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Accommodations: Honeymoon in Bonaire - where to stay
Bonaire Talk: Accommodations: Archives: Archives 2000 to 2006: Archives - 2004-08-04 to 2005-05-09: Honeymoon in Bonaire - where to stay
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Christy Steger (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #1) on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 4:49 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I am planning a honeymoon in Bonaire for June or July. Both my fiance and I are avid divers and want to find a location which offers worthwhile shore dives. We are looking for a romantic place to stay which has a nice white beach and will be a good value for our money. Ideally I picture natural looking, secluded bungalows, but I have not yet seen these types of accommodations on Bonaire. All inclusive would be a nice feature but is not necessary, especially if the price is much higher.
Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #414) on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 7:44 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Don't look for too many nice white beaches in Bonaire. The reef is so close that most of the beaches are coral rubble. With that in mind, you might try the Plaza, or some of the private villas that are listed on Bonaire.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #4) on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 9:37 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Let me start by saying that we love Bonaire. That said, I'm not sure it's really what you're looking for based on your description oh what you are picturing. As Mary pointed out, few white sand beaces, though the beach at the Plaza is very nice. Not sure about secluded bungalows. I wouldn't go all-inclusive as there are so many great places to eat and a number of fun bars as well. We've enjpyed the Plaza. Trying the Divi in a couple of weeks. Will let you know, if you're interested.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Susanf (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #1141) on Monday, February 7, 2005 - 10:25 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I don't believe there are any all-inclusives on Bonaire (I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong).

I don't think there are "secluded bungalow" type resorts, either, and as Ken and Mary pointed out, there aren't a whole lot of sandy beaches... Perhaps you should do a bit more research about Bonaire... have you looked at www.infobonaire.com? You might want to rent a home (other people on this board have raved about Elkadia (sp?), a private villa on the water).

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Barbara Cordaro (BonaireTalker - Post #23) on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 8:20 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Christy,
Bonaire has great shore diving, we will be back in May for our 6th trip. We have stayed at Plaza which has a nicer beach; the villas are quite a walk to the beach and the views are limited. We toured Harbour Village which is very beautiful with beach front rooms or villas, not bungalows. If this is your honeymoon, splurge and consider HV which also has a nice sandy beach. We will be staying at Sand Dollar condos, have stayed at Buddy Dive, all of these are your basic condo set ups with direct shore diving but not too much beach. Have fun deciding!! :-)

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Kelly Baum (Extraordinary BonaireTalker - Post #2276) on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 10:33 am:     Edit PostPrint Post

Christy, welcome to Bonaire Talk and congratulations on your wedding! I agree with the others, you might not be happy with the total package on Bonaire, with no beaches to speak of. You might try the Divi on Aruba... it's a little "busier" there... not as quiet, but they have good beaches and good diving. Or so I've heard, never been there myself ;)

If you still want Bonaire, I would suggest the Divi resort. They have a very small beach area and it's within walking distance to town. You will will love the shore access too. Of course, there is shore access almost anywhere... just look for the bright yellow painted rocks and pull over...

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By mary pequinot (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #415) on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 1:13 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

I was in Aruba several years ago. It is indeed much more jetset and cosmopolitan than Bonaire. They have BEAUTIFUL beaches, great snorkeling (I wasn't a diver yet), and good diving. Another thought is Provo in Turks & Caicos. It is very pricey, but the beaches are unbelievable. There are some very nice resorts and restaurants there-and I believe they have a Sands if you want all inclusive. Diving is great, but there's no shore diving. Still, we saw some great stuff.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Christy Steger (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #2) on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 10:01 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Thanks for all the input!

Does anyone know of other islands in the caribbean that do have shore diving?

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By joe brannan (Experienced BonaireTalker - Post #440) on Tuesday, February 8, 2005 - 10:45 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Christy,

It may not be a lot of help, but www.shorediving.com does have some information on aruba, bonaire, curacao, roatan (though I was there about a month ago and didn't even know there was shore diving and several of the site they named were close to where we stayed), and USVI.

We love Bonaire, but Roatan is a close (but very different) second place in our books. Drop me an email if I can answer any questions about Roatan. They do have some bodacious beaches for sure.

cheeseit

joe

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Shelly Fischer (BonaireTalker - Post #30) on Saturday, February 19, 2005 - 11:39 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

We went to Roatan for our last vacation. We really enjoyed it there. Shore diving was extremely easy. We stayed at Cocoview Resort.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ken (New BonaireTalk Poster - Post #6) on Monday, February 21, 2005 - 12:29 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Just back from Bonaire and Curacao. Tried the Divi this time and I'd agree it was a very convenient spot - with the easy shore access, boats leaving practically outside our room and a quick walk to town.

Curacao had great diving. We found this new operation - www.the-dive-bus.com who do exclusively shore diving (though they can arrange combination packages with boat trips, etc.). We had a great time with them and great dives. They took us to a couple great spots with very nice beaches, great diving and just an overall terrific experience. There are some resorts with manmade beaches (Marriott, Hilton)as Curacao has a similar beach scene to Bonaire, though they may have a few more options. You might want to contact them for some ideas about Curacao as a potential spot.

Hope this helps.

Oh, and having just come back, love Bonaire more than ever.

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Nadine Rubin (BonaireTalker - Post #93) on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 2:15 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

Hi Christy....like everyone else, we love Bonaire. However, we did not come to Bonaire for our honeymoon, as I also envisioned the white beach, bungalow, or private plunge pool thing too! Our son is getting married this year and they are looking for a dive destination with those same requirements. I suggest you forgo fabulous diving for the romance. Come to Bonaire for your 1st anniversary! Suggestions would be a place in St. Croix called Villa Madeleine. It's half price in the summer, up on the hill overlooking both sides of the island, has a private plunge pool, full kitchen - just beautiful. There is another place in St. Croix that has little bungalows - don't remember the name. Belize has lots of romantic bungalow places. One of the places has bungalows up on stilts. Or St. Lucia has some very romantic all inclusive places. All these places have good diving but not shore diving. It's a special time - go for the romance!

 

Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Barbara Cordaro (BonaireTalker - Post #24) on Tuesday, February 22, 2005 - 8:09 pm:     Edit PostPrint Post

OK..if we are going off the beaten track of Bonaire, I would also suggest St. Lucia at a private villa on the hill overlooking Souffrie, magnificent and spectacular, so romantic. Hey, there is diving down the road at Anse Chastente resort, only a 2 minute drive. Email me if you want the particulars, this is my "dream vacation" destination but we always forgo going back because there are so many places to discover new diving....and familiar ones....Bonaire trip #6 in May!!

 


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