morecowbells
Contributor
After a four-year absence from Bonaire, I honestly did not intend to return anytime soon. Our previous vacation was plagued by Delta’s screw ups (previously referred to as Satan’s Chariot in old trip report, however, they did eventually mitigate our expenses) causing us to lose a day of vacation and losing our gear for two additional days; I swore off making that trek again, especially since Curacao was far more accessible. We were planning on visiting Curacao this summer, but airfares were crazy high. For once, AA had a decent price to Bonaire, about half of what I would pay to visit Curacao. I decided to shrug off my Bonaire grudge and book a vacation.
I don’t know if it is the middle age spread, or if the seats on AA are actually shrinking. My drybag which I always slide under the seat in front of me required aggressive mashing down with my foot in order to fit. Besides sitting on the hot tarmac at the MIA airport for over an hour, waiting for the plane to get fueled, we had no issues.
Why we picked Port Bonaire. A comparison with the other places we stayed
Previously we stayed at Bonaire Seaside Apartments (nice location, but bed and bedroom were tiny which felt like it was shrinking daily with snoring husband). Our second visit, we stayed at Playa Lechi which I absolutely loved (sadly, it was not available during our timeframe). Third visit was at Delfins. I enjoyed the resort, but the wooden louvered windows sans glass pane is a deal breaker, plus it has become far pricier. After reading @uncfnp trip report, we decided that Port Bonaire was a good pick within our price range.
We booked through Sunwise Bonaire. They were flawless with preparation and communication. I will definitely seek them out for our next vacation. Our unit was two stories, with two bedrooms. It had everything we needed including a well-stocked kitchen, Wifi, large patio and nice pool area blissfully absent of small children. Despite being across from the airport, it was surprisingly quiet. I am a light sleeper and never had issues with noise. We had a wash machine which is ideal for midweek cleaning. The bedrooms (on upper level) have air conditioning, but the living room and kitchen do not. During the day, we had a comfortable breeze which kept areas pleasant. In the later evening, it was downright sweltering. I know in August, the weather will be hot, but even the locals told us that was much hotter than normal. I am not the dreaded American a/c glutton. Personally, I am fine with the system we encountered in Curacao where if your daily kilo wattage usage exceeds the norm allowance, you pay an additional charge. If I visited Bonaire in the winter, I would be fine with the lack of a/c in common areas, but for another summer visit, I would stay at the same complex, but seek one out with less a/c limitations.
To be continued....
I don’t know if it is the middle age spread, or if the seats on AA are actually shrinking. My drybag which I always slide under the seat in front of me required aggressive mashing down with my foot in order to fit. Besides sitting on the hot tarmac at the MIA airport for over an hour, waiting for the plane to get fueled, we had no issues.
Why we picked Port Bonaire. A comparison with the other places we stayed
Previously we stayed at Bonaire Seaside Apartments (nice location, but bed and bedroom were tiny which felt like it was shrinking daily with snoring husband). Our second visit, we stayed at Playa Lechi which I absolutely loved (sadly, it was not available during our timeframe). Third visit was at Delfins. I enjoyed the resort, but the wooden louvered windows sans glass pane is a deal breaker, plus it has become far pricier. After reading @uncfnp trip report, we decided that Port Bonaire was a good pick within our price range.
We booked through Sunwise Bonaire. They were flawless with preparation and communication. I will definitely seek them out for our next vacation. Our unit was two stories, with two bedrooms. It had everything we needed including a well-stocked kitchen, Wifi, large patio and nice pool area blissfully absent of small children. Despite being across from the airport, it was surprisingly quiet. I am a light sleeper and never had issues with noise. We had a wash machine which is ideal for midweek cleaning. The bedrooms (on upper level) have air conditioning, but the living room and kitchen do not. During the day, we had a comfortable breeze which kept areas pleasant. In the later evening, it was downright sweltering. I know in August, the weather will be hot, but even the locals told us that was much hotter than normal. I am not the dreaded American a/c glutton. Personally, I am fine with the system we encountered in Curacao where if your daily kilo wattage usage exceeds the norm allowance, you pay an additional charge. If I visited Bonaire in the winter, I would be fine with the lack of a/c in common areas, but for another summer visit, I would stay at the same complex, but seek one out with less a/c limitations.
To be continued....