Hi, all,

This is my first post, after spending many months reading & lurking this great site. My wife & I love to snorkel, and we've decided that Bonaire is our next destination. (Perhaps our last, after reading about it here, sounds like there's no reason to ever go elsewhere!) We'll be going in June for 2 weeks, and want to find a great place to stay at, on the ocean.

We've done a lot of reading to become familiar with past postings, and have narrowed down our choice to 4 places:
o Black Durgon
o Sunset Ocean Apartment
o Bonaire Beach Villas
o BelMar

We'll have a rental car, and while we'll definitely spend time at other sites, we'd also like to spend a lot of our time just snorkeling right around wherever we end up staying. From what I've read, any of the places listed probably have very good snorkeling close to shore, and not too deep. (To us, if it's deeper than 10' - 15', it's too deep - we surface snorkel only.) However, while my wife just likes seeing creatures, to me great snorkeling requires coral. So, is BelMar out? It seems that there is little if any coral left (after Lenny) around BelMar. Also, how long does it take to drive from BelMar to the Hato area? (And what about from Hato to, say, 1000 Steps?)

If anyone has anything they can comment on concerning the above choices, we'd really appreciate it. Would they all be as quiet at night?

Thanks in advance for any help you can give!

Ken

Hi Ken, I cannot cover all of the above, only the BelMar. The BelMar is a beautiful Resort, very close to Airport and Town. The ocean is just a few steps away from your room! Entry into the water is easy too.

The corals are coming back, and it appears to be happening quite rapidly ( of course, some evolutionists would disagree with me on this)! The environmental conditions are favourable, and all being well, will remain that way! The diversity of species is quite remarkable, and the depth of the water is within your requirements. Though, for well-developed coral and fish, I would recommend the Plaza Resort, there's plenty of coral to see at about 10-15 feet, and the entry is easy too. I hope this helps.. Sarah

Hi, Sarah,

Thanks for your reply - it's great to hear the corals are coming back. Perhaps it will be enough for me. Unfortunately, no one can say; I just have to see it for myself. The Plaza sounds wonderful, but sadly it's quite a bit beyond our budget. Hopefully they'll let us try it out, though, if we ask nicely.

Do you have any recollection on the driving times from the BelMar north? Very hard to tell from a map, and I don't recall any discussions on this.

Ken

Ken, we stayed at BelMar last March. It is a beautiful facility with a wonderful staff. There is coral regrowth out front as Sarah mentioned, but it is mostly sand bottom. Lots of variety of fish, etc., and makes a nice evening snorkel if you are running out of time or energy. The island is not very big, and you could potentially drive to any of the good shore snorkeling spots in 15 minutes or less. Andrea I and II have really nice coral formations in 5 - 10 feet of water. Everyone on the board has their favorites, of course. We liked BelMar because it is not so close to the "big" places - very quiet and private.

Your other options have all had great reviews from members on this board. Driving time to the fun spots would not be problematic from any of the places you mentioned.

If you can work it into your plans, you might want to take a day and drive around the entire island. The waves crashing on the ironshore are fabulous, Lac Bay is interesting, the slave huts and salt piles are unique, and the habitat of the island is worth the look. The Park area is also a must-see. Have a great time!

Thanks, Hazel, 15 minutes doesn't sound too bad (though staying in the Hato area then would cut that down to almost walking distance, perhaps). I think the BelMar would be our choice as far as the accomodations go. It sounds the most appealing of the 4. We need to balance that with our desire to snorkel out our back door (or close to it). We've done both on various islands, and do prefer not having to hop in the car every time. OTOH, we'd like to try all the great snorkel sites Bonaire has to offer, so maybe we won't spend that much time "out back" anyway! :-)

Thanks!

Ken

Oops. I'm afraid I made a (pretty stupid) mistake. The rates at the BelMar *seemed* to be too good to be true -- and they were. I mistakenly used the per person rate as per room, so the actual price is 2x as much! How embarrassing .... :-(

I apologize to Hazel & Sarah for the wasted typing. The BelMar is not that much less than the Plaza, and therefore is also out of our range. That leaves us with just the 3 choices, and makes it easier since they're all in the same general area (North of town).

Ken

Ken, you can always snorkel at Plaza anyway.. just have to pay a small fee for the use of beds.. but well worth it, in my opinion.. Hope you find a great place to stay and enjoy the snorkeling..Sarah

We've always stayed at Habitat, but for economic reasons decided to stay at Bonaire beach Villas on our March trip. it has gotten excellant reviews and is right next to Habitat. We looked at them the last time we were there and were impressed for the price(their price is perwk not pp. If corals are what you need to see, don't miss Karpate and Margate! You also might want to consider a trip on the Woodwind to Klein, great coral there also, as well as abundant fish.

Hi, Sharyn,

Of the 3 remaining choices, I think Bonaire Beach Villas is our most likely selection, too. Black Durgon is a bit less money, which would be nice, but it sounds a bit more "basic" than the other 2.

Yep, from the reading I've done, Karpata is one of the first sites we want to check out. Also, Ol' Blue, 1000 Steps, Weber's Joy, the Andreas, Cliff, and Margate. (Others, too, but those are the ones that sound the best, post-Lenny.)

Hard to wait 'till June ... I envy you - you're going NEXT month! :-) I hope you have a great time.

Ken

Although the island is not large, the "15 minute or less drive to any of the shore snorkeling spots" is an understatement. I am not a slow driver (wouldn't survive in NJ if I was!), but the road along the shore up to Karpata is narrow and winding. It's still a beautiful drive and worth the trip just for the scenery. (And you'll need to stop at Lovers Ice Cream for the mandatory vanilla shake before the drive and that will add a few more minutes for the drive!)

Probably the "15 minutes or less" was from Belnem to the general Hato area (I'm guessing here, obviously). Stretching the guess even further, then, I'd say Hato to Karpata might take another 15 minutes (not counting stopping off at Lovers Ice Cream - thanks for the tip, sounds *great*! :-).

Ken

My pic is Belmar....looks good check out their site...check out their rates they are haveing specials between May and Dec. With packages that include airfare'hotel'and car rental

Hi, We just returned from Bonaire Beach Villas and absolutely loved it. As soon as we woke up the first morning, we went snorkeling right at our villa and were amazed. It was great! There is a path right on the ocean that takes you to Capt. Don's and Lions Dive (less than 5 min walk) which both have restaurants right on the water. We liked having our privacy, but also being able to walk to breakfast, etc. Also, the owner and his asst. are really nice and helpful. You should also check out the following snorkeling/dive sites: Ole Blue, 1000 Steps, Andrea and Karpata (sometimes the water is a little rough at Karpata so go early in the am). We dove and snorkeled at these and enjoyed both. Have a great time. We are already planning a return visit.

One snorkelling 'site' no one has mentioned is the stretch of shore south of Something Special, down almost to the Town Pier. The water is calm with little or no current, there is ample flat sand bottom and the water slopes up to the shore, unlike north of Sand Dollar where the shore is a cliff and the water is 6-8 feet deep at the cliff. There are many juvenile fish around things on the bottom and the usual drop off. My granddaughter id'ed about 8 species of fish in 12" of water at the shore where there was a tiny ironstone 'dropoff'. At SS, there is often a school of baitfish.

Try it, I think you will like it.

Something Special is on my list of sites to check out (with a note of "lots of fish, very calm, little or no coral"). Sounds like it agrees with your description! I had no idea about the areas north of the Sand Dollar, though. We're more comfortable having a place we can "flipper" to in a minute or so, where we can stand up if we need to. (While we've snorkeled for many years, my wife never learned to swim, so ....) I hope not all of the great spots to the north are like that. But if they are, we'll deal with it. If we can get in the water, we can get out, so we should be able to identify a comfort zone around the exit point that we can explore.

I don't want this to stray too far from "Accommodations", but another place not yet mentioned in this thread is "North Belnem" which my notes say still has an actual reef, at a 5' depth. Also "Invisibles", which has no coral, but lots of fish (perfect according to my wife, but only half-good according to me :-).

I look forward to writing a long, detailed report this summer, after our return. Not nearly as much, though, as I look forward to going! :-)

Ken

My wife and I went to Bonaire for snorkeling only last June so you may experience similar weather conditions as we did on our trip.

We found the snorkelling better up North, but there were more waves and it generally required some swimming ability. Anything north of Andrea I/II seemed to have the ever present waves. Note that these usually weren't large waves, but they did affect the way we planned our explorations. Simply go out against the current/waves and then come back with them. Andrea I/II were always calm and offered some very nice snorkelling and is only a few minutes from town.

We only explored a couple areas in the South, and the water was calmer there, but it was mostly sand based in the shallows. You may find some good sites, but in most cases it appeared to us that the reef was in deep water several 100 yards off shore.

In any event, hope some of this info helps, and have a great time. If your wife needs to stand, just keep her off any coral!

The main thing the first time is to explore the coast and find the area(s) you enjoy.

Something Special is a wonderful dive...always lots of weird stuff down their...I also like Andrea II,,,because of the large parrot fish so close to shore...but you have to be careful with the staghorn coral. Their are so many sites doesnt seem like a long ride to any!

Does anybody know how the Sand Dollar is doing? Two years ago it ssemmed to be recovering, but lately it apparently vanished from this board!
Any good news?

Antonio,

Pam Teitel, the Condo manager, posted an update a couple of days ago. Check http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/24/18661.html?#POST47776

Thank you, Glen. I feel silly! There was a whole discussion going on before my very eyes and I missed it! I am sad with the news

Don't be sad!!! Keep the faith. The result will be good!!!

Ken, of the four you have narrowed down to, the best, hands down is the Black Durgon Inn. I have stayed there many times, and prior to that a number of other places. The Black Durgon has a lot of desirable qualities including: very clean comfortable, though certainly not fancy, rooms at a very reasonable price, which includes a great breakfast. The covered patio(about 20'x60') comes within 10feet of waters edge, and the view from there, or anywhere on the property is fantastic!! They have a 60' pier which is great for swimming, snorkeling and especially diving. They also have an nice dive building near waters edge and the pier. The owner (Al) and staff are very tourist friendly, however no one will get in you way there. If you like independence and seclusion this is the place for you. The place is very relaxing, laid back, quiet, with hammocks, large shade trees,bbq grill, horse shoes, table tennis, small boats(free to guests) and a up close view of the sea that is unbeatable on Bonaire. Contact Al at:blackdurgon@bonairelive.com. Most of the guests at the Durgon are multiple repeats. I'm sure you will enjoy it too.

Lonnie,

Thanks for the info & impressions on Black Durgon - very helpful. Their website is pretty sparse, so it's hard to get a good idea of what it's like there. What's a typical breakfast like, if you recall? Do you know if all (or any) of the rooms at the Inn have an ocean view? The only picture of the building on the website is not particularly flattering, or revealing.

Also, I believe all the rooms are hotel-like. We are thinking we could save some money by eating a lot of our meals in, so a personal kitchen would be nice. (OTOH, the Black Durgon is several hundred dollars less than the other places we're considering, which could mean more meals out! :-)

Thanks,

Ken

Ken, I'm not sure whether the last response went through to you or not. Please email be at lrhoover_2000@yahoo.com. I will be glad to pass along additional info on the Black Durgon Inn.