I am trying to decide whether to spend 2 weeks or 3 weeks on Bonaire. We are only snorkelers and fairly active (and are not into the shopping), so I am trying to get a feel for what else can we do there to fill our time and not to feel "well, we did this already". thank you for any pointers.

Check this out: http://www.infobonaire.com/otheractivities.html

Bonaire is not known for shopping, very few as a matter of fact.

I would say yes as a snorkeler. Take a trip to Klein Bonaire, snorkel with Renee to see things you would not see otherwise, take a sunset cruise, go to the Indian Caves, check out Lac Bay for wind surfers and see the kite surfers by Red Beryl., go to the Donkey Safari, take a ride around the island and find flamingo and parrots, and try all the snorkeling places. Some are not as good as they were before Omar last year. I rent my car from Poppy. She is at the airport. No hassles and great prices.When are you going?

not a duty free port so bonaire is not really a shopping destination .. altho .. there are some very interesting stores just outside of the down town .. Chinese/Hindu stores that are worth a visit for the inventory they carry .. won't see that in the usa ... our version of Wal-Mart... don't forget Washington park .. a full day trip .. spend most of a day in rincon .. a slave village established over 500 years ago .. fabulous walking tour available .. mangrove tours and on and on or just hang out .. an art that only true west indians
have mastered and well worth an effort ... i have lived here for 30 years .. never bored.. always got something going ... birdwatching is something i learned here with the world's best .. Jerry Ligon .. he has great tours .. check out his fish I.D. class . so much to do .. so little time .. you will wonder what happened to the 3 weeks ... enjoy bonaire ...

I've only been to Bonaire once for a ten day trip. My husband and I are returning next month. On our first trip to Bonaire, we absolutely LOVED the mangrove snorkel excursion.

http://www.mangrovecenter.com/

I am a molecular biologist and I was very, very impressed with the knowledge of the tour guide with regard to the biology and ecology of the mangroves. It was wonderful experience, and highly recommended. I think if you mix in this activity along with Lac Bay and windsurfing, the donkey farm, the butterfly farm, and of course the Washington Slagbaai Park, you will have plenty to do for 2 or 3 weeks. I think horseback riding might also be available, though we did not have time on our last visit to schedule this. Enjoy!

After many single weeks, we finally got to spend 3 weeks on Bonaire last year and thought it was about a perfect amount of time. Of course, any amount of time on Bonaire is good.

thank you very much for the replies and suggestions, if all works well we'll go in Sept/October 09

We too are only snorkelers and always spend at least 2 weeks on Bonaire. We have spent 3 weeks and certainly were not bored and had many sites to visit.

Hi,

The last time we went to Bonaire we stayed for three weeks. We did not get bored, even though we had three days of rain. If you like, you can always decide to make a daytrip to Curaçao. When flying Divi-Divi, the flight it self is an adventure (just be sure to bring earplugs :-))

I would most certainly advise you to visit the caves. You can snorkel there as well.

Have a nice stay

Where are the caves, and how do you access them?

Hi,

The best way to visit the caves is with Hans. Check out his website www.outdoorbonaire.com for details. The caves are located in the Barcadera and Sabadeco area. Check out the STINAPA website (a detailed map can be found when you click for 'divemap centre overview'). Hans showed us two caves; a dry one and a wet one. The dry one was hot! Filled with bats. Hans will bring a set of redlight flashlights, so you won't disturb the bats. If you're lucky, he will also show a newly fossiled bat.

The wet cave will give you the possibility to snorkel. It is fresh (rain-)water. We were so lucky to see a fish and were cleaned by small shrimps.

Enjoy!

Snorkeling, like scuba diving, can keep you occupied for minutes or years depending on you.

To me, snorkeling and diving skills are like driving a car: you learn the skill to do more. You learn to drive to go to the store, vacation or work. Scuba and snorkeling give access to watching fishes and the other animals, day and night.

Books on animal id and behavior will make it all work. My favorite behavior books are: 'Pisces Guide to Watching Fishes: Understanding Coral Reef Fish Behavior' by Roberta and James Q. Wilson, and 'Reef Fish Behavior' by Ned Deloach. They cover broad areas in different ways (the Wilson's in overview, Deloach in more species detail, for instance)so both contribute to enjoying watching animals. Check out both.

My favorites for id are F. Joseph Stokes' 'Divers and Snorkelers Guide to the Fishes and Sea Life of the Caribbean...' and Paul Humann's 'Reef
Fishes'. Again, they do it differently and in complement. Stokes has small artist's renditions of fish, many more pics than Humann (juveniles, color phases, etc.) that are better for initial id. Humann gives habitat, behavior, etc., info that make watching fun. Again check out both.

Snorkel day and night, and across the change of light and dusk and dawn when the 'guard changes'. Try shallow water: I spent time with my granddaughter when she was about nine in a foot of water along the shore near Voz de Bonaire radio station. She saw eight or ten different fish species just there.

Find a shallow patch of coral rubble like the one that used to be south of the entry at Invisibles and watch the juveniles, and Trumpetfish hunting them. Go to the shallow water just south of the old Green Parrott/Sand Dollar Dive & Photo concrete slab: watch the razor fish go in and out of the sand, watch the squid schools in the afternoon (I saw 39 in a school one day and stopped counting - on tape, by the way) and the bait balls that come down the coast in the afternoon accompanied by several brands of predators feeding on them.

One nice thing about fish, as with all animals, they do different things each day so you can watch forever. So, ONLY 3 weeks???? :–)

Can't imagine being bored watching all our fish and creature friends on Bonaire-mastering underwater photography and making videos adds a whole new dimension. When and if you get out of the water the flamingoes, other birds, lizards, donkeys, wild pigs, et. al are all waiting to be studied. Twenty or thirty YEARS might do it for us....

Here are some pictures my wife and I have been taking during our last trip to Bonaire.

Since I still do not know how to upload pictures, I have added a link to Flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/38699750@N00/sets/72157622138233036/

Enjoy!

Thanks again

WOW - Remco those are AMAZING shots. Really great feel for the island and its beauty. Thanks for sharing - they are beautiful. Now I can't wait until the end of December.

Agree with Glen! My first few visits, I would intently listen to Dee (Woodwind) pointing out stuff - and sometimes I wasn't sure what I was looking at - slowly, over time, I have learned to "fish" watch.......(and critters!) and as you hone your observation skills you will pick up more and more stuff that was probably always there, just wasn't as tuned into it....shy porcupine fish in the rocks, sanddivers, a disguised octopus, turtles in distance, etc. Learn to hover in one spot and just keep watching...it's amazing! And night is a whole other challenge, absolutely amazing!
Try sites at different times, including what the tide is doing.
I grew up by the beach (east coast) and I STILL adore tide pools to this day - Pink Beach is a wonderful place with the tides down so you can play in the pools - it is amazing how fish can be perfect tiny replicas of their adult selves! Love those teeny sargeant majors!