Bonaire family trip - questions

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sportyluis

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Location
Canada
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Hi Everyone,

My girlfriend and I are thinking of going to Bonaire in february with her two parents. My girlfriend and I will dive four days but her parents want to just relax on a beach. I've been doing some research and have a few questions:

Any recommendations on 2 bedroom condos to stay in? We want to cook food ourselves (especially if there's a fish market on the island?). We want to be somewhere close to a beach where her parents (non-English speakers) can easily get to a beach on their own when we dive.

Any other activities to do on the island besides diving?

Thanks in advance!
 
IMO...
The best beach is at Lac Bay... it's gorgeous. But it's not by the best (easiest) shore diving... so someone is going to be driving further (either them to the beach, or you to the diving).

If they're into animals, check out the donkey rescue.

I've thought about taking my parents to Bonaire as well... if my wife and I did that we'd make sure both couples have a car... I wouldn't want limited access to transportation to impact their vacation, or mine...
 
Honestly there are very few good beaches on Bonaire. Within walking distance of a condo - narrows it down to about 1. And it's a tiny beach
at Sand Dollar condos - most of it is ironshore above the water except for the small strip you can see in some photo. Bari Reef is the dvesite just off the beach.

The other places that have beaches are the villas at Harbour Village which is the most expensive property there or the villas/condos at the Plaza Resort but they're on the south end and the beach is a decent walk to the NW side and it's a pretty sprawling resort.
There;s kind of a beach at Lighthouse Point condos but the condos themselves are set back from it a good distance and the few on the beach are private - not rented. It's also near nothing in south Belnem so you'd be driving them everywhere. Next to Den Laman condos - which is next to Sand Dollar is Coco Beach Club - a day use beach spot.The beach there in some areas is kept onshore by a curb.

Honestly there's about 5 things other than diving to do on Bonaire and all require a car. The donkey farm. the lighthouse,watch the kitesurfers at Lac Bay - which btw is on the east side south - not near most of the dive sites/condo properties, possibly tour up into Slagbaai Park and Rincon one day - maybe see the flamingos at Gotomeer on the way. Road signs are metric in case they're from a country that is also. And there's no public transportation outside of a few cabs. Some of which will be busy when a cruise ship docks at Town Pier.

You should really look at Curacao instead. Possibly Lions Dive resort as it has a beach and is in an area with nearby shops - a small mall, the Aquarium - all within walking distance.They also have a shuttle to Willemstad which is a couple miles away and there's a lot of historical stuff there - a museum, some forts, the oldest synagogue in the western hemisphere, a lot of shopping in the old downtown - there's even a trolley that tours most of it. If you can work out the language issues - Curacao has a bus system. We saw one a couple times in more remote places.

Another option would be condos in Piscadera Bay - the public beach is just down the hill. You can also get them a day pass to the Hilton or there's a small beach at Pirates Bay - a beach bar. A few minutes drive away is Blue Bay beach - you could dive the wall there while they stay on the beach.

There's actually quite a few options like that - Varseenbaai is a local beach plus a good dive site. There's a restaurant on site there as well as Trunk Divers. If they snorkel, there's turtles just off the beach in 6' of water. Porto Mari is both a locals beach and a good double reef dive. Cas Abao is both. Playa Lagun is both with a cliffside bar/grille. Playa Jeermi is a nice beach but no facilities there. All that I've named have a dive operation, some sort of food, bathrooms, shade etc. something you won't find anywhere on Bonare. And there's at least 1/2 dozen more similar sites - the 2 Gnip sites, Playa Kalki etc.

Curacao is the same diving as Bonaire - maybe better in some areas. Certainly the shore dive entries are much easier - off the beach instead of over the ironshore. Curacao has more verticality at the northern sites than anything you see on Bonaire.1/2dozen sites have some sort of sloping wall.

And once you leave town there are no facilities at any dive site on Bonaire - none. Except where the kitesurfer food truck is that morning. Even at a site like Pink Beach - there's no shade, no food/water - nothing. And beach is being optimistic - there's still ironshore in the water there.It will shred your feet without boots or at least rubber soled surfwalkers.
 
Is there a specific reason you are looking at Bonaire? I agree looking into Curacao is a good idea, seems like it could meet your needs much better.
 
Thanks for the feedback so far. My girlfriend picked Bonaire but we aren't completely 100% committed to it yet. I think she picked it because of the diving.

Some additional items to note:
  • Having two cars isn't an option (we both feel more comfortable if I'm driving everywhere)
  • Their favorite trip so far was cozumel because of the beach and snorkling
From what I've read Bonaire is great for divers but I'm not so sure for non-divers? We are also considering Cayman Islands and I've heard a lot of Curacao / Aruba so those are on my list in the future (or even this trip). I think the key is a place where we can cook our own food (want to get away from all inclusive) and something where we can all be entertained without worrying too much.
 
  • Having two cars isn't an option (we both feel more comfortable if I'm driving everywhere)
Do you mean her parents won't have their own car? If so that would rule out this trip IMO.

If you're diving Bonaire in the typical fashion then you'll be doing a lot of shore diving... that means the parents will be sitting on 'iron shore' beaches waiting for you to surface for several hours a day... Either that, or they take the car, and have to return every few hours to pick you up/ drop you off at a new dive site... either way it wouldn't work for me.

I think this trip would be great for a diving couple... my wife and I did it just this past year for our first time and we loved it. As I stated earlier, I've thought about bringing my parents on our next trip... but we'd each have our own car, and do some activities together, but we won't be tied together the entire trip...

Check out Roatan too... cool spot, West Bay has a lot of spots to stay, beautiful beaches and scuba shops all in the same neighborhood, ample taxi's, etc...
 
I love Bonaire but the idea of it as a 'beach destination' is almost laugh out loud funny. Curacao is better regarded for that; I got to visit Mambo Beach on a cruise ship stop, and it was rather crowded but nice. There are many others. In working up towards what I hope will be a Curacao dive trip, and to help others, I keep a list of Curacao-related threads that might help someone explore the destination. Some links for you:

Curacao Trip Report Dec 2017 - ERRN’s informative report - Trip Report Dec 2017
Curacao Trip Report - Jan 2018 (tkaelin’s informative report) - Curacao Trip Report - Jan '18
Curacao vs. Bonaire - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/lesser-antilles/473036-curacao-vs-bonaire.html
Bonaire vs Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/bonaire-vs-curacao.535918/
Curacao 1st Timer Trip Report - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-1st-timer-trip-report.527457/
Curacao Trip Report - Curacao Trip Report
Curacao Suggestions - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-suggestions.536523/
Place to stay in Curacao - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/place-to-stay-in-curacao.518346/ See Damselfish Post #3.
Curacao Trip with Teenagers in June - http://www.scubaboard.com/community/threads/curacao-trip-with-teenagers-in-june.525886/
Curacao Lodging - Curacao Lodging?
Curacao - First Time Opportunity - Curacao - First Time Opportunity
Curacao Solo Diving with Cert. - Curaçao solo diving with cert
Did I miss the Better Sites on Curacao? - Did I miss the better sites on Curacao?
Diving in Curacao - Curaçao Shorediving - Home

The 3 regional destinations that come to mind for what you want (assuming good shore diving is strongly desired) are Curacao, Grand Cayman and St. Croix.

Richard.
 
Unless you are looking specifically for shore dives Cozumel ticks your boxes and along with Bonaire are my two favorite dive destinations. Lots of condos with beautiful sandy beaches and can easily be done with one or even no cars.
 
Thanks for all the suggestions! Looking at Curacao now since it ticked off more boxes for what we want! I'll read the links above regarding lodging and diving but if you have any suggestions you wish to add please let me know!
 
Since Scuba Board is doing a Jan. 2019 'Surge' event in Curacao, they've got videos about Curacao, the resort, etc..., and you might find that of interest.

Speaking of which, when researching destinations or resorts, I've started using YouTube searches to find videos giving me a sense of what a place is like. For example, there are a number of videos on Sunscape Resort Curacao, or looking around Willemstad.

Richard.
 
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