My wife and I are considering going back to Bonaire after a too long 12 year absence.. We had stayed at the Sunset Beach Hotel which appears to be out of existence now.. They had a small beach and fairly good snorkeling right off of it, with a decent rock pile about 20 yds off the beach before the drop.. Klein Bonaire was directly across from the beach. Does anyone have any suggestions as to this Resort, or any suggestions on one nearby that has decent snorkeling right out front?? We liked the quietness and friendliness of Bonaire and have been away too long.. Now we cant decide where to stay..

Joe-
You do know that the Sunset Beach Hotel (aka The Bonaire Beach Hotel) is closed, abandoned, and a general eyesore, right? The beach there has gone to seed (rubble) and I assume one is not supposed to trespass. There are many more lodging options than the last time you were there. What is your budget? What amenities are you looking for? Since the reef runs parallel to the shore, any place along the west side of the island will have great snorkeling right out your door. But most don't have sandy beaches. Check out www.infobonaire.com for various lodging options. I'm sure many people are about to chime in with their personal favorites. Me, I stay at my own house. Welcome back!

Joe, Sand Dollar is right next to where Sunset Beach was (and still is all boarded up and burnt)...Sand Dollar has a small sandy area with a couple of lounge chairs....a new dock with great facilities is there as well. They have full kitchens as well. If you don't want that full of ammenities (kitchen) Buddy's, Lion's dive, Cap Don's on the North end all have great snorkeling but no sand. On the south, Divi has a little sand and and a nice dock with lounge chairs, Plaza has a lot of sand, Belmar has no sand but is nice...so there are lots of options, just a matter of how much you want to spend! Of course I haven't mentioned all of the waterfront resorts, just the one's I'm most familiar with

Joe,

We obviously shared Playa Leche from time to time. With the sad passing of Sunset Beach Hotel I relocated to Capt Don's. The attitude and ambiance most closely relates to the laid backness of Sunset and their snorkeling area is shallow, active and excellent.

Man, this board gets results FAST!! Thanks for the quick comebacks.. I remember Capt. Don's Habitat.. They've been there a long time, and the Sand Dollar sounds nice too.. Remember that one as well.. But it seems to me the easiest choice to please the Wife's desire to not have to make breakfast before snorkeling would be Divi or the Plaza.. Plaza seems a bit pricey.. That Black Durgon seems like it's well run too for hard core diver set.. so to get a place with a safe and a fridge maybe, should I budget over $100 a night for either a Feb or May 04 trip??

Joe, Divi and Buddy's both have a buffet breakfast every morning (no cooking for the wife OR you before that first snorkel!) Not sure about Cap' Dons. Go to www.infobonaire.com and check the pricing, as well as you may want to go through a travel agent. Caradonna (http://www.caradonna.com/) is one a lot of board members use...you may get a good package deal.

Captain Don's has Rum Runners, which features a buffet breakfast in the morning, too. Most of the packages they offer include it as part of the package, if I'm not mistaken.

Susan

Got your drift Cynde on the maker of the breakfasts... Classic answer.!! No,, as she's the only snorkel buddy i got, I gotta keep her happy.. Thanks for the great tips...checkin out that caradonna site... Plus it seems a lot of these folks on the boards go to a place called GBI's on Tuesdays, for meet and greets..

Joe, once you get your travel date, check in "Everything Else" for the listing thread of BTalkers for that month. For instance, Chet Wood makes an awesome spreadsheet for those that are on island in February and March, and I handle the other 10 months out of the year! The Gibi gathering is every Tuesday night around 6 or 6:30 Let us know you you progress!

If Paradise Crepes in still in business they had some of the most wonderful breakfast around. They are attached to the City Cafe.. Can anyone confirm they are still there

Joe,

You will probably spend over $100/nite at one of the named resorts... Caradonna and WorldDive (another broker) usually quote package arrangements with diving etc on a per person basis...it may be hard to breakdown a "snorkle only" trip without calling them direct. The rack rate at Divi is about $145/nite for the room. www.diviresorts.com

Beverly Paradise Crepes was still there in September..

Thank you You have made our day We having been dreaming of some of those crepes all year long They also have dessert ones that are truly sinful

Sand Dollar also has buffet breakfasts served at Mango's, packages available through Caradonna including that breakfast. Keep in mind, you asked about February, which is 'high season' and therefore more costly than May, which is 'low season.'

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You all!!! I think it's narrowed down to either the DIVI or the Sand Dollar... Now to the airlines.. The gal at the Bonaire promotion dept. says fly to Aruba first and then Bonairexcel to B..But that is for another board.. Thank You again and looking forward to meeting some of you for maybe a secret snorkel spot or two.. Never have seen a turtle yet ya know.. And I am a quiet kicker..

The Divi by the way has a nice buffet breakfast that you can order omelets and eggs made to your taste. They have it at the Calabas dining and you sit at the waters edge - the ambiance is wonderful.

The other consideration is the Divi is much more low key and relaxed. Not as Formal as the Sand Dollar. Not that the island is formal in our way of speaking. Thankfully it will stay that way
Beverly

Ok Beverly, as long as your not a shill for the Hotel, it looks very likely that the DIVI will get a phone call today.. Plus i heard you can see the fish right there at the water's edge, and their pier is where the night snorkeling happens..AND I NEED LOW KEY after a winter like this one in the North East!!!

Gads, please don't even mention the "f" word & us in the same sentence! What's formal about SD/Mango's, considering we serve people in all manners of dress, including only bathing suits (restaurant is poolside afterall), and wet ones at that? Lest anyone get the wrong impression about what could be considered more "formal," for the record, at Mango's: shoes & shirts are not required, never were, and there are eggs at the buffet any way you like'em too, including omlettes made to order.

True, Divi's restaurant is seaside, hope Mango's is too by May--looks pretty likely. No labels please, especially, gulp, formal!

Ruth, I didn't know that Mango's had a buffet breakfast...thanks...and I agree, Sand Dollar is NOT formal...it is most certainly laid back mon! One of my best memories was taking a bottle of wine in an ice bucket along with some cheese and crackers down to the lockers, we put it in our lockers and did a dive at 5...got out...pulled the wine and goodies and watched the final sunset go down on the beach....don't get much better than that (or more informal!)

Joe, you said the air might be for another board...go to "Getting to Bonaire" topic on this board and post your question...you will get a lot of responses from those that have taken various routes!

Actually, so is Rum Runners (seaside), though up a little bit.

I've watched the restaurant staff stride through the dining area with a big fish skeleton/carcass and throw it over the side to feed the tarpon swimming around in the shallows below. Dinner and a show!

And, they too cook eggs anyway you like them.

I should think that many if not all the "resorts" (and excepting perhaps Harbor Village I think that term is pretty loosely applied to most places on Bonaire) have a buffet breakfast with eggs to order...

You guys are toooo much!!! Excellent tips, and by far more info then i could imagine..

I think you will love the Divi. The ease of snorkeling there is awesome and there is a multitude of fish life right there in the cement pier. See my December trip report and there is a lot of detail as I snorkel there all the time. You might like to have a guided snorkel from Reneesnorkeltrips.com. She is an awesome guide and it is all at your convenience.

Mango's has been serving a buffet breakfast since Aug 2003, included in most, if not all, packages I believe. While it is not prepared or served by my own staff, it is prepared & served poolside in Mango's itself, as if we were there, (only better, IMHO, I am NOT a morning person--I may be awake, surfing, reading BT, Washington Post, etc, but, eh, that's it. Let's just say I am not an A.M. meeter & greeter). It is catered by Eddie's Gourmet Catering service because 1) they do a great job; & 2) there's just no way I will get up & out that early...(and you don't want me to). ;-)

Ruth, you sound like your just the kind of morning person I am...NOT! Everyone keeps telling me how great a sunrise dive is...never gonna happen!

Whew, ok Cynde, stopped laughing long enough to type...I'm here over 13 years now, and this is the first I'm hearing of a sunrise dive...picture a Scooby-Doo type "huh-huh?" mumble & look & tilt-of-head from me.

I'm pretty sure my only sociable sunrises have been at a Denny's (Curacao/Miami, etc) following an all-nighter of dancing.

Ruth...huh...scooby doo style...Seb keeps telling me that a dive at sunrise is the best cause all the sleepy critters are waking and all the nocturnals are going to sleep...kind of like a twighlight dive only in reverse...but alas, I doubt I will ever experience it unless I have been up all night...and that might not be a good thing considering the condition I would be in! LOL!

Seems like Divi is chock full for Feb. does anybody have any tales of them having last minute cancellations?? Is it advisable to just show up there on a Saturday and see if they have rooms?? Not likely.. Seems if your going to Bon, you need to book way in advance in the high season or go in the middle of summer.

Joe, there are a lot of other places that are as good as Divi. Have you checked with Sand$, Buddy's or Cap' Dons?

Well, some of the early dives were predicated by the 6 AM departure of American, so a very early dive would give one 24 hours before flying and the rehearsal of getting up early too. On our first trip to Bonaire we both just woke up at about 3 AM, so we went to look for the parrotfish in cocoons, spent about 18 minutes under w/o finding them, came up and sat on the dock to see the most spectacular meteor shower we'd ever seen.
Oops, off topic again.

Joe,

Did you call divi or only try their web site...hard to believe the Divi is full...I have a phone number to call someone direct within Divi...not toll free..

OK...if you are departing from the northeast, your best bet is on Air Jamaica. They just added a Thursday flight to Bonaire (plus Wed,Sat & Sun). Most everything is sold out for Feb, but maybe the Thursday is open. You are in Bonaire by 2:30pm. Contact Carradonna or Air Jamaica Vacations. This is really late to book as Feb is Carnival and high season.

I dont want to go there if the island is Mobbed with pasty white northerners.. Though Carnival sounds fun, when we went so long ago, it was in May, and we felt like we had the place to ourselves.. Especially when we went to the Park..
Gregg, yeah, i should probably just call Divi direct, and I know there's a lot of other places, but ive got to decide on ONE of them..thanks.

Seb, glad you got off topic. I have a nice visual image of what that shower would have looked like. Thanks

When ever I read about Bonaire I end up feeling good :-) And especially so when people talk details of the Divi. It's where I always have stayed and will be staying again in May. (I am well aware that most everywhere on Bonaire is great - I just happen to be a big Divi fan!) I am soooooo looking forward to the breakfasts at the Divi, my early AM snorkels and the 4 to 5 dives per day including (yippppeeeee) night dives, pina coladas by the pool, visits from the all the kitties, the iguana strolling by, the great dive masters .... on and on and on. May ! oh no, that is just tooooo long a time away :-( Ha!