I decided to send in my trip report because I learned so much from Bonaire Talk before our trip to Bonaire, thank you all! I felt like I already knew the island a little bit, it helped us a lot.
First I want to describe my feelings about Bonaire. From the day I stepped on the island, I felt at home! It is wonderful, so different from what we have seen in Europe, beautiful nature, all those colorful birds, lizards, etc. And the snorkeling was superb! No aquarium can beat that! The people where so very friendly, both locals as well as the tourists, it is a special kind of tourist that go to Bonaire.
We (my husband and I and two friends) where only one week on Bonaire, way to short, but hey, we will return! After that we visited Aruba for another week, I now whish we had done it the other way around. Once you have seen Bonaire,……..

So, about our trip. We flew on Saturday April 5 with KLM from Amsterdam to Bonaire. I was charmed by the small airport. It was nice and warm and windy when we arrived, felt good. We got our baggage very quick and where awaited by a representative of Lagoen Hill, who brought us to our house.
The house was very nice, spacious, clean, well equipped, with a big cool terrace, wonderful.
Service of Lagoen Hill is very good too, plenty of clean towels every other day. The park is very quiet, lots of privacy around your house, which has a disadvantage too, of which I will tell you in a minute.

On Sunday we got our car from AB car rental and we drove to Lac Bay (Cai), because we where told there would be a “party” in the afternoon. First we went for a swim to get comfortable with our snorkeling gear (we where all novice snorkelers). Now I know what we saw in Lac meant nothing, but at that time we where amazed by the fish we saw!
From about 2 in the afternoon a band started playing and singing at the weekend bar, and locals gathered around and sang along with them, there was a very nice atmosphere! I am told that the band plays there every Sunday, it is worth while the visit! The trip to Lac passing by the mangroves is very nice too, btw.
That evening we decided to go and eat out, we wanted to sign in for a snorkel tour with the Woodwind too, so we drove to Divi Flamingo and ate at Chibi Chibi. The food was good, live music was cozy, but it was way too expensive!
Now to the only unpleasant thing of our staying at Bonaire: when we returned to our house, we found out people had broken in. They had broken in to a window (smashed it), and had taken the safe (with our tickets, a passport, money, digital camera, mobile phones, home keys, credit card, etc) as well as some clothes. It was a big mess in the house, all our stuff was everywhere.
So we went to the police immediately. After a lot of hassle, to find out to get new tickets, a travel document, get the police report, later in the week the safe was found by the police, open, but with all our papers (tickets, passport, home keys, etc) Only the valuable things where gone (camera, phones, money), so that was a big relief for us, saved us from a lot of arranging things. Let’s hope the insurance will cover the rest.

Monday we went to Karpata for a real snorkel trip. It was really great! Lots of fish, nice coral. The entrance was very rocky, so not that easy, and later there was quite some current, so it got even harder, but still OK for us fit novice snorkelers without fins.
Couldn’t find the short-cut, so drove the long way back again, but it is a nice road to drive.

Tuesday I wasn’t feeling very well, so stayed at the house in the morning. Two of us went snorkeling at Windsock and came back home very enthusiastic.
In the afternoon we had to go to the police office again, and had a drink at Blue Moon café. They guys played some billiard. We where even treated with “bitterballen” (a Dutch snack)!

Wednesday we drove to the salt works, saw lots of flamingo’s, the slave huts, the lighthouse, etc. Went to Sorobon Beach to see the windsurfers, drove to Cai later to have a cool swim.
Ate at Karel’s that evening: good, simple, not too expensive food, kind service, nice music.

Thursday we went on a snorkel tour with Renee from Woodwind, it was great! Really a must when you go to Bonaire! First we sailed to Klein Bonaire where we got on land on No Name beach; we walked south to a spot where we had a smell entrance to the reef. We then swam with the current back to the boat. The first thing I saw when I went into the water again was a turtle! How fascinating!
Renee showed us lots of fish and coral. Back on the boat there where drinks again, and we easily sailed to Andrea II, where we snorkeled from the boat. The guys where getting more and more comfortable in the water and started to free-dive. Can not tell how beautiful and relaxing this whole trip was, you just need to experience it!
On our way back to Divi Flamingo we had something to eat and drink again, relaxed on deck, over thinking what we had seen.

Friday we went to Washington Slagbaai National Park, a great experience, beautiful nature, seen lots of birds, the blow hole is very impressive. You do need a 4x4, and take your time (we spent almost whole day there). There are some spots where you can swim and snorkel. Bring drinks and food with you, because you can only get a few things at the entrance of the park, in the park there is nothing to get.
We snorkeled at Wayaka II, a small and very romantic little sand beach. Easy access, nice fish, very clear water.
In the evening we ate at De Tuin, extremely good food for a very reasonable price.

Unfortunately we had to leave on Saturday, off to another week at Aruba. We had to return our rented car by 1 in the afternoon, so still some time for a quick snorkel at Windsock. Checked our baggage in early and walked to Plaza Resort to spend the afternoon there at the beach bar. Two of us snorkeled there too, very easy access, quite some fish to see.
In the late afternoon we had a pleasant flight with DCA (big plane) via Curacao to Aruba.
It was nice to see Aruba, but it cannot beat Bonaire!
I miss it, cannot wait to get back! Good we have BT and the cams, to dream me back once in a while.

Nice trip report Karin. So happy you enjoyed Bonaire. How could anyone not? Sorry about your experience with the break-in and theft, but it sounds as though you'll be back in spite of that unfortunate experience. We've been going to Bonaire for over ten years and have had nothing but wonderful experiences. Carol

Karin,
Thank you for sharing such a wonderful trip report. I especially liked reading of your enjoyment on the Woodwind which is our favorite thing to do in Bonaire.
I am so happy that you were able to see the sun through the clouds of your unfortunate experience!!

Oh noooooo..just when I thought Lagoen Hills was safe to stay at I hear about the break in here too..sorry it happened for you Karin, can certianly empathize and glad you were able to retrieve your tickets and cards...but will you return to Bonaire???, and if you do , do you have any tips on how you would guard against theft like this happening again ? we are still deciding on our return to Bonaire after the same thing happened to us... what house were you staying in ? one of the small bungalos by the pool ?

Sorry to hear about your break in. But I am glad that you had a wonderful time! Great report Thank-you!

Debbi,

We will certainly return to Bonaire! We will probably even go back to Lagoen Hills! It is an ideal place to stay, so quiet, nice houses, good service, etc.
You know, this could happen everywhere, this was the first time this happened to us, but could have happened during our vacations in France and Spain too, where we have rented houses that where even more isolated. We where staying in Lagoen Hill #6, in the corner, next to the road, so easy to get away for thieves,..... It did happen in the evening, the thieve(s) might have seen us go. I have to tell that it did happen in a few other bungalows in the same week too. Also in one of the small bungalows by the pool, during daytime.
The police was able to take a lot of fingerprints, and during the week I heard that they had some suspicion. The community on Bonaire is so small, they often catch thieves. Or they are thieves that come over for a few days or so, to do these break ins, and disappear again. It was a bad experience, but despite this, I felt very safe at Bonaire! To me it was clear that there was just "one rotten apple in the basket", as we say in Holland.
Tips to avoid these problems: stay in an enclosed resort (although I prefer my privacy, and don't think I would give that up), don't leave valuable things in your house, not even in a safe. Take it with you, or even better: rent a safe at the bank for the period of your stay, and leave your valuable things in there. Very handy when you are a diver/snorkeler too. You don't need someone to watch all the stuff all the time.
Where did you stay Debbi, when this happened to you? Was there a lot taken? Did you have a good insurance?

Hi Karin, sorry we missed you, and sorry about the break-in. You're right, it could happen anywhere, but it really shouldn't, right?
Hope to see you back soon!

When are the residents and more importantly the business owners going to get enough of this nonsense and put some real pressure on the government to force the local police authorities to put a stop to this? MANY trips we have heard people say they will not return to Bonaire because their hotel room was robbed. Unfortunately the hotel, restaurant, and shop owners will suffer from less tourism. Word of mouth is a powerful thing. Anyone who goes to Bonaire, as we have been doing for the past ten years, is well aware that most of the locals will tell you that the police know full well who these young thugs are and simply choose not to do anything about it because of family relationships or friends (?). I have long said that it is only a matter of time before some tourist wakes up in the middle of the night to find a thief in his room, grabs a knife and then you have a killing to put in the local newspaper. Sad as it is,it will come to this and perhsps that is what it will take to get the necessary attention. It is time to stop talking about how safe Bonaire is relative to other places and do something about it before it becomes one of those "other places" with a bad reputation. Tourism and divers are the lifeblood of this island's economy, why is there not more concern at the local level in protecting it? OK, that's my rant -- as I'm getting ready for a four week vacation in Bonaire.

my sentiments exactly !!!!we are so torn over making plans to return again to Bonaire or choose anther place for our vacation and dive plans next year...I know I will not beable to sleep without hearning sounds of the break-in again..need to get over that.. For visiters who this has never happened to before, it sounds like we are just moaning and whineing(sp?) about the event but we sure do want to rest and relax while we are there...I also fear it will take somebody really getting hurt before it comes to the forefront..so enjoy your time in Bonaire,,but be vigilant and have safe time