This was my first time in Bonaire, having been pretty much everywhere else in the Caribbean. Tricky part was finding reasonable, logical flights from Central Oregon to Bonaire. (Trip took about 4 airplane rides and 24 hours one way...).

Met up with my family who live in Europe, and we stayed at the Hamlet Sunset Villa #13. Please see my comments on this house under Accomodations-"Anyone stayed at Hamlet Sunset Villa?"

My brother had the best time of all, kitesurfing on the south end of the island at Atlantis (kitesurfers have been banned by a certain Elvis at Lac Bay).It was really cool to watch those kooky kitesurfers doing their thing in the air.

Went diving twice in one day, after over 4 years of not diving. Otherwise, did a lot of snorkeling. It was fun, but I was disappointed at the lack of marine life (in comparison, say to Bimini in the Bahamas where sharks rule, and BIG fish too). I know Hurricane Lenny hit Bonaire hard, but I still can't comprehend how Bonaire is one of the top dive sites in the Caribbean. Friends of mine did see a whale shark and turtles, and I saw a pod of dolphins who seemed very elusive, but that's about it.

The island is pleasantly clean and quiet, and the stores are well-stocked. People are very low-key, and I found that speaking in Spanish gets you somewhere, better than English.

It rained quite a bit during our two-week stay, but nothing major. However, the mosquitoes were out with a vengeance, which surprised me for being such an arid island.

My favorite thing were the donkeys. If only people would slow down maybe some of them wouldn't get hit (saw one donkey, a couple of cats and dogs and iguanas run over tsk tsk tsk).

The one restaurant we went to (we actually had a WONDERFUL cook come to our house three times a week- please contact me and I will give you his info), and I won't name it, but is quite well-known, charged $150 for 4 people, and all we really had was some pasta dishes, a 1/2 liter of house wine, and 2 shrimp cocktails. NOT A VERY GOOD DEAL, to say the least.

As for the beaches, wish I'd have known about the rocky coral all over the place to get in and out of the water-booties and closed rubber sandals are definitely needed.

All in all- a pleasant trip.

I'm glad you had a pleasant trip, but... no marine life??? What did you think all those brightly colored flittering things in the water were?

It's true, Bonaire is NOT known for its sharks, whales or dolphins. But it is known to be home to many, many hundreds of species of fish.

It's too bad you hadn't read up about it, and discovered this board ahead of time - you'd have found out that the fish are small (but still amazingly bountiful), the beaches are all but non-existent and are mostly comprised of coral rubble, and the rainy season is this time of year, with mosquitos to go along with it.

If you want to look a little closer and come during the dry season, you may find you'll enjoy yourself even more, should you come back.

If you did mostly snorkeling. I can see why you thought there was a lack of marine life. We mostly dove and did a little snorkeling.

Most of the reef start in 20 - 30 feet of water. When you are that far away from marine life, bigger is better, you will miss the good stuff and not be that close to any of the marine life. Or be able to look in and around and under things.

We stayed at Sorobon Beach Resort. Which is on Lac Bay. As far as snorkeling went that was by far the BEST! The water in Lac Bay is only 5 feet deep at the reef and it is crystal clear and filled with smaller marine life, BUT you are much closer and the light strikes every thing very strongly. It felt like being in someone's aquarium. There we say, octopus, eels, barracuda and hundreds of colorful fish. All VERY close up.

Hey you can also snorkel nude there! We did!

Suzanne, Thank you for your nice trip report. I am glad that you had such a nice time.

Robert, I disagree with you that you if you think that you don't see a lot of marine life if you only snorkel!! I only snorkel and I have seen just as much as any diver, in fact, probably more than the average diver! There is a multitude of marine life if you know where to look in 15 feet or less of water! I have seen seahorses, frog fish, spotted eagle rays, huge cornet fish, tarpons, permit fish and turtles, just to name a few and I have pictures ta boot! Just check out my trip reports to see what else I have seen and check out a few pics! A guided snorkel with Reneesnorkeltrips or a two stop snorkel with the Woodwind are ideal ways to get a feel for the habitat of all your favorite little creatures!!! Oh, I almost forgot! Though usually rare in Bonaire, I saw a whale over at Kline just a few feet from shore near the mooring of the Woodwind!

I knew I would elicit some responses about the lack of marine life. True, there are may colorful fish and colorful corals, and one has to remember the Caribbean in general has been sadly overfished, and of course hurricanes sure don't help the situation. I guess I'm more of a big fish enthusiast which tells me the ecosystem is actually in good working order. Just my two cents!!

The big fish are on the east side rather than the west side. Most diving and snorkeling on Bonaire is done on the very calm west coast or around Klein Bonaire which is also quite protected from the open ocean waves. Bonaire does not have the wide shallow areas like the Bahamas that attract certain kinds of sharks. So we are more likely to have a whale shark or pilot whales just off shore in the very deep water. Keep in mind big fish are not the only answer to a healthy eco-system. A wide diversity of fish, invertebrates, and corals is also an important indicator. Bonaire has one of the highest diversity of fish life in the Caribbean per REEF surveys. So while I'm as thrilled as the next diver to see a graceful eagle ray swoop through, I'm equally happy to find an elusive frogfish the size of a tennis ball.

I just returned yesterday from my first trip to Bonaire. While I agree the reefs close to shore were pretty beaten by Lenny, I found the marine life there to be far more diverse, numerous and large compared to snorkeling in the other island I have visited (BVI, Caymans and Cozumel)

I will post a trip report soon, but I'm still collecting myself since I am back to work today.

Joe, so glad to hear you enjoyed your first trip to Bonaire and can't wait to read more about your trip later on! Carole