My husband I will be taking our first dive trip to Bonaire in June. We are trying to decide between Divi and Sand Dollar. We've heard great things about Divi being close to town. How far walk/drive is Sand Dollar to town? I'd be nice to have a small kitchen, but we really don't plan on doing much cooking.Any recommendations would be great! Thanks
Karen

I think the rest of the folks would agree. Divi is a stroll in your flip flops to down downtown (10 - 15 min). Sand Dollar might wear out your flip flops getting to town on foot ( 30-45 min).

Divi has a neat bar (I like Bars)- and nice facilities.

If you end up getting a vehicle - check lighthouse restaurant (other side of town from Divi) but very nice (view over the marina is very nice)

Mona Lisa is a great restaurant in town as well - some of the other Bonaire talkers will be on with their preferences - by the way - I think top on everyones' list is Lost Penguin for breakfast and lunch (great cheese burgers)

You mentioned small kitchen - Someplace else to look at is the Carib Inn - You can E-mail Bruce and see what he's got available. - No frills - right next to Divi - great little dive shop, a pool and a pier you can drop off into some fine diving. The Carib is small, with great staff and a super friendly feel.

But, then you won't find anything about Bonaire that isn't friendly.

When you're down, look us up / Brian & Phyllis

Bye for now.

Brian

Sand Dollar is about 2.5 miles north of town, and all of the units have a sea view. Also, Lover's Ice Cream Shop is there, as well as Michael's Chat N Browse (internet/cellular one), MCB Bank (has ATM) & Sand Dollar Grocery. You'd be w/in comfortable walking distance of these restaurants: Rum Runners, Buena Vista, Lion's Den, Mango's (the Sand Dollar property restaurant), Lighthouse Restaurant & Pasa Bon Pizza.

Hi Karen and welcome to the board.

Personally, I would not make distance an issue. Nothing is very far away on Bonaire and you will want a vehicle no matter where you stay unless you are happy hanging around one resort the whole time. With all the shore dive sites and great restaurants on the island, I would hate to have to remain close to one resort. Parking has never been much of a problem as there is a fair amount of street parking and several public parking lots down town. Basically, I would let cost and room amenities (kitchen ) be my guiding factors, from a location or resort quality standpoint, either place is fine.

We love Divi. We are timeshare owners there and have been going 18yrs. I like the fact that you can walk into town if you like along the water before and after dinner .Divi is newly renovated and has 2 resturants.I like the small beach and the tanning piers and the convience of the dive boats. It does lack Lovers ice cream palor ;).I agreee that no place is far on this little island but Divi is closer to town. Do rent a car and experence the many fine resturants and natural sites to be seen.Shore diving is premium on this island or hop on a boat. The reef is only a few kicks from everywhere.

Stayed at Sand Dollar for a week this past summer. It was nice and quiet there at that time and the dive shop took good care of my large group. And the shore dive off the pier (Bari Reef) is outstanding. Its a 2 minute ride into town. I've never stayed at Divi, but I've heard good things. I'm sure you can't go wrong with either choice.

I agree with Herman though, don't make the location/distance the deciding factor, they are both so close to everything and nothing is far away on Bonaire. Make your choice based on the amenities you want and your budget.

Mike

I am a Divi fan as well because of the location and Frits has done a great job renovating.
Lorraine, You can get Lovers ice cream any time you want at the Casablanca Restaurant in containers to go. Many nights we ended our evening picking up some to take back to the room. They sell it by the register, but the flavors are limited.