Captain Don's

[DoubleBubbles]

Ok folks: I am looking at going to Bonaire in July of 2003. My family has divers and non-divers in it (my wife the non-diver is quite a shopper) Now I have some questions for the learned members who frequent this board.

1. How are the accomodations at Captain Don's? Is it a good place for both diver and non-diver?

2. Should I rent a vehicle during my stay? What kind?

3. What kind of budget should we plan for food? I have 2 teenagers.

4. Any suggestions for restaurants?

5. (Most important) How is the shopping?

 

[Natasha]

Hi:
If I start with your #5 shopping question, I might not need to answer the others.
On a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being the best shopping (St. Thomas)
I would give Bonaire a 2. I would also give Belize a 2 for shopping.
Not much shopping, and the shopping that is there is very boring.
Should I still go on, and answer the rest of your questions?

 

[DoubleBubbles]

My wife is the shopper; the other three of us dive. She is also content to lay at the pool while we are under the water. She is "out voted" but she also knows how to relax.

 

[Beachman]

They do have several different types of accomodations.....some a bit nicer than others, some with different room arrangements and bath/kitchen amenities, etc.....so check out the options against your budget.

There is a mid-sized pool for relaxing and reading, generally not crowded during the day because so many folks are focused on diving. Also a restaurant on site and a nice tiki bar area for socializing.

You'll need a car (get a truck or jeep with room for dive gear) because it is a couple miles to town for groceries and supplies, you'll want to see the sights at least one day, and it is a shore diving paradise. Even a non-diver could enjoy quite a number of the sights with beaches while others got wet.

Food is extremely expensive.....both in the grocery stores and restaurants. Everything is imported. I don't think you should figure less than $150 per day average, and this assumes you don't frequent the better restaurants more than once or twice. You may want to check out the dive packages at Captain Don's to see what kind of food deals they offer. Figure about $25 minimum for an adult in a mid-priced restaurant for dinner.....maybe $15 each for a decent lunch in a sandwich shop. Top restaurants can get up to $50 per person easy.

Hope the food cost doesn't deter you.....the diving is definitely worth it!

 

[DoubleBubbles]

I am hoping to get a room with a refrigerator: this way we can get some food from the grocery store and eat lunch at Cap't. Don's. I think our pkg will include breakfast each day, with some kind of Rum party on one evening.

 

[herman]

DB,

I have not stayed at CD's but have been on the property every time I have been in Bonaire (last June) and I think you will find the property very nice. I have to agree with Natasha on the shopping, not much there in the way of plain old shopping but there is no trouble finding food or other necessities.

You will want some type of vehicle, my pref is a 4 dr pickup. Plenty of room for gear and people.

As for food, don't know where Beachman is eating but I don't find food that much diff than here in Raleigh, NC. The grocery stores are somewhat higher but not that bad. We usually get breakfast as part of our package, have PBJ sandwiches for about 1/2 of our lunches and eat a nice evening meal. Most of which are in the $12 to $15 (USD)range, no doubt that you can find a lot higher prices if you want fancy or lobster. This does not count beer or al drinks, that can run up a bill quick. Lunches are in the $5 to 10 range. Except for breakfast, don't get yourself into a meal plan. While the rest at CD's is good, we usually eat there once when on island, there are lots of good places to eat on the island. Also, don't pass up the local "snacks" or local fast food places. Good food at reasonable prices.

If you have not made final reservations, take a look at Buddy Dive, 2 doors down from CD. The dive and drive package. Is hard to beat it comes with airport transfer/full condo with kitchen/big buffet breakfast/diving and truck for one price.. WWW.buddydive.com
A way you can save money is to drop the boat dives. This saves you about $100pp and you can add boat dives after you get there at about $20 if you change your mind. There are so many shore dives and you can do them on your own sched, we don't bother with the boat dives anymore.

If you have not already, check out the Bonaire Board, www.bonairetalk.com Lots of nice people on the board and you can get specific questions answered there. The board owner lives on the island and is a really nice guy (as are his wife and children).

By the way, we usually are on island in the June/July time frame, be happy to get together an dive together if we are on island at the same time.

 

[Natasha]

I agree with herman 100%. Buddy Dive could be more for you.
I'm not sure how long ago beachman was there. We never paid prices like that, and I think we ate very well.
I happen to know the USA rep for Buddy Dive very well. If I can help you let me know, by sending me a personal email. Natasha708@aol.com

 

[raxafarian]

As mentioned...there is not that much shopping. One small main street with some shops, and a tiny walk-thru "mall" with a couple of stores.

Do NOT lock yourself into a food plan wherever you are staying...there are too many great restaurants to choose from. Getting a breakfast plan is a good idea... but you'll want to try different places for lunch/dinner. Rumrunners (at Capt. Dons) is ok for lunch, or you can create a pizza at night...but I would skip it for dinner. It rains fishes gets good reviews... I must have hit them on an off-night. My favorite place to eat was Swiss Chalet, followed by Capriccios, Richards, Chibi Chibi (at divi flamingo). The internet cafe, DeTuin, supposedly has a good bar menu... I didn't try it. There's a german styled place just outside the "mini-mall" along the water that had good burgers for lunch...starts with a Z... forget the name. The prices Herman lists are about what we found... I think the most expensive meal was at Richards, with the filet running 22.00us or so. Swiss Chalet had a filet for around 16.00 or so. I had their Zuni Schaztletts (spelled wrong, I'm sure)...which was pork tenderloins covered in mushroom sauce... Huge portion for around 13.00.

The food at the grocery store didn't seem to be too much more than back home... Depending on when you go, there could be slim pickings..depends when the last ship came in.

You have 4? not sure if you'd want the pickup truck... its either a toyota or chevy... s-10 size, with a crew cab. If the 2 kids aren't too big, it should be ok... then you can load gear and tanks in the back.

 

[Natasha]

The restaurant is called ZeeZicht. I ate there twice in September for lunch. Very reasonably priced.
Here's my list of favorite restaurants.
Rum Runners at Don's has the best pizza. Brick oven and very good. Tell the manager Natasha says Hi. We ordered 21 pizzas from him, so he will remember.
Croccantino's is my favorite for the lasagna.
A picture of Elizabeth, the owner is on my web site.
www.scubamaniatrips.com
They also have the best tiramsu.
'Blue Moon' is wonderful, and has live music certain nights. 'It Rains Fishes' has slow service, but great fish.
Capriccio's is also popular, and it's where we had the group dinner. Everyone enjoyed the food. They had great service.
I have also ate at Le Wok.
My favorite food is Thai food. This is only a 3 for Thai food, compared to what you can get in the states.
As was said, it depends when the market gets it's shipment in, as to what you can buy there. They were very low on goods when we were there.

 

[blawler1]

Since your wife may not be thrilled with the shopping on Bonaire, you can take a day off and ride the ferry (about $50 round trip) over to Curacao for shopping. Willemstad is a bustling city with plenty of duty free shops and is a good down day if you want a break from diving during your stay.