BonaireTalk Discussion Group
Trip Reports: Just back (3/23/03) - first trip to Bonaire
Bonaire Talk: Trip Reports: Archives: Archives 2000 to 2005: Archives - 2002-09-26 to 2003-03-31: Just back (3/23/03) - first trip to Bonaire
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tanja Bugas (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Wednesday, March 26, 2003 - 11:47 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Getting to Bonaire was a bit of a challenge from Denver. We left Denver Sat (3/15) 9:45 am on American, connected through Miami, overnighted in San Juan, and finally arrived in Bonaire Sun (3/16) 8:45 pm on American Eagle. We didn't have any problems until we checked in (3 hours early) at the San Juan airport where we were told that we couldn't be given boarding passes and were on a waiting list (numbers 3,4 and 5)due to weight restrictions for the plane. American said that 14 seats were being held back until the plane, fuel, baggage, etc. were weighed, and if they could take additional weight, we might be put on the flight! They claimed that 50 people had already checked in ahead of us (that morning) and that was why we were on a waiting list. The plane capacity was 64. I was furious. While waiting to see if we would be put on that flight we heard many announcements for over-booked flights departing to many other Carribean islands (also on American). I think that was the real reason (not weight) we were not immediately given boarding passes. When I complained (a lot) we were handed boarding passes! Our family (my husband and I and our son) stayed at the Yacht Club Apartments which are just north of town near the Harbour Village marina. We got a very reasonable package that included a Toyota twincab truck. We were met at the airport by someone from our hotel which helped a lot since we were new to the island and arriving after dark. Our accomodations included 2 bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen/dining room/living room, cable TV, and a patio which we used a lot for eating and storing our snorkel gear. The pool area included a covered pavillion, BBQ grill, chairs, and facilities for rinsing dive/snorkel gear. The hotel was very pleasant, but was not on the water, thus, no great views. We are snorkelers and enjoyed the abundant fishes on Bonaire and Klein Bonaire. We used the Water Taxi to get to Klein Bonaire and did drift snorkeling. It was sad to see all the damage from Hurricane Lenny (1999). The reef must have been spectacular before the storm. Much of the reef had a fair amount of coral rubble that gave it the appearance of having a blanket of snow. Despite the broken coral the fish seemed to be plentiful. We also enjoyed night snorkeling.
We took the long route through Washington Park, but didn't take our snorkel gear along on purpose so we would have a change of pace from having our faces in the water all week. We made breakfast and lunches at our apartment and ate out for dinners. We had good meals everywhere thanks to recommendations, and some of our favorite meals were the locals' restaurants - Gibby's Terrace and Hullandes Grill. Harder to find but worth it. Food was very good and very reasonable. The pumpkin mousse ravioli was yummy at Cappricios. Overall we really enjoyed our visit to Bonaire. The weather was perfect, waters calm, and other than the airport problem getting there and almost missing a connection coming home (also at Puerto Rico: had to clear customs and our bags were the last to be unloaded and flight time moved up - we ran through the airport and just barely made the final boarding)and some minor problems at the hotel, all went well. We hope to return to Bonaire someday. If anyone wants more details of our trip just ask!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Belinda Z (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #10) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 10:13 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tanja,

I would very much like details on your favorite snorkeling places. We will be taking our first trip to Bonaire in Feb 2004 and I am hungry for details!

Thanks in advance!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ida Christie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #872) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 1:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Tanja,
Thanks for posting your Trip Report. Glad you had fun on your vacation. We got to see a dive vidio on Bonaire prior to Lenny and you can see how magnificent it was. It's still great and we can't wait to go back. You can't bet the shore diving. Dive sites are never too crowded with divers and fish everywhere, etc.
Ida

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Linda Stoltzfus (BonaireTalker - Post #83) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 1:47 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tanja,
Thanks for your report. Your timing was perfect...missed the Spring Blizzard!!
We also have to travel from Denver and although a long hassle, Bonaire is where we want to be!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ginny Stokes (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #488) on Thursday, March 27, 2003 - 10:50 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Ditto on traveling from Denver, but it is absolutely worth it!! Thanks for sharing your experiences, enjoyed your report.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gail Currie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #446) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 10:33 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

We used to have to travel from Denver but now have the convenience of living in Florida. However our friends still have to do the Den-Bon trip and they do the red eye on Delta to Atlanta at 12:30am, then to Jamaica and Bonaire and get into Bonaire at 2pm the same day. We did the red eye with them before but then went to Miami and the direct from Miami. We never sleep well the night before anyways so why not be up flying. We did sleep from Denver to Atlanta so got a few hours sleep. Besides you're on vacation mode at that point.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By sherry baker (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #449) on Friday, March 28, 2003 - 11:43 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

GAIL, how is florida? are you coming back up to denver this summer? hope all is well in your world.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Gail Currie (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #447) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 11:31 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Florida is great. We love the weather (no snow), we went fishing with some friends the other day - what a blast that was - just to be on the water. We haven't done any diving yet and probably won't for a while -except to test out our gear. We are heading to Bonaire on 4/26 and then up to Denver around 5/20. Our son is getting married on 7/3 and we plan to sell the house in Denver in the summer - so yes we will be there all summer. Maybe we can get together.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Tanja Bugas (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #7) on Saturday, March 29, 2003 - 7:20 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Belinda Z,
Hi! It's difficult to say which of the snorkeling spots were our favorites because we saw different things (fish, coral, etc.) at each one. I'll try to give you some suggestions, though. Klein Bonaire: took Water Taxi from Divi Flamingo and did a drift snorkel along the east side of the island toward No Name beach. This saved a lot of swimming and we saw a lot of coral and fish. It took about an hour. You can get out of the water and rest, warm-up, etc. on the beach and then get back in and continue on. You can also see different things depending how far you are from the shoreline. Well worth the $16. fare (round trip) per person. The Woodwind catamaran was already sold out for that day, that is why we took the Water Taxi. The W.T. was less expensive and I think we probably saw as much as the boat tout saw. Snorkeling at Divi Flamingo: We snorkeled both daytime and at night. Liked the easy access (both beach and ladders). Saw octopus during day and night. Night snorkeling also saw bright orange coral that is closed during the day, saw lg. lobsters at night too.
South Pier: This is where the cruise ships dock. Good access, snorkeled both sides of the pier - the pillars under the dock were fun to swim around just to see schools of fish hanging out. Other areas we liked that were recommended by the web site and the yellow dive book we bought on Bonaire: Karpata, Ol'Blue (not as good as expected),1,000 steps, Andrea I & II, tried to get down to Petri's Pillar but was too difficult so we skipped it, Green Submarine Reef (this was near our apartment so we spent a few minutes here swimming around the moored boats and saw a huge barracuda under one of the boats), North Belnam, Tori's Reef (saw eels, 2 scorpion fish fighting, huge flounder, barracuda, turtles, lg. school needlefish), Margate Bay and Yellow Hut. Each site was slightly different in the coral types, size and health of coral and fish sightings. I think a lot of what we saw depended upon what fish happened to be swimming by when we were at each site. There were many other sites we wished we had time to see. Maybe you can see some of those and report back. I'll be watching for your trip report. Have a wonderful time!! Tanja

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By DJ (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #12) on Monday, March 31, 2003 - 8:16 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tanja, great trip report. I knew you would get hooked!!!!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Milton Best (BonaireTalker - Post #11) on Tuesday, April 1, 2003 - 3:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Tanja,

Sounds like a great trip. I second you on the snorkeling sites you mentioned. My favorites include Karpata because of the lush soft coral and the variety of species. Also, the drift snorkel at Klein Bonaire is great because it is so close to the turtle nesting site and you frequently spot turtles.

Milton
www.RentACondoBonaire.com

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Belinda Z (BonaireTalker - Post #14) on Monday, April 7, 2003 - 10:04 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Tanja,

Thanks for the info on snorkeling spots!

 


Visit: The Bonaire WebCams - Current Bonaire images and weather!
The Bonaire Insider - the latest tourism news about Bonaire
The Bonaire Information Site, InfoBonaire
Search Bonaire - Search top Bonaire Web sites


Topics Last Day Last Week Tree View    Getting Started Formatting Troubleshooting    New Messages Keyword Search Contact Moderators Edit Profile Administration