Roatan, Utila, Bonaire; Your suggestions wanted!

[amajamar]

My GF and I want a predominantly diving vacation at the end of Feb or begining of March. We are planning for about 10 days, and are willing to spend around 4-5k, all said and done. We have chosen Roatan, Utila, and Bonaire for the fact that there seems to be ample shore diving opportunities there and want to dive more than twice daily. I realize that there is a balancing act between cost and accessibility.

I know there are some SB members that reside in those places, maybe you guys can jump in, too!

Your thoughts and advice will be highly appreciated!

Also if anyone knows of any package deals, please let me know!

Thanks in advance!

 

[Doc]

With $5,000 you should have no problem planning this trip.

We have chosen Roatan, Utila, and Bonaire for the fact that there seems to be ample shore diving opportunities there

On Bonaire, the shore diving is a universal thing. Utila is quite limited and on Roatan, there is really only one shore dive that is close-in to the shore- it is from FIBR and CCV. After doing that specific shore dive, Roatan and the other island's offering are a distant second~ but that is just in regards to the shore dive element.

There are plusses to any of the islands you mention- as well as some negatives.

and want to dive more than twice daily.

Okay then, three times a day, is that what you are getting at? Should be no problem from any operation from any of the listed islands. At three a day, you enter the realm of AI's being much more cost effective versus guest houses and day-dive ops.

 

[James Bond boat entry]

For that kind of money, you could do a trip to Egypt and dive the Red Sea!!

 

[dvrliz1]

Wow...You can EASILY do Bonaire for 5K. If you are most interested in the shore diving, Bonaire is definitely it. Living in Mass, you will want to definitely fly Continental out of Newark (or connect through Newark).

Now as far as lodging on Bonaire it depends on what you want. Harbour Village is the most upscale resort on the island. It has a great dive operation, but is set up more like a condo complex with little as far as "activities" on the the resort itself. It does have a great beach.

You may also like Sand Dollar, condo style set up, very little beach, but on the water.

If you like the "resort feel", definitely Divi Flamingo. It is close to town, so you can walk into town and enjoy the restaurants and shopping during the during the day.

If you don't mind not being on the water, well of course there is us, also you might want to look at renting a villa "up on the hill" with great views.

There are a lot of options on Bonaire. Check out Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association: Hotels, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling and Windsurfing Information and you will have a lot to check out.

Liz

 

[aquaman_06]

I would go with Bonaire. Actually in February when I was there is was about 1600 per person though I have seen rates for Bonaire go up to about 2200 per person now for 7 days. So really for two people 5k will do it but it might be pushing it. I stayed at Buddy Dive and am planning to head back to Bonaire soon. We flew Air Jamacia and had several delays but they held all the flights.

Getting to the island can be an issue. Some friends who own a dive shop got stuck in Puerto Rico for 36 hours just several months ago flying Continental.

 

[amajamar]

With $5,000 you should have no problem planning this trip.



On Bonaire, the shore diving is a universal thing. Utila is quite limited and on Roatan, there is really only one shore dive that is close-in to the shore- it is from FIBR and CCV. After doing that specific shore dive, Roatan and the other island's offering are a distant second~ but that is just in regards to the shore dive element.

There are plusses to any of the islands you mention- as well as some negatives.



Okay then, three times a day, is that what you are getting at? Should be no problem from any operation from any of the listed islands. At three a day, you enter the realm of AI's being much more cost effective versus guest houses and day-dive ops.

I was thinking of an AI. The Bay Islands Beach Resort seemed to offer plenty of boat diving and shore, as well. One of the plusses to diving in the Bay Island area was the potential of whale shark encounters. That would be a major draw for us. Utila seems more complicated (and time consuming) to get to. I can find one-day,one-stop flights from Boston to Roatan relatively easily, albeit a little pricey.

 

[amajamar]

Wow...You can EASILY do Bonaire for 5K. If you are most interested in the shore diving, Bonaire is definitely it. Living in Mass, you will want to definitely fly Continental out of Newark (or connect through Newark).

Now as far as lodging on Bonaire it depends on what you want. Harbour Village is the most upscale resort on the island. It has a great dive operation, but is set up more like a condo complex with little as far as "activities" on the the resort itself. It does have a great beach.

You may also like Sand Dollar, condo style set up, very little beach, but on the water.

If you like the "resort feel", definitely Divi Flamingo. It is close to town, so you can walk into town and enjoy the restaurants and shopping during the during the day.

If you don't mind not being on the water, well of course there is us, also you might want to look at renting a villa "up on the hill" with great views.

There are a lot of options on Bonaire. Check out Bonaire Hotel and Tourism Association: Hotels, Scuba Diving, Snorkeling and Windsurfing Information and you will have a lot to check out.

Liz

Liz,

We are not locked into any particular arrangements. We want to maximize our diving, and we do like the idea of being able to dive a house reef as well. I will check out the links you provided. Thanks.

As far as air travel to Bonaire is concerned, do you know what the best fly-in and fly-out days are? I have found that that is the trick to finding a good fare...!

 

[dvrliz1]

Liz,

We are not locked into any particular arrangements. We want to maximize our diving, and we do like the idea of being able to dive a house reef as well. I will check out the links you provided. Thanks.

As far as air travel to Bonaire is concerned, do you know what the best fly-in and fly-out days are? I have found that that is the trick to finding a good fare...!

Ok, here are the waterfront properties I recommend: remember, these are personal preferences:

Sand Dollar: I love the laid back feel, the personalized condos (done by their owners), nice pool and restaurant.

Den Laman: Newer property, small, nice restaurant on site, no beach at all.

Divi Flamingo: Full Service resort, casino on site, and you can walk easily to town.

As far as airfare. If you are looking for a 7 night 8 day, fly continental (you actually leave Sat night just before midnight and return on the following Sunday).

If you want to do anything longer or shorter, I recommend flying into Aruba and then taking either Tiara Air, Insel Air or Dutch Antilles Express to Bonaire.

We just did this to go back on Thanksgiving (thru Aruba) and it was easy. Hardest part was after checking in bags in Aruba, picking them up real quick and then dropping them off again (you go through US customs in Aruba, which I like much better than major airports in the states).

Liz

 

[DECKHAND]

We have chosen Roatan, Utila, and Bonaire

I had dove all three places ,I love Roatan but if I have 10 days for a trip I will do Bonaire there are more activities .Utila is great but for 10 days you will go nuts there is not much to do but to dive . But on the other hand you can stay in Roatan and hop to Utila for a couple of days and do some diving there too.If you really looking for shore diving Bonaire is the place .No matter what you guys decide you can "not" go wrong,just remember don't spent all 10 days in Utila.

 

[amajamar]

Ok, here are the waterfront properties I recommend: remember, these are personal preferences:

Sand Dollar: I love the laid back feel, the personalized condos (done by their owners), nice pool and restaurant.

Den Laman: Newer property, small, nice restaurant on site, no beach at all.

Divi Flamingo: Full Service resort, casino on site, and you can walk easily to town.

As far as airfare. If you are looking for a 7 night 8 day, fly continental (you actually leave Sat night just before midnight and return on the following Sunday).

If you want to do anything longer or shorter, I recommend flying into Aruba and then taking either Tiara Air, Insel Air or Dutch Antilles Express to Bonaire.

We just did this to go back on Thanksgiving (thru Aruba) and it was easy. Hardest part was after checking in bags in Aruba, picking them up real quick and then dropping them off again (you go through US customs in Aruba, which I like much better than major airports in the states).

Liz

Awesome info, Liz!

DAE is the trick to resonable airfare (and control) into and out of Bonaire and Curacao! That's making me lean towards Bonaire, now I have to find a reasonable package for hotel and diving. I also want to get Nitrox certified and possibly do my AOW while there.