Advice needed for first time traveller with family

[Lasenza]

Hi,

we are looking into going to Bonaire in April 2019 for 17 nights and due to the endless options I would need some advice from this forum;-)

We are travelling with our 2 kids (8, 11) - the elder one is certified. Therefore we are looking for a place on the water with a very nice house reef, so that we can do some diving, while one of the parents stays with the little one. In order to keep the little one entertained we would need a pool and great snorkelling.

I have checked the options of a resort vs. private rental. We got an offer from a travel agency (we are travelling from Europe) and the price for 4 people for a resort is surprisingly high (cheapest offer 9300 US for Caribbean Club, most offers around 11000 US). I have started to check individual prices for flights (4000 US), accommodation (3000 US), car (1000 US) and diving (1000 US), but this does not seem to be much cheaper.

If we go for the self-organised trip- are there diving companies that offer dive & drive?

Which area would you recommend that fits our needs (house reef for diving and snorkelling without difficult access/entry)?

Can you recommend Caribbean Club or should we rather go for a more expensive offer?

Best wishes from Switzerland!
Silvie

 

[DustyC]

Hamlet oasis. The house reef is nice, the accommodations vary and they have everything from studios to Multi family villas. Pool and a dive friends location on site. Most of the people and companies that rent places in Hamlet have deals for discounts on rentals and tanks with dive friends.

 

[scubadada]

Den Laman 2 bedroom on Bari Reef, one of best, if not best, house reef on the island. Extremely easy diving off the private pier, tanks right on pier. Boat dives leave from the pier if that is of interest, extremely easy and flexible. Great dive operator, Dive Friends Bonaire, 7 locations on the island. Secure gear storage on site. Alternative would be Sand Dollar, same location, pier, and storage, generally older condos. Sand Dollar has pool, Den Laman does not. Snorkeling is OK, I don't know much about snorkeling on Bonaire.

We just finished 2 weeks at Den Laman, fantastic. At both Den Laman and Sand Dollar, you can save a fair amount of money by preparing many of your own meals.

 

[dmaziuk]

I think Buddy Dive may have better pricing for 4 than Sand Dollar, though I'm not sure. For 17 nights I don't think it's going to be super cheap anyway. Bari/Buddy Reef certainly meets your nice house reef with great snorkeling requirement.

 

[darook]

Caribbean Club while fine, is not on the water. You can do a drive and dive with AB Car Rental, they have their own tank farm but you have to go to their only location to get them. I think the Hamlet, Buddy, Den Laman, Sand Dollar spots will all check the nice house reef box. At Buddy you would get the drive and dive. The other three you would likely rent your truck on your own and get tanks from Dive Friends Bonaire.

 

[scubadada]

Caribbean Club while fine, is not on the water. You can do a drive and dive with AB Car Rental, they have their own tank farm but you have to go to their only location to get them. I think the Hamlet, Buddy, Den Laman, Sand Dollar spots will all check the nice house reef box. At Buddy you would get the drive and dive. The other three you would likely rent your truck on your own and get tanks from Dive Friends Bonaire.

You can make your room reservation as well as your truck and dive reservation through Den Laman. All that's left is your airfare

 

[drrich2]

Not only is Caribbean Club not right on the water, as I recall their 'house reef' is Oil Slick Leap, a dive site I like a lot but entry is either via a giant stride (maybe close to 6 foot drop to the water?) or ladder, and exit via ladder. It's also a good ways from town, where you guys might want to eat out and shop around, although Bonaire is small enough the extra drive wouldn't be serious.

If you really want to go cheap, and you're willing to consider staying off-the-water to save the money, consider Dive Hut - my old trip report -
Bonaire at Dive Hut 2012 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonaire/432576-solo-diver-dive-hut.html

Richard.

 

[drrich2]

Taken by a friend. See the guy to the right topside, no wetsuit, bright blue swim trunks? That's me. I'm about 6' 1" tall, and that's the giant stride at Oil Slick Leap.

Richard.

 

[diversteve]

Your pricing seems high - is that ala carte?

Every resort, house rental on Bonaire has a package deal with someone. Some like Buddy Dive also have 4-dr trucks on-site - others you pick up at the airport.

Most bundles include accommodations, truck rental, sometimes CDW and usually some boat dives and unlimited shore diving.

Having a pool on-site narrows the options. Here's an incomplete list with comments.

Buddy Dive has 2 pools but no beach if that's an expectation.

Habitat also. Sand Dollar condos pool is in the parking lot behind the condos. And a snall beach.

Eden Beach has a small beach and it's terraced to keep it in place. Surprising given the name.

Harbour Village has one of the nicer beaches, the villas open onto it. Pool but just an average dive there - a small wreck just offshore. The most expensive resort there.

In town the Divi Resort has a beach but they recently did some renovations and now it sounds like it's contained by a curb. It's walking distance to a lot of shops/restaurants but their dive is average at best - got beat up in a recent hurricane.

The Plaza Resort is about 10mins walk south of town - it has a nice beach, huge pool, 18Palms dive on-site and Toucan Diving for boat dives - we used them. It'a slso the only all-inclusive.

Port Bonaire condos are just south of the runway so you'll hear the occational plane. Dive Friends is on site but I believe it's all a boardwalk - no beach. I'm pretty sure they have a pool - rentals are on Airbnb/vrbo.com

South in Belnem we stayed at BelMar condos. The other Buddy Dive shop is there and they keep a boat there. You also get use of the Buddy Drive-thru when diving north. No food in the area - a 5min drive to south Kralendijk.

Still farther south Lighthouse Point condos have sort of a beach and a pool. Many of the rentals are behind it though - a good block away from the water. Some obstructed views from units in front. Everything there is a drive - food, dive shop etc.

hth,

One thing to watch for in vrbo listings is water view does not mean waterfront if that's important. Many properties north are above the water with iron shore in front. Some too high to get over.

www.inforbonaire.com or www.tourismbonaire.com might help.

 

[Lasenza]

Hi all,

thanks a lot for your answers! Yes, I was quite surprised by the high prices, but this seems to be the case when travelling with 4 people. We are not looking for something too basic in order to save money (its our vacation). The offers we got are all-in packages and even when requiring directly with the Resorts (accommodation/dive/truck) I always get ridiculously high prices and to not see much of a discount for packages.

Pool, great house reef and easy access to the house reef are a must, beach not a must. We will cook ourselves, so restaurants in walking distance are not required.

I will enquire with Hamlet oasis and Sand dollar.

Den Leman sounds great - but without a pool that is no option for us at all since we are travelling with a non-diving child.

Cheers
Silvie