Nice place to stay in Bonaire

[Pullin]

I have bin to Cozumel 12 times now and Grand Camen once.
I was thinking of trying Bonaire this time. It will be at the end of Jan.

My wife wants to try diving. She will do her check out dive were ever we go She is not a good swimmer. She tried it once in Cozumel but her ears got infected.

Were is the best place to stay that would be nice for her being she is not into diving as much as I am? Maybe I could dive and she would not be baord.

Close to a good shore dive so I can work with her.

 

[herman]

It's kind of hard to go wrong anyplace in Bonaire. Everyone has their favorites and it does depend somewhat on cost. For a more upscale place then most people like the Plaza. We like Buddy Dive, it's a little smaller and has a more homey feel. Some others are Lions Dive, Sand Dollar and Capt Dons and there are a bunch more. All of these are located on the water, have a pool, good dive shops and the the shore diving off their docks are pretty good. I would be happy to stay in any of them. Whatever place you choose, be sure to do an apples to apples compairsion of the package you get. One of the reasons we like BD is their "Drive and Dive" package includes everything we need on one bill. No need to hunt for a rental car or arrange airport transfers for example. By the way, you will want a vehicle of some sort while on island and a pickup truck is ideal. With the exception of breakfast, I don't recommend getting any sort of meal package. The water and food is safe to drink/eat everywhere on the island and there are a lot of very good places to eat. Don't overlook the smaller "snacks" (local fast food places), the food at them can be quite good and fairly inexpensive.

If you have not already, come over to the Bonaire board and ask around over there. There are a lot of Bonaire lovers there and several that live on the island so any question you may have can get ansewered quickly. www.bonairetalk.com

 

[caymaniac]

I think the Plaza might be the place for you, a nice little beach, easy shore entry area. A bit upscale as far as Bonaire is concerned.
The bad side is, it might be easy for your wife to say the heck with it I'm sitting on this nice beach or by the pool.
The good side is easiest shore entry in the Carribean, you can stay shallow or once comfortable go on boat dives.
Bonaire worked for me, this is where my wife finished her check-out dives.....that was 1986. We've been diving together since, nothing beats having a best friend around to rehash great dives.

May your diving dreams come true,
Caymaniac

ps. if the Plaza is too expensive, you could try the Divi Flamingo.

 

[Divegirl400]

I've been to Bonaire LOTS and always stay at KonTiki on Lac Bay because I generally travel with windsurfers, and I find KonTiki to be such a cozy, friendly place. But I dive with Wanna Dive at Eden Beach, and the people I've been diving with seem happy with the resort at Eden Beach. You should know that Bonaire is NOT the place to go for Reggae and night life, but it's wonderful for diving, snorkling, windsurfing, and just enjoying the beautiful beaches.

 

[NJDiveGirl]

stayed at the Divi Flamingo and was quite happy with it. Good locoation - decent dive shop... There are so many great places to stay in Bonaire my guess is that it would be really hard to go wrong.

 

[SubMariner]

We've been to Bonaire 6 times and love BD.

Good dive shop. Great people. Nice house reef. And, has already been noted, the Dive N Drive package with the drive-through fill station (even Nitrox) is hard to beat.

 

[Pullin]

We now have a place to stay. My wife said she is happy with a quite place and a good book so I went with the Belmar apartments.

Thanks for the input.
My scuba pictures on my little Aqua Shot. I plan on buying a digital before our bonaire trip.

http://flashpages.prodigy.net/tlpsound/scuba.htm

Tom Pullinflashpages.prodigy.net/tlpsound/scuba.htm

 

[SubMariner]

Digital cameras u/w rock!

We just sold our Oly C4040Z & PT010 housing, replacing it with a C5050Z & Ikelite housing. Ikelite DS125 flash.

Can't wait to try out the new setup in Nov @ Vortex during some training dives .

 

[bandit_TX]

C-5050, PT-015, DS-125 -- good camera setup. I started with it in Feb in Bonaire. We'll be back there next week for another 11 days of UW photo and video.

 

[Pullin]

Ross,
I am just down I-30 in Rockwall, TX.
Who is the manufacture of DS- 125? and PT-015

Thanks
Tom Pullin