We just returned from our first trip to Bonaire and would like to thank all the people who have previously contributed to this website. We had a great time.

Accommodations: We stayed at Bonaire Beach Villas and cannot say enough good things about the owner and the villa. The place was great with wonderful snorkeling and diving right out our door and several restaurants within walking distance.We got to know the owner and his family very well and they went out of their way to help us enjoy our trip. They took us diving with them, went with us to the park and supplied us with all kinds of useful information.

Diving: We completed our open water dives with WannaDive and they were also great. We continued to use them during the rest of our vacation for air tanks, rental and information and were never disappointed in their suggestions. The abundance and variety of marine life was fantastic, better than we have seen in Cozumel, but we have only snorkeled in Cozumel. We saw turtles, squid, dolphins, barracuda, lots of eels, porcupine fish, scorpion fish, huge angels, etc. Our favorite dive sites were Karpata, Ole Blue, and Cliff. Snorkeling was great everywhere, especially Cliff, 1000 steps and Klein (you have to go south of where the boat drops you off and you will find a great reef with turtles.
Restaurants: After a few days we realized that "fine dining" was not going to happen in Bonaire and rather than continue to be disappointed we just changed our game plan. The worst by far was Croccantino (small portions, mediocre microwaved food and a really rude woman who I assume is the owner).
But we found some excellent food at some of the less fancy places.
Garden Cafe was our favorite - wonderful food and service.
We also loved the bakery in town and they make really good egg, ham and cheese sandwiches in the morning as well as good sub sandwiches. Lions Den also has good breakfasts
Pasa Bon Pizza has great food and service.
The chinese restaurant in town right at the curve also had good food and good service.
The owner of our villa told us about a man who was a chef at a restaurant and now makes dinners out of his house and delivers them to you. The menu changes daily and he faxes the weekly menus which consist of two entrees (one fresh fish and one chicken or pasta). The food was unbelievably good, portions were large and the cost was $6.00 US and an additional $ .75 to deliver it. The best fish I had on the island by far!
We did have a couple of places try to take advantage of us when we used US money, but did correct their mistake when we suggested they check their math.
The lake up north was absolutely beautiful and a place I would definitely suggest seeing. There were lots of flamingos and we saw many types of parrots. In one tree we counted almost 40 of the large green and yellow parrots.
Washington Park was also interesting. It is nice to see such a large area protected. I have heard people complaining about the lack of roads, but it is fine with me.
Donkey Sanctuary: I hope that people go there and talk to Miriana. As a tourist, I view the donkeys as a definite asset to Bonaire, just like the marine life and flamingos. However, according to her, many people on Bonaire do not and she is constantly getting a hard time from some the locals and the government. If tourists write to the tourism board and express their appreciation of the donkeys, perhaps the tourism board will wake up and realize that the donkeys are indeed a selling point, not a nuisance. She definitely needs some support to continue her good work.
We love Bonaire and will be back soon. The friendship we developed with the owners of the villa made our stay very special and personal. It was hard to say goodbye to such a beautiful island and such giving people

oh oh..what is the chefs #..sounds great. Where are those villas??

Annie
Cape Cod

Laurie, a wonderful trip report. Congratulations too on becoming certified.

Your comments re: the Donkey Sanctuary.. you'll be pleased to know that I recently received an e-mail from our UK Donkey Sanctuary, which is one of the largest in the World, and have been told that they offer advice to Marina and also help out financially. The Chief Exec has visited Bonaire and spent time with Marina too

The chef sounds like it would Eddy Carillo - phone 717-6731 - he makes nice cakes too.

Jake

Oh Bas gave me his menu...I think..hey, last time I was there I had a party and ordered a cake from my friend's grama and it cost 100 naf!! HOLY SMOKE..Dara and I had a good laugh..we made $#@% sure we ate plenty of it too..LOL..100!!!! YIKESSSSSSSSSSS Bonaire is very $$

Annie
Cape Cod

The villas are with Capt. Don's. I think this guy just bought a couple of them from Capt. Don's. One is really fancy (#14) and one is very nice, but not as fancy. You could e-mail them to find out the chef's number

Jake - Is there anyway to get a menu or to contact him via e-mail - sounds like something we'd like to try while we are in Bonaire in Feb. We'd love to try something new.
Thanks,
Marcia

I don't believe he has e-mail, and his menu changes every week. He FAXes out his menu each week - just ask for a copy to be FAXed to your hotel when you get here.

Jake

Great trip report!

Laurie, do you think the chef is Eddie Carillo?

I've made a note of the phone # Jake gave and it sounds great to me. I don't like to cook on vacation, but I'll be there for a month and eating out all the time is NOT possible. This would be a good alternative. Thanks,

Josie

I am sorry that I do not know his name. He lives on the north side of town near where we were staying. You can email Bonaire Beach Villas (beachvillas@bonairenet.com) and ask them for his name and phone #. The owner's assistant is Maite - she is really nice and I am sure she will help you. Also, not on this subject, but there is an organization in Bonaire that provides volunteers and equipment for local kids to go diving. WannaDive and Capt. Don's supplies the kids with equipment (for free I think). We rented our own equipment and went with them one time because Maite volunteers with this organization. It was alot of fun and seemed like a neat program. I do not know the details, but I liked the fact that these two dive shops did this for the kids.

Josie, it is Eddie and I will put you in touch. If anyone wants to read about him, Bonaire Reporter had a full page article about him and his family. They are a most interesting family and quite an asset to the Bonairean community. Annie...nafl 100! That must have been some cake!

This guy sounds superb and I am interested for my visit. We will not be staying in a hotel. How would I get the menu?

Michael, will you have him fax a menu to BonaireTownHomes (same # as phone #. thanks.

I'll call you Wed to bring by the stuff.
Josie