First time trip to Bonaire, probably in April or May. Myself and my fiance, I dive, she doesn't (loves to snorkel, though). I want to do a lot of shore diving, and I want to stay somewhere with a really nice house reef. I'd like someplace that's not too expensive, and I like the package deal that Buddy Dive has (car rental and boat dives included). I'll also need a buddy to shore dive with while I'm there. Ideally, I'd like the hotel/resort to have at least minimal kitchen facilities (refrigerator at least) and be located not too far from town. I would also like to rent a small two person sailboat and do some sailing when I'm not diving.

Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks.

Sand Dollar -- the house reef is Bari Reef -- rated the #1 reef in the Caribbean for species diversity by REEF. It has all the things you mentioned with the exception of the sailboats, but you can rent them on island. Sand $$ also offers affordable dive packages with truck rental and boat dives included. All condos have ocean views. Bonaire Dive & Adventure is offering free NITROX upgrades to Sand $$ guests, plus other specials. Worth checking it out.

We stayed at Golden Reef and had a fantastic time on the island, wonderful snorkelling, frogs, cacti... but we were left at the airport at 3 in the morning with our 2 young children for an hour plus on arrival as we had been forgotten by the hotel (we had to ring them in the end and wake them up) and the car organised by Golden Reef was a couple of grades below the one we arranged, too small for the family and suitcases together and was not for the full time of our stay so we had to stump up more cash at the last minute to leave the island. This left a bad taste and we have been trying to resolve it, but so far unsuccessfully after 2 months.

Jim, Divi has my vote, I'm a tiemshare owner.
I think the hotel has some deals going for the cost.
Divi is a very casual resort on a great house reef. My favorite place to dive. We always find something different. Love the school tarpons we usually see.They have a great dive shop where you can probably hook-up with another diver or go on one of the boats and follow the divemaster. They usually know where all the critters are and are very helpful.
The resort have a range of rooms prices and have a timeshare part to it.
Besides the dive shop , there are 2 pools and 2 resturants a small gift shop and a rental car place and a gym.
And when you are out diving ,your friend can have breakfeast and relax at the beach or tanning dock or pool. Or sway in a hamock under the palm trees or take a walk into town. The boats are usually back by 11. Check out their specials.
Where ever you stay you'll be amazed how easy it is to dive here. It's a "second" language on Bonaire.

Since it is your first time, definitely try the Divi! Lorraine pretty much summed it up, but your wife can snorkel there as well, easy entry, while you go diving and finding a dive buddy there shouldn't be a problem. Usually any dive shop has a sign up board and they will match up any solo divers. Welcome to BT and I am sure both of you will love Bonaire as we all do once we have visited. It's very addictive!

OOPSs! I see she is not your wife yet! Oh well, fiance' is almost there! You know, Bonaire is a great place to get married too! (HINT, HINT)

You can also have your lady sign up for snorkel trips on the Woodwind at Divi or sign up with Renee' who lives right next door. She limits her group to only 4 so not to be too many at one time. Debbie

Are you better off getting the resorts' website dive packages, or getting an air/hotel package from someone like Travelocity, then paying for the car rental and boat dives as you need them? I can get 8 nights at Lions and airfare for two with Travelocity for only $2300. Then if I wanted to do shore diving for half the time I'd rent a car for 4 days when I get there, and maybe pay separately for 4 days of boat dives.

Jim,

Hard to pick a "bad place" in Bonaire. All of the places that have been mentioned come highly recommended. My first trip in 2002 was spent at the Sand Dollar with our group of 30+. I have nothing but positive things to say about our accommodations and the diving. I did a mixture of boat and shore dives and loved both. I'm finally getting back to Bonaire in early June and will be staying at the Carib Inn. This propertly is close to town, next to the Divi and come highly recommended as well. Once again, I think your task of picking a "good place" has a high probablility of turning out successful on Bonaire. Hope you enjoy your trip !

Steve Holcomb

Just coming back from there, I would not recommend accommodation at Buddy Dive: dirty rooms, stinky A/C, poor housekeeping and so on.
Shore diving with them was nice with the help of their "drive thru" tank facility, but don't expect too much help from the diving staff if you intend to only shore dive...
Anyway, diving and living in Bonaire was great and help you to forget all the other nuisances!

We also took some time to explore other accommodations for our next stay (We really loved Bonaire and shore diving!) and it seems that a Divi Flamingo "studio room" is one that suits well your needs (Others could also do it: we did not visit all accommodations in Bonaire!!!).

Jim,

Just a couple of comments. According to Christian, Buddy Dive was less than acceptable. If I'm not mistaken, Buddy's has acquired Lion's Dive. Someone more familiar with Bonaire can probably confirm this. You will probably want to check this out before you make reservations.

As far as packages, it is hard to say where you can get the best deal. When I was researching my June trip, the airfare varied quite a bit depending on which days I chose to travel. I think that Air Jamaica's actions (dropping gate cities like Houston, running a huge sale from remaining ones) has Caribbean air travel in a state of chaos right now. I ended up booking my airfare (AA from Houston-Miami-Curacao) with Expedia and booking my accommodations and diving directly with the Carib Inn. I will take Divi Divi from Curacao-Bonaire and back, but it still came out to about $150 less than I would have paid AJ for Houston-MBJ-Bonaire (enough to book a room and rental car to explore Curacao for a couple of days before going on to Bonaire).

Once you narrow your options down to just one or two places, you can do the math and determine which option is the best deal. As far as car rentals, it is usually about the same for a week as it is for 4-5 days, but I haven't checked on this for Bonaire.

Good luck,

Steve Holcomb

Okay, thanks for all the help. Just made reservations yesterday as follows: American Airlines (I steered clear of AJ) from LAX to Dallas/San Juan/Bonaire, stay at Sand Dollar April 18-25. I figure I'll decide when I get there about renting a car and scheduling boat dives. I imagine I'll probably spend the first day or two just diving the house reef, then maybe hook up with someone to do some beach diving, then maybe throw in a few boat dives. Total cost for just myself for air and hotel is a little over $1600 (Travelocity), which seems like a pretty reasonable deal. Travelocity only offered Lions, Sand Dollar, and Plaza (in order of increased cost), so I chose the mid range Sand Dollar.

Sarah,

It would have greatly been appreciated if you would have emailed me directly. A public forum is not the place to air your "dirty laundry". We did NOT forget you. For the 1st time ever, Renee overslept and we did apologize for this, you did arrive in the middle of the night, and Renee was a bit late, we already apologized. You did have a number to reach her, and we are surprised that you chose to wait an hour with 2 small children in tow before you phoned her. You stated in a previous email to me that you the ONLY inconvenience you had was that you had to make 2 trips to the airport to get your luggage upon your departure. You DID request something "sporty" and that is what I requested from AB. If you would have told me you had a lot of luggage, I would have recommended a van or truck. Please email me directly so we can discuss this. Liz

Jim,

Like I said, hard to make a bad choice on Bonaire. I think you will enjoy the Sand Dollar, I did. The house reef (Bari) is great, especially at night when several huge tarpon will accompany you, using your lights to help them find their evening meal.

As far as boat dives go, I did 12 the week I was there, but could have gotten by on 6. I have 6 booked for my June trip and hope to use all of them on Klein Bonaire.

Have a great trip !

Steve Holcomb

Jim,
Sand$ will meet your expectations for all you wanted, but the "not too far from the town": a bit too far to walk there twice a day.

When you'll be here renovation works should be finished... but there was still a question mark instead of an opening date when we came back home on last saturday.

Enjoy!

Renovations? What renovations?

Jim, the renovations are not actually Sand $$ renovations, rather they consist of the remodeling of Mangos restaurant, the poolside bar, and swimming pool, all of which are located streetside a short walk from the condos. The new owners of Mangos have added a palapa near the tennis court, (done), and are in the process of building an enclosure over the bar so they can lock it up at night. They also resurfaced the swimming pool, and replaced the wooden pool decking with concrete, and it all looks very nice. Major change from what it used to look like!!

SD guests are currently enjoying their meals seaside on the platform which is situated right on the water. The view and ambience is incredible. Alan Zale included some pictures in one of his earlier posts. The new Den Laman is also located seaside over by the dive shop, and will be open very soon, so guests will soon have their choice of three different restaurants, all within a short walk of the condos.

Did you receive the email I sent you the other day? I will be happy to answer any questions you may have about your upcoming visit to Bonaire. *smile*

"The new Den Laman is also located seaside over by the dive shop...."

Does the new Den Laman also have an aquarium?
It was depressing to see the salt water critters in the tank at the old Den Laman. We went once (had a good dinner) but wouldn't go back. After diving, snorkeling and see the them in their original habitat, the animals in the aquarium never looked healthy, never exhibited their usual behavior.

Great choice, Jim! Sand Dollar is my favorite. I love the reef there and the property is well maintained. Buddy is on the same stretch of reef, but is definitely not as well maintained, as mentioned before. I love the dive shop at Buddies.....but won't stay there again. Safety becomes an issue when a place is not maintained. On the other hand.....I do like the dive shop and HH at the bar,....especially when they have Moogie perform. Is that still on Friday???
m

J - to my knowledge, the new Den Laman does not have an aquarium. It does have an entirely different look with an innovative kitchen, and a really kewl wrap around bar. Visitors will be impressed.

You will enjoy Sand$$. The pool SHOULD be open by then, but if not, you can use the pool at Buddy Dive next door (and get your drink vouchers for the Buddy Dive bar at the Sand$ office before you go.)

And Den Leman restaurant no longer has the aquarium -- lovely place, good menu, especially the pumpkin soup. No credit cards yet.

The seaside restaurant at Sand$$ is a bit of a mixed bag for us. Breakfasts with Eddy's Gourmandise cannot be beat, and the Wednesday BBQ is very good. We had a less than fine meal another night. Oh well.

Great meals at Bobbejan's BBQ and Will's Tropical Grill in town next to the Cultimara supermarket. AND at Rose Hall in Rincon.

We LOVED Harbor village. It is pricey, but ask about Portofino, which is one the same property and is about half the price. some very nice shore diving from there too.