for air fills?

What size dive boats do they have?

Are the dives guided by a DM or are you on your own?

[Natasha]

All wonderful questions.
#1 There is 24 hour shore diving done at the resort. They line up filled tanks all day for anyone at the resort to use anytime for free. There's a wonderful reef right in front of the Plaza.
# 2 You can rent a truck or car if you want to go to other spots. Not sure about the dive through fills, because you can use tanks from the resort.
#3 The boats are 45 feet and as you would know will hold 12 divers. www.Toucandiving.com
There is a divemaster on every dive included in the price. But you can dive your own profile with no problem. And they do have Nitrox.
:sunny:

[Inspector#2]

Do you have a line on cheap airfare out of the Northwest?

Dave

[Dee]

That was my next question....what about airfare out of Houston? Being a HUB, it's usually high to everywhere. I know airfare that far ahead may not be available yet but can you give me your best guesstimate?

[Callie]

I'm interested!

Is there cheap airfare out of Phoenix?
Is the $643.00 inclusive (meals etc?)

Kathy

[herman]

DEE,

The drive thru air station, at least the original one, is at Buddy Dive, a couple of miles up the street from the Plaza. I know that several other resorts have added "drive up" air stations but as best as I know, the one at Buddies is the only one you actually drive through. To really enjoy Bonaire to it's fullest, you will want to rent a truck, at least for a few days. There are so many dive sites to explore and other things to see during the surface interval that a truck is a must have.

Natasha,

The Bonaire travel board has produced a video of the island that can be ordered for about $9 off the web. Not sure what the web address is off the top of my head but if you are interested, I will dig it up. I have seen a piece of it on the web, it looks pretty good.

[Natasha]

It much too early to do air yet. Sometime after Easter we can look at it more seriously. Anyone can use air mileage awards, or search the web for their own air prices. Last time we went to Bonaire in March 2001, the air from around the country ranged from 600.00 to 1000.00.
Callie no it does not include meals. You can pre pay breakfast which is what we did on the last trip. It is 76.00 for 7 days. It is a full huge breakfast with a chef making omlets.

:sunny:

[neilstewart]

Hi Natasha

yes I'm in for the trip.

Can I send you credit card details? as my cheques are in sterling. Alternatively I can get some multi currency cheques from my bank.

Are your dates inclusive as this is 8 nights (not that I'm complaining mind) but I would need to firm my flight arrangements. There are big price differences between travelling on Friday USD750, Saturday USD2250 and Sunday USD750 so I might need to strech the accom dates either end, is this a problem?

By the way most people snore a little after a few beers even you gals. I'm Ok with a share or a single which ever fits.

Neil

[Natasha]

Neil,
Sharp eye you have there. It was a typo on my part. September 14th Saturday to Saturday, in 02, that's our dates. That's 8 days 7 nights.
However, Socaldiver talked to me on the phone yesterday and said him and Cathy will probably stay on after the trip. Several people did this last time too, to see more of the surrounding islands. Of course that is up to each person, and fine with me if you want to come in early, or leave later.
We can talk in email about those sterlings you have. ;)

Herman,
Thanks for info. I know the Bonaire travel board in New York. I'll ring them and have them send me one. They're a great group of girls.
PS I don't know any girls that snore, burp, or pick their noses!
LoL
:sunny:

[socaldiver]

come stay at my house for a night or so :D

[DivingGal]

I'm still planning to get to Bonaire - but the Cdn $ right now is not very good (darn right lousy). The one week trip would cost close to $3K Cdn. Which is too high for me. I've already got a trip planned to NC - OD wants to dive the sub there, and I'm giving the charter to him for his b'day.

Then there's the trip to DEMA in October he wants.

Finally, if all goes as planned there's the trip to Barbados in Feb 2003 - I have time-share there.

So you see with three foreign trips my vacation fund will already be tight, I might just have to pass Bonaire -- unless of course I win the lottery or someone wants to sponsor me????:D

[neilstewart]

Hi all Bonaire tripsters,

I've just been flicking through an old copy of Diver Mag and noticed a Curacao add that said coral spawning takes place there 8/9/10 Sept 2001 and 8/9/10 Oct 2001. Pretty close to our dates next year, now that would be something, anyone know the full moon dates around then?

Neil

[Natasha]

Hey Neil,
The full moon is September 21st 2002.
:sunny:

[neilstewart]

Great, If we are a little lucky maybe Thurs, Fri or Sat night dives will be really special.

Neil

[Inspector#2]

Looks like a trip my wife and I can do. If you have two more slots we can fill them and we don't mind bunking together.

Dave

[neilstewart]

Just re-watched the coral seas episode of Blue Planet and they say coral spawning takes place "a few days after the full moon" so we miss it, shame, but it's still going to be one hell of a trip.

Neil

[reefraff]

The coral spawning is a really wonderful thing to see. There is a downside, however. We arrived on September 8, 2001, and got to witness it on a couple of dives. A week later the water was still murky. Two weeks later and things had pretty much returned to normal. We did get one storm during our visit - very unusual - but there wasn't enough rain to create a runoff problem.

We'd love to join you on your trip, but we're already booked for a return trip a little later in the year. The Plaza Resort is the best spot on the island their dive shop is the best I've ever had the pleasure of using in 30+ years of diving. I'd rather dive a six pack, but they do just fine with their 12's and in September you will rarely find them filled.

Shameless plug, but I'm not being compensated so I figure it's probably okay.

Bon voyage!

[Natasha]

Steven: Thanks for the 'shamless plug' As I have said before, the "Plaza Resort and Toucan dive operator will exceed your expectations."
Inspector(Dave) I'll put you and your wife down for room. We have 15 blocked and I bet we'll fill them all. Our group will have two 45 foot boats dedicated just for us. It won't be 30 people since some people are taking their own room.
Dave, I have talked to everyone that is going so far, on the phone. Let me know when we can talk and I'll call you, or you can call me. 708-957-8616.
Bonaire : A Diver's Paradise.

:gorgeous:

[livestodive]

My wife and I just returned fron Bonaire. To those of you going, you gonna luv it!!! Natasha just a cpl of little notes 1. captain Dons now requires a 5$ ticket to dive the habitat from their facilities. 2 buddys allowed us in our group to use their facilities for night dives. 3 the underwater web cam can be reached from shore there is a small access point to it and the small wall, a nice dive also! but imho karparta is the dive of dives on that island.

[afox428671]

:hi:

Hi Natasha-
Are there more spots open for the Bonaire trip? I would love to join you guys!
Anita

[Natasha]

Hi Anita:
Yep, I have 6 rooms left. And I have a women from LA that needs a roommate. I met two more people yesterday that want to go also. Let's talk on the phone. Call me, or I can call you.
708-957-8616
You can send me your number in a private message or to my email address Natasha708@aol.com and tell me when to call.
:sunny:

[Natasha]

Just wanted to welcome Anita to the trip! She's really woman, and not some man pretending to be a woman named Anita. LoL
Seriously, Anita you're going to fit right in with this group. Good talking to you on the phone today. And the fact that you've already been to Bonaire 3 times, tells us even more how Bonaire is the place to be!
Bob, and Neil, and Dave, I have all your checks now. Thanks guys you're the best!

:gorgeous: