Thinking of Going to Bonaire!

[ekretchmer]

Any recommendations of resorts to stay at in Bonaire (preferably all inclusive) where we can go diving plus do other fun things while there?

Thank you!

:kiss2:

 

[diversteve]

The only real "all-inclusive resort" on Bonaire is the Plaza Resort. Many of the others bundle accommodations/diving/truck rental and often breakfast. All offer both boat and shore dive package options and the ones I've listed all have a decent or better dive off their "house reef". It really depends on what you want and your budget.

Popular options in the latter category are:

Buddy Dive
Habitat Bonaire
Sand Dollar Condos
Den Laman Condos
Eden Beach Resort
More upscale is Harbour Village.
Divi Flamingo - can be done as a AI with the purchase of a meal plan.
Slightly more affordable is Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn. Carib Inn doesn't have a restaurant.

If you want to be near the "fun" part of town the Divi or Carib Inn are easily within walking distance. The others are 1-2miles or more.
Certain times of year cruise ships dock at Town Pier there - it's a small downtown so personally I'd plan to be somewhere else then.

Just about every condo/villa/apt. (there are no real "hotels" on Bonaire except for one) also will have a bundled dive package option with a local operator.

I haven't stayed there yet but my next trip will probably be to Den Laman Condos. They're newer, more upscale in furnishings and on Bari Reef - one of the better shore dives in that area. Buddy Dive is also very popular with divers. Buddy's has a drive thru tank pickup which is handy when shore diving elsewhere.

The Donkey farm is fun once. There's also kitesurfing, SUPaddleboarding and those sorts of things at Lac Bay on the east side. Kayaking in the Mangroves seems popular but it's not for me. Bonaire Dive/Adventure lists some other things to do: http://www.bonairediveandadventure.com/ecoadventures.html

 

[KeithG]

ai is not really a bonaire thing. so ignore that desire and carry on. bonaire is awseome. in many ways.

some big concepts to consider are resort / no resort. truck vs non truck. shore front vs not shore front. cooks our meals vs eat at a restaurant. you can mix and match many of these concepts in various combinations.

if you read all of the bonaire threads (go back several years, little of significance has changed) you can get a feeling for the various ways to do bonaire. there are several. all are good.

we stick with the divi resort (breakfast only) so that we are water front and can dock dive and afternoon boat dive on klien. then we walk (5-10 minutes) into town for supper. no truck in our world.

others truck / shore dive. both are great ways to dive.

read a bit and then ask more detailed questions regarding your preferred choice. you will get lots of opinions!

 

[Mike]

Any recommendations of resorts to stay at in Bonaire (preferably all inclusive) where we can go diving plus do other fun things while there?

Thank you!

:kiss2:

Have stayed at the Plaza which is AI, still ate out half the nights there and most lunches. AI is not really a Bonaire thing. Fun things to do beside diving are a bit scares. It's called the divers island for a reason, you go there to dive, dive some more, and then dive some more again. If you have a lot of time to do other things you aren't diving enough.

 

[Aruba Bobs]

You will LOVE Bonaire, no matter where you stay. I stayed at Yacht Club. It right across the road from Something special and Bari reef. I get my air from VIP. That's a great company. All you need is a truck, which I rent from the Yacht Club. Her name is Dana. Have a great trip.

 

[drrich2]

You know, as long as your resort has an onsite restaurant, even though it's not 'A.I.,' you can still eat there every night if you want to. That's what I did at Buddy Dive Resort my last trip, and they included breakfast buffet in the package, so I was really just out a trip up the road to Zhung Kong Supermarket for lunch supplies & lots of Coke Zero.

Richard.

 

[darook]

Other fun things in Bonaire are windsurfing, kitesurfing, donkeys, and snorkeling the mangroves. If none of those float your boat then this really isn't your island. If you want to freely dive a bunch of great sites on your own with no DM sheparding you around then it absolutely is. The biggest cost of Bonaire is getting there, after that it is cheap to stay and really cheap to dive. Eating out is really reasonable up to reasonable and worth getting out of where you are staying to eat. Bonaire is not perfect, but it is REALLY fun diving. Don't expect valet diving, do expect to dive when you want, where you want, and not when don't want to dive.

 

[Doctorfish]

You know, as long as your resort has an onsite restaurant, even though it's not 'A.I.,' you can still eat there every night if you want to. That's what I did at Buddy Dive Resort my last trip, and they included breakfast buffet in the package, so I was really just out a trip up the road to Zhung Kong Supermarket for lunch supplies & lots of Coke Zero.

Richard.

Not sure I would want to eat at Buddy Dive every night. Not at all impressed with the food there. Maybe for the BBQ Buffet night.
One of the charms of Bonaire is the number of good restaurants serving a variety of different cuisines at reasonable prices. You should forget AI and try some of them.

There are numerous threads related to dining on Bonaire.

I am not a Plaza resort fan either. Too spread out and too far from dive shop and rooms to shore dive site. Spent a lot of time hauling gear back and forth. There are a number of dive lodges on island where you can almost roll out of bed and into the ocean. Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Capt Don's and others as mentioned above.

 

[drrich2]

It was my 8th trip. I realized I get catch of the day most places I go, and the calamari appetizer at Buddy's is as good or better than other places. I'm glad I ate around in the past, but someone wanting AI can sort of make it happen. Plus I had a special, half off up to $75 max. Combine that with lazy, mid. 40's and only interested in diving.

 

[RJP]

I am not a Plaza resort fan either. Too spread out and too far from dive shop and rooms to shore dive site. Spent a lot of time hauling gear back and forth. There are a number of dive lodges on island where you can almost roll out of bed and into the ocean. Buddy Dive, Sand Dollar, Capt Don's and others as mentioned above.

Last time there we stayed in a room right next to the dive shop. Never saw the restaurants or bar there... but did get in 32 shore dives in 5 days of diving,

---------- Post added October 31st, 2014 at 09:07 PM ----------

...but someone wanting AI can sort of make it happen...

I prefer to treat the entire island like a "shore diving liveaboard"