After 3 1/2 years as a lurker on this board I am finally going to post! Roughly, this is arranged in the order of airlines, car rental, accommodations, diving, food, and general observations.
We arrived on Bonaire April 28, from Dallas through Miami to Curacao on American Airlines then caught the 3pm BonairExel flight to Bonaire. AMAZINGLY smooth on all fronts. We only had a 50-minute layover in Miami (tickets originally purchased in Jan when the layover was about 90 minutes, but as flights changed the layover shortened) and I was concerned that our bags wouldn’t make the flight---but there they were in Curacao without a hitch! We had confirmed reservations on BE for the 8pm flight but arrived with plenty of time to spare so we inquired about the earlier flight at the check-in counter (pleasant gentleman) then proceeded to the ticket office and were warmly and promptly accommodated. A different process than buying tickets ahead of time that we are used to, but it worked just fine. Our return flights (May 8) were equally smooth (BE on Sat at 11am then the AA 3pm to Miami and the last flight to Dallas on Sat night) and all luggage arrived with us! American Airlines is our favorite and we will continue to highly recommend AA as the way to go! We chose to leave on Wednesday for our personal preference, necessitating the connection through Curacao—AA does fly direct to Bonaire, just different days that we wanted to travel.
We had emailed with our hosts (Menno and Esther, more about them as the story unfolds!) before our arrival that we may be arriving earlier than originally planned. They had provided their telephone number with instructions to proceed to Total Car Rental (included in our package) and have them call them when we got in. This happened easily, and Esther met us at the car rental. (On our previous trip to Bonaire the rental truck was adequate but we were happy to use a different agency) The only post I could locate before we left about Total Car Rental was less than glowing and I would like to set the record straight. The truck from Total Car Rental was in great condition, the air conditioning was included in our package price, and we were treated wonderfully. We elected to include the $8 per day “total” insurance for my peace of mind and added me as an additional driver for a one time $6 fee. All of this additional coverage was offered in a pleasant manner and we felt in no way pressured. I would DEFINITELY recommend Total Car Rental.
And the vacation begins! We followed Esther back to the Deep Blue View—many left turns and one right turn—up the hill where the temperature literally was 10 degrees cooler and the breezes were cool, constant, and wonderful. And the bed and breakfast was just as advertised and more. We selected the unlimited shore diving package with the vehicle, and the “all-in” part of the package, which also included a sunset rum punch cruise and BBQ dinner at the house one evening. During our stay we jokingly talked with the other guests (Joanne and Scott from New Jersey, and Alan and Kathy from Austin) that maybe none of us should post a trip report—we should keep the DBV our secret so that we could always get a room whenever we wanted to! Every detail about our stay was wonderful. The linens were soft and smooth, the beds were VERY nice, plenty of pillows, the towels were thick and fluffy (yes, thick and fluffy!), there was plenty of hot water (with information about the collection of the runoff for watering the garden—so long showers were encouraged!), the air conditioners were individually controlled for each room and worked really well, and the pool was crystal clean with a view that is beyond description (but I’ll try---180 degrees from up on the hill, from far left of the salt works over to the BOPEC!). We were there during the full moon, so the sunsets and moonrises were amazing from the observation deck. We had access to the guest refrigerator for our own groceries and sodas and ice. And there was the “magic table” where if you used glasses, plates, or flatware, you just put them on that table and they magically disappeared and those things reappeared (clean) in the cupboard! Accommodations were exceptional. We also enjoyed the extremely well-behaved dogs! Now on to the diver info!
There were unlimited tanks available right there at the house (filled elsewhere, so no compressor noise). And not just any old tanks—nice, clean, new looking tanks with good O-rings and great fills (not one was under 2900 psi). Located on the property was a gear storage area from dreamland. The gear locker for each room came with 2 very nice BC hangers, 2 very nice wetsuit hangers, a very sturdy pole,and hooks in the side of the walls. The lockers were about 4 feet wide, 4 feet deep, and about 8 feet high. Yes, each room had its own massive locker and they provided the locks! And 2 very nice size rinse tanks, access to the hose and faucet right there, and nicely lighted if you came back after dark. I’ve only been diving for 4 years but I’ve never seen anything like these lockers!
I can’t say enough wonderful and glowing things about the owners, Esther and Menno. They were always friendly, funny, and informative. The food was terrific—especially the award winning apple pie—but that WILL stay a secret! We really appreciated them and everything they did to make our stay as enjoyable as possible. We had the opportunity to meet Menno’s mom, visiting from Holland and she was a delight! It’s always fun to see grown men with their mothers! I could go on and on about the Deep Blue View—but you should try it yourself—we can’t imagine staying anywhere else now (and we looked at pretty much everywhere else we had ever considered staying while we were there—we definitely made the right choice!).
The diving-----I had the pleasure of making my 100th dive on this trip at Oil Slick Leap. We dove the Hilma Hooker 3 times (imagine the teasing I got about taking my husband to the Hooker three times on one vacation! And one of those times we went to Bachelor’s Beach for our next dive!). And 17 other wonderful, amazing, fun-filled dives. The freedom of diving in Bonaire is just perfectly suited to our personalities. Dive when you want, for as long as you want, where you want. I hope that Joanne and Scott will post a report about their experience of certification.
The food-—breakfast was included (hence the name bed and breakfast!) and was really wonderful! We also had the BBQ dinner at the DBV 2 nights. It seemed that dining out wasn’t as expensive as I remembered from our first trip in November 2001. We had dinners at Donna & Giorgio’s (great food, kinda loud right there on the street), City Café (great burgers and happy hour), It Rains Fishes (very nice tomato and mozzarella salad and fabulous service), Garden Café (delicious shrimp or chicken shish-ka-bobs with plenty of accompaniments included), Capriccio’s (inside for the AC, delicious Italian food), and Kon-Tiki for lunch (practically gourmet burgers with fries and salad and super view). All of which ranged from around $30 to $50 for the two of us and we felt practically overfed! Our date night was at Richards—romantic view, excellent steaks and total bill around $80. And our absolute favorite, most bang for the buck, is Casablanca. For $31 you can get the Argentinean grill for two. It includes a platter for each diner with salad, rice, vegetables, and a grill that included 2 sirloin steaks, 2 half-chickens, 2 pork chops, 8 big ribs, 8 short ribs, and 4 sausages (as I recall). We had plenty that night and lunch for 3 days!
We had a wonderful time and look forward to our next trip—it can’t come soon enough. We met wonderful people—from Holland, Bonaire, New Hampshire, the Kansas City area, New Jersey, and our own home state. And we again enjoyed the underwater world of Bonaire. Thank you to the folks who preserve that beautiful area. We have been diving in many places, and the work that is done to preserve Bonaire is clearly evident in the health and beauty of the reef.
Nancy and David
Flower Mound, Texas
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By Nancy Murray (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Saturday, May 15, 2004 - 5:03 pm: 
Besides, then the Deep Blue View can advertise as "Award Winning".....just a thought!