By Renee Dooley on Friday, December 27, 2002 - 10:55 pm: |
I haven't been to Bonaire yet but am going in Feb. or April. I realize beaches are few in number, but keep getting conflicting information. I also get that just because a place is by water, that doesn't mean it has a beach. Happy Holiday Homes says they're within walking distance of Bachelor's beach and the lighthouse beach, but somewhere on these posts someone said it's quite a hike and you have to drive. Then I got an email from someone at diver's paradise that said you have to have a car to get to any beach on Bonaire. My husband and I want to stay in a less expensive, small place rather than a big resort. Is it true the resorts are the only ones that actually have water/snorkling at their doorstep? We're looking at Divers Paradise and Happy Holiday Home, which on the map look like they're on the water, but may be that's deceiving. I guess if we have to drive anyway, we could stay someplace even cheaper in the middle of town. Is it a big ordeal to get from a hotel in town to the water, say for instance if we stayed at Amsterdam Apts, which are super cheap. We basically want to stay someplace that's $500-$600/week near a beach (short drive, I guess) w/ snorkling at our doorstep. Any ideas? Am I asking too much? Thanks for any advice...
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By Peter Cabus on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 4:15 am: |
Hallo Renee,
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By seb schulherr on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 9:26 am: |
Happy Holiday Homes is NOWHERE NEAR the water. You can hike over to lighthouse beach, but we drove over to dive there from HHH
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By scott and sharon barlass on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 11:46 am: |
Renee,
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By Carole Baker on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 3:33 pm: |
Renee: Divi Flamingo Beach Resort has a nice, intimate, small beach with outrageous snorkeling and great dive operation. It is not a large resort by American Standards or other Caribbean standards. I believe the Plaza is the largest but the rest of the "resorts" are relatively small, comparitively speaking....prices? Well, that you will have to check out. A car for at least part of your stay would be such a great thing to do. There are so many things to experience and explore on Bonaire away from the waters, too. You will fall in love with Bonaire once you are there....the rest of us certainly did...instantaneously, too! How exciting for you to be anticipating your first trip to Bonaire....I do recall when we were planning ours. Now we look forward to returning every year...we work hard all year long to be able to return to Bonaire for two weeks. Remember, the sun in Bonaire is very, very strong, so if you are going to be doing a lot of walking, please do keep that in mind. It is not too far from the Equator. Why don't you see how much Divi will charge you for a timeshare unit...that way you will have kitchen equipment along with a beach, two pools, two restaurants, spa, etc. It is not a "glitzy" place...very much a comfortable place to be..."Barefoot elegance" is their theme. Good luck! Carole
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By Josie on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 6:27 pm: |
We stay at Bonaire Town Homes, which is just outside of town in a quiet residential area. They have very reasonably-priced one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, with full kitchen, private outside seating/eating area, very complete, comfortable and clean (which is why I'll be there again this year for six weeks). If you'd like to be out of the mainstream, but have very nice, simple accommodations, check out www.bonairetownhomes.com.
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By pat murphy on Saturday, December 28, 2002 - 7:18 pm: |
We stayed at Aqua Viva apt. just across the road from Eden Beach Apts. where there is a nice little beach with good snorkelling. My husband dived with WannaDive who have a base there as well as in town. (Very nice people). Its a nice easy 20 min. walk into the town centre. A car is very necessary unless you are happy to see only a very small part of the island.
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By Marc @ CrystalVisions on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 4:28 am: |
The beach at Plaza is freely accesible to non-guests. If you want to use beds or towels though, you have to pay for it (guests don't). Just follow the Bulevar JA Abraham south from the centre of Kralendijk until the street makes a turn left. In that turn you'll see a (sort of) parking lot. There's a gate in the far righthand corner that leads directly to the beach.
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By Jake Richter - NetTech on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 9:37 pm: |
Renee,
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By James & Margarite Hix on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 9:41 pm: |
Hi, Renee!! We stayed at Divers Paradise last trip, Plaza the time before. Divers Paradise is a short drive from beach access, but you can see the sea from the second floor apts. The good news is you can get a very affordable package that includes a vehicle!! Really, if you are going to invest in the airfare, you must have wheels to see all of the island and access all the beautiful areas you can snorkle. Nothing is horribly far from anything else, navigation is simple, there is no traffic. EEEEEZZZZ!! margarite
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By James & Margarite Hix on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 9:54 pm: |
Oh, and I forgot to mention, we spent a great deal of time at Plaza. The beach there is more the conventional Carribean ideal and I have spent MANY happy hours there snorkling and diving. No one has ever asked us to pay to use facilities, even though we were not staying at the resort(last time) My understanding is that D. Paradise and Plaza are owned by the same group. I don't know for sure....maybe Kitti can set us straight on that. In any case we were spending $$ at the Coconut Crash bar and we spent$$$ at their dive shop (Toucan) so maybe they were more hospitable for that reason. Or maybe security was snoozing. Who knows?! The beach was not crowdedon either trip. Stay at D.Paradise, get the vehicle, have a great time. Margarite
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By James & Margarite Hix on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 9:57 pm: |
Oh, and I forgot to mention, we spent a great deal of time at Plaza. The beach there is more the conventional Carribean ideal and I have spent MANY happy hours there snorkling and diving. No one has ever asked us to pay to use facilities, even though we were not staying at the resort(last time) My understanding is that D. Paradise and Plaza are owned by the same group. I don't know for sure....maybe Kitti can set us straight on that. In any case we were spending $$ at the Coconut Crash bar and we spent$$$ at their dive shop (Toucan) so maybe they were more hospitable for that reason. Or maybe security was snoozing. Who knows?! The beach was not crowdedon either trip. Stay at D.Paradise, get the vehicle, have a great time. Margarite
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By James & Margarite Hix on Sunday, December 29, 2002 - 10:00 pm: |
WHAT? WHY?
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By Nadine Allen on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 12:57 am: |
Renee,
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By Kelly Lott on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 3:32 pm: |
Renee, I agree with Nadine. We stayed at the Divi and will stay there for all return trips. Great walk into downtown, great diving, snorkeling, and the restaurant is great too! You will love it! Keep us posted as to what you decide....
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By Leif S on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 7:14 pm: |
My 2 cents on Bonaire Beaches (including where to stay):
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By Carole Baker on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 7:58 pm: |
Oh my, Renee'.....so many choices to chose from. Remember....in Bonaire you most likely will not need to use a boat to gain access to the areas you would like to go to, so a car can make up for the expenses you won't be spending on boat trips....make sense? Even if you only have a car for a day or two and stay at the Divi (my fav and close to town and everything) it will be great to explore the Park on the Northern end of the island, the Flamingo Sanctuaries and Gotomeer Lake, Lac Cai and Lac Bay and so on. We still "tool around" in the car when we return to Bonaire every trip....it is just a fun place to explore with a car as well as in the water. Please do keep us posted on your final decisions! CArole
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By Carole Baker on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 8:15 pm: |
Renee: Here is a not so great pic of the small beach at the Divi Flamingo Beach Resort. There is a tanning pier (lots of beach chairs and umbrellas) and beach chairs along the water and two restaurants right there overlooking the water, too. I will try to post a couple of pics for you now. Carole
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By Renee Dooley on Monday, December 30, 2002 - 9:54 pm: |
Thanks for all the helpful info. I guess we're looking into Eden Beach since it has a beach, snorkling and is inexpensive. Divi looks good too, but their rates are confusing. (Their website doesn't seem to explain the difference between Standard, Superior and Deluxe -- have an email inquiry out to them.) I'm sure we will rent a car anyway, as we want to explore alot. I guess whereever we end up staying will be fine, as supposedly there's no place bad on Bonaire!
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By Josie on Tuesday, December 31, 2002 - 4:26 pm: |
In February, there was a lot of nice sand at Donkey Beach (what I'd always previously called Windsock, but I understand that's just the dive site name). It's my favorite spot for sunset-watching. I take my chair down, sit in the water with the waves lapping at my feet, and just relax. Seldom anyone else there...
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By Carole Baker on Wednesday, January 1, 2003 - 2:11 am: |
Sounds absolutely serene, Josie! My kind of place to be and my kind of activity, too. It is sooo nice to enjoy nature on Bonaire. Carole
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By Kent & Myrna (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #5) on Sunday, February 23, 2003 - 6:04 pm: |
My wife and I would recommend the Sorobon Beach Resort - see our trip report at:http://caribbean.wheretostay.com/property/053-reviews.html for information.
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