Two questions about LDS Bonaire Trip, please

[DandyDon]

I like my LDS, would kinda like to travel with them - at least my first time there....

(1) I've read so much about crime there, not safe to leave anything in the pickup, or the room, or even the room safe - stolen off the wall?! I like to travel with my laptop and several cameras; should I forget that and get by with just one dive camera that I could use for land shots and video? Got plenty of large SD cards, and I do like the way it shoots video in ASF over my usual Canon land camera, but I prefer both of those and I'd like to take my camcorder too.

I don't guess there is anyway I can safely take all three diving from the pickup parked at shore unless I took all three down with me - which I could do with both digitals at least. But then, if I stopped anywhere else, I guess I'd have to keep my whole dive camera setup and the land cam both with me to avoid attracting thieves still.

I like to carry my own Nitrox analyzer, a Carbon Monoxide analyzer and portable VHF radio. Hey, I like my toys. I just cannot see leaving any of this in the pickup while I dive, and that's a helluva a lot of stuff to drag in Pelican boxes while I dive.

I don't want to bash Boaire, but I don't have this problem in many other locations. Help me with a compromise will ya....?

(2) As I said, I like my LDS, they help me out a lot, and I'd kinda like to go with them - don't even mind paying some extra, but I don't want to go overboard with that. Here's their deal; sound okay enough....?

BONAIRE JANUARY 16TH – 24TH 2009 “BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND” Come by the dive shop now to reserve your spot for our trip to BONAIRE- known as the diver’s paradise. Our package includes round-trip airfare on Continental Airlines. We will be staying at Buddy Dive Resort in fully furnished condos for 7 nights and 8 days and we will receive breakfast every morning. We will enjoy 11 morning boat dives with the BUDDY DIVE shop, a 5 star dive facility. We will also enjoy unlimited shore diving which is easily accessible with the truck provided with every room and the “Drive-Thru“ AIR and NITROX fill station! NITROX is also included with this fabulous dive package. Dive package cost, based on double occupancy: Diver – $2235.00 per person Non-Diver – $1879.00 per person

The resort: Buddy Dive Resort, Bonaire: Rates

Booked separately....
Air from Lubbock would be $973.55 *
Room and breakfasts: $ 1179 pp do
11 Boat Dive Package add $94 pp
$25 departure tax - may not be included?
Bonaire National Marine Park $25 for scuba divers - not sure if that's included?
$2296 with 2 per. in a one-bdrm apartment

*Depending on whom you ask and when. I checked 6 different sites.

Looks like an adventure just getting there and back. CO has only one over night flight from IAH with the same plane returning shorly after, so we leave Lubbock at 4:20pm Friday, kill 5-1/2 hours at IAH (leave the terminal! go somewhere for long dinner), arrive at 6am Saturday. Returning a week late on the 8:30am same plane, arrive IAH at 11:30am, kill 9-1/2 hours since the afternoon shuttle doesn't fly to Lubbock on Saturdays, :11: or spend the night in IAH and get back Sunday for less fare.

I haven't spoken with the LDs yet, not sure how they have it arranged. There are other times & routes with extra flights for less, but I don't want to add DFW, NYC, or ATL in addition to IAH for plane changes. I want to get there, be there, then get back. Even with the best plans, exploring happens I know, I've been rerouted many times, but I like to plan a simple flight plan initially.

So, what are you thots on enjoying my toys there safely, and the price of the LDS plan...?

Thanks!

 

[Bonairetrip]

My Stuff
I have been to Bonaire ten times (two to three weeks each visit) and have never had anything stolen (other some gas siphoned). How?

I don't leave anything in the truck if I care that it is there when I get back. If I care about it, it either stays in the room or goes with me under the water. Period. Of course, another approach would be to leave a non-diver on shore to watch the stuff.

I don't leave anything out at night. I lock my room. If I am provided a safe, I use it. I have insurance that covers my most expensive gear (although I have never made a claim). These are the same precautions I take anywhere (USA, europe, latin america, etc.). When I didn't, I lost stuff. Heck, even when I have done that -- a camera (Cancun hotel room), skiis (Crystal Mtn), a wallet (Madison), a wallet (LA hotel room while I slept) and stuff from my car at least gone through (remote trailheads, parking lot in Tacoma, parking lot in Olympia, parking lot in Seattle, Hawaii, etc.).

Your Stuff
Bonaire is just not that big a place -- it is no big deal to drive back to the room. Given that, what would be the need to have three cameras, VHF, nitrox and co monitor with you on a shore dive? The tanks can be checked when you pick them up (and then the monitors back to your room). I see little point to having a VHF radio unless you are going to take it with you.

Would you leave this stuff in a car in Cozumel or PDC? Parking lot at a Hawaiian beach or trail? Of course, I wish Bonaire had less petty theft.

Getting There
The options are up to you. The best choices would be AA via DFW and SJU (3 times a week), Delta via ATL (one day a week) and CO via IAH (one to two days a week). FWIW. I fly to BON from SEA for less than the price you noted. You might save $$ by going AA via SJU (that can be had for your time frame for about $805). Personally I would do the CO flight for the reasons you mentioned...

Costs
First, I would check with Caradonna and see what they could come up with. Second, there are cheaper lodging options -- but that is all personal preference. Personally, I prefer to stay on the water (and Buddy meets that criteria). Although there are lots of places to stay on and off the water.

The airport departure tax and the marine park fees are not typically included in a package. Also, check on taxes and things like CDWs for rental vehicles. These can make comparisons tricky.

Here is what I generally plan on:
a) Truck rental at about $300/week plus any CDW. Split two ways.
b) Shore diving (air) at about $110 pp/per week.
c) Air varies -- historically mine has floated between $600 and $900ish (from SEA)
d) Hotels can vary between about $55 per room per night (wanna dive hut room, no kitchen) to $120 (Carib Inn including kicthen) and (way) up. Add $5.50 pp per night.
e) Get food from the stores and eat in the rooms.

 

[herman]

Don you should be able to do a good bit better. The $1179 is for 2 in a 1br condo, most dive shops do quads, 4 in a 2br which drives the price down a good bit. The $1179 includes 6 boat dives, there is no reason at all to add the extra $95 to get a total of 11 dive, trust me, you will not likely do the 6 much less 11. I drop all the boat dives from all my trips, it saves us around $100pp. You can always add them back or do alacart once you get to Buddy. On the flights, you have to be careful how you try to book them, there is a catch to watch out for. Since the flights fly over night, you must be careful what dates you use. The flights run from FRI to SAT and SAT to SUN, not Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun. We tend to find the flights at around $600-650 from Raleigh via both Houston and NJ, your flight should be about the same. Don't use Expedia or the like, go directly to the Cont web page to book.

As for you stuff. First, the crime on Bonaire gets blow way way out of proportion. The safe off the wall incident happen once but for some reason it's made to sound like it's a daily event. Bonaire is pretty unique in the way people dive and travel. No other place I know of do you drive to isolated spots and dive. Most everywhere else you are with some type of tour operator or on boats. The oppertiunity for thieft is just not there like it is on Bonaire. And to be fair, if you read between the lines on a lot of these thiefs, stupid stuff to encourage the thieft is done by the person involved. In 10 trips with groups ranging from 2 to 24 (1999 to present) we have had Zero problems. Does it happen, sure it does but not to the extent some would have you believe. The biggest problem is stuff left in your truck but I think once you have been there you will realize there is just no reason to leave anything in your truck but old shoes and a towel. Bonaire is a small island, most dive sites are less than a 10 or 15 minute drive. There is really no reason to take your analyzers (Buddy has them at the air stations) but if you insist, the procedure is to get a couple of tanks, put them in your truck and go. No reason you can't test your tanks with your analyzer and take it back to the room. Our normal routine is to take 2 tanks apiece, do a morning dive, come back for lunch and new tanks, do a afternoon dive, return, clean up for supper then do a night dive at Buddy. As for taking several cameras along, there is really no need, because the sites are so close to the resort, just make a few photo runs while doing your SI's or on your non diving day. The small size of the island makes loading up the truck for an all day surfaris unnecesssary, short back and forth hops are the way to go. So far I have not heard of any problems with thieft at Buddy but you can put your stuff in the resort safe if you like. I can't imagine what you would use a VHF for but if you really want communicatons while on island, I would rent a cell phone.
If you really want a secure place, go to Cocoview on Roatan.....my room keys (like most other return visitors) stay in the room door all week.
Don, go to Bonaire, take the simple precautions and you will be fine. I am headed back for trip 11 in a few weeks and can't wait to get back.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks BT - I guess you've helped see the light on the crime thing. It does indeed happen other places, and it can be minimized there.

You too, Herman - some notes on some of your remarks...

"Don you should be able to do a good bit better. The $1179 is for 2 in a 1br condo, most dive shops do quads, 4 in a 2br which drives the price down a good bit." Haha, if they did, I'd ask to change to the 2 in 1 bedroom and pay the difference. I think their plan is indeed double occupancy, not four to a quad - and I'm happy with that.

"The $1179 includes 6 boat dives, there is no reason at all to add the extra $95 to get a total of 11 dive, trust me, you will not likely do the 6 much less 11. I drop all the boat dives from all my trips, it saves us around $100pp. You can always add them back or do alacart once you get to Buddy." Well, this is my first time there; I may feel similarly the second time. I really like boat dives with crews, safe places to leave stuff, etc. I may have a new appreciation for DIY shore dives once I make a trip.

"On the flights, you have to be careful how you try to book them, there is a catch to watch out for. Since the flights fly over night, you must be careful what dates you use. The flights run from FRI to SAT and SAT to SUN, not Sat to Sat or Sun to Sun. We tend to find the flights at around $600-650 from Raleigh via both Houston and NJ, your flight should be about the same. Don't use Expedia or the like, go directly to the Cont web page to book." Yeah, I see the Fri-Sat to get there okay, and Continental is one of the 6 sites I checked - always check the providers home site along with the shopping sites. Sometimes the shopping sites are no help; sometimes they show CO fares that CO didn't offer. Fares do vary by whom you ask and when with weekends being the worst to compare, but CO shows RDU-BON with Fri-Sat there, Sun same day return, for $1024 at the moment. :11: Whom do you use for 600+?

I don't know which flights the LDS has selected for sure, but looking at CO's site, we run into a challenge on Saturday return as CO has 3 flights/day IAH-LBB Saturday rather than 5 other days (I noticed that those flights were often empty even at give away fares; I understand why they did this with today's fuel prices.) and the only flight that works after we arrive is $100 extra for some reason. If I break the fare in IAH (which is sometimes a rewarding tool) and get back to LBB on Saturday, the fare is $1183!! If I book it as one ticket with that same day flight return, it drops to $ $1115. If I overnite in IAH and take one of the less in demand Sunday morning flights that CO feels it must make for the people leaving LBB on Sundays, it drops to $974. Yuck at 21 hour layover in IAH, but the LDS surely has us on the Saturday night return? If they do, that would make their package more competitive; if not - yuck. If we were using the $1115 fare for same day return, I'd rather got to Honolulu for $20 more. Jeeze.

Ok back to crime: I hadn't realized how easy it is to get back to the room after fills, between dives, etc; thanks again. I'd like to take my laptop and 2 cameras at least, but if I can safely leave the laptop in the room, use dive camera for dives, then get back to the room to change cameras - I'll do that, or take both down with me, which I can do. I do have the housing for the Canon land camera so it is my backup dive camera and I could pocket it while holding the Sea Life with strobe. Or I could get by with just the SL for land and diving.

Part of the reason I want to take all my toys is that I have them, so I want to play them, but the camcorder just does not get used - seemed like a good idea at the time. I won't need the NX and CO testers after the first day if I see they have the same brand of NX tester and an inline CO monitor; they probly do have the same NX tester but I'll want to see that, and I'll be pleasantly surprised if I see an inline CO monitor. All fill stations should have them but sadly, few do.

 

[flatwood]

Don, I bought 2 r/t tickets to Bonaire on continental the last of april out of Jackson, Ms for $550.00 each. We're taken the redeye from IAH the 27th. As far as buddys prices goes, my last three trips there have cost around $975.00 from my LDS. Hope this helps.

 

[DandyDon]

Don, I bought 2 r/t tickets to Bonaire on continental the last of april out of Jackson, Ms for $550.00 each. We're taken the redeye from IAH the 27th. As far as buddys prices goes, my last three trips there have cost around $975.00 from my LDS. Hope this helps.

Thanks, again - air fares vary with whom you ask when, and what you bought before has little to do with what's there today. Weekends are bad times to shop, but JAN-BON for those dates price at $960 today. :11:

Did your $975 include all the things listed in post #1?

 

[flatwood]

Thanks, again - air fares vary with whom you ask when, and what you bought before has little to do with what's there today. Weekends are bad times to shop, but JAN-BON for those dates price at $960 today. :11:

Did your $975 include all the things listed in post #1?

Yikes, I thought that flying out of Ms. was bad. May 07 I had the same package, our march trip we didn't have the boat dives and that's the only difference. My buddy went down from NYC with his LDS this may and he had the same package with the boat dives for under a grand. The only difference that I see is that you are going in the high season. My LDS is going back to Buddys over new years and his trip this time is $1200.00 plus air. I'm sure that the cost of boat dives has increased since fuel increased this past month. Oh, pm sent

 

[Scared Silly]

And to be fair, if you read between the lines on a lot of these thiefs, stupid stuff to encourage the thieft is done by the person involved.

I am sorry but this is absolutely asinine. This is akin to blaming a rape victim cause they wore a halter top instead of a burka. Theft is a mentality. Certainly people should take measures to prevent it but just because you do something stupid like forgetting to lock the door does not mean you are encouraging it. That may provide the opportunity but the thief has the mentality.

Don do a search on theft and San Juan Airport - like Bonaire, it has a reputation for theft.

 

[herman]

We will likely have to agree to disagree on this point. While I agree that crime should not happen it does and when we do things that encourge the crime we are, IMO, somewhat at fault. Lets not take this off subject, Don's looking for info.

 

[Rig Magician]

On the CO flights check there web site regular, You still have a long time to plan. I have found the price varys alot. Try checking it a different times and almost daily, you should be able to find that flight cheaper. I check on some tickes for our trip next month and found them for 450-750 in a coupkle of days time period. I wa able to book 4 tickets with my frequent flyer miles for 190000 mile. It would normaly cost me 140000 for 2 in econamy, I was also able to get us first class on the way there.