My wife and I are avid snorklers and are planning
a Bonaire trip Feb 4-11 Looking online with several sites expedia, travelocity etc it shows Divi with no rooms available for that week .
Is there another way to book with Divi?
Travelocity did show a nice package deal with the Plaza but after that last report on the Plaza I'm not so sure .
Any suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated
George A

Try Kim at Caradonna Caribbean Travel. 800-330-3322. They're great.

Try booking DIRECT with Divi. Go to their website for direct booking info.

Properties may have an allocation of a certain number of rooms available or "close out" their room inventory if they expect to be full. The web sites you mention are Internet Travel Agents and require commissions from the properties. ALSO...booking through these websites does NOT guarantee you the best deal. OFTEN it is less expensive to book direct!

George,

www.diviresorts.com

Larry at www.worlddive.com can book your land arrangements (Divi) as well as your travel to get to bonaire...often times the brokers can offer better deals than going to the resorts direct. This is because they buy bulk rates and then sell them off...check both...Nothing like having Larry book everything so you don't have to worry about chasing down flights etc

You can call Divi direct at 1-800-367-3484 and speak with a real person. I suspect there will be condos available for this week.

Where do you live? My boyfriend and I are flying from New York, AA for a week at the Divi Flamingo for a total of 1,400. We used Liberty Travel. I recommend them 100%

It could mean that all the rooms that Travelocity has blocked/available to them at Divi at that time are taken and they are trying to sell you something they will profit from. As suggested try other dealers.

George, I just booked a week at the Divi last week from Feb 3 to Feb 10 2006. Somebody recomended Amy with Caradonna Dive Adventures. She will set you up for whatever you need. We got flights from her from Aruba. The 7 nights were $733 each. That gets you a ocean front ( deluxe) with a buffet breakfast every morning, airport pickup and delivery, and all taxes. We did not rent a car because Renee will pick us up at the divi and take us to the best snorkling spots. She also does night snorkling. This is going to be our first trip to Bonaire and I can already taste it. We do not dive. We just love to snorkle and hang out in the water. We have read many reports and it was between the Plaza or the Divi. The plaza was more expensive. Sounds like the Divi is just what my Wife and I are looking for. We are in our low to mid 40's. We have been to Aruba 6 times and love it. Maybe we will be seeing you in Feb. Amies phone number if you are inrerested. 1800 328 2288. Tell her Kent Gerber sent you.

Kent, why don't you and yours get certified? If you love to snorkle you will adore diving... Ron

Thanks for all the info, it was very helpful. George A

Ron, I see that you are from Indiana also. Thats good to see that I'm Not the only Hoosier that goes to Bonaire. To answer your question, my wife would never ever try diving. I'm lucky that she goes snorkling with me. We did a night snorkle at the Cayman Islands about 8 years ago and she panicked when we got out there. I'm going to do some night snorkling with Renee when I get there in Feb. I know that I would really enjoy diving but I will just stick to the snorkling for now. My suitcases are heavey enough with all the snorkle stuff let alone diving stuff. Ha! Ha! I bring a sea doo scooter along with me. It goes 2 or 3 MPH in the water and last for about 2 hours. Its a rechargable battery. I use it in Aruba because the current can get really strong. What time of the year do you visit Bonaire? Were going in Feb and I will probaly go back the first of July when we visit Aruba. Kent Gerber

Kent, We get away whenever we can. Jan. was Cayman Brac, May was Bonaire, Oct. back to Bonaire. Have been to Bonaire many times and have been every month except December too near Christmas. Your next trip try Discover SCUBA all the dive shops offer it. My wife is claustrophobic and it took three years to get her C-card.. But now she has over 125 dives logged and loves it! She even does night dives and quarry dives aswell. You don't have to dive deep to enjoy the sport and the freedom of no dead air space will make you smile and if you want to get a little closer to a subject, a few feet down, you can.. Give it a try and I gaurantee that both of you will fall into SCUBA comforably... Ron My wife was 51 when she got certified...

(Message edited by ronindiana on August 20, 2005)

kent, I am with Ron on learning to dive. I am claustrophobic also and I love to dive. When David was certified with our son I told them I would go with them but would only snorkel, but the first time I could not get down deep enough to see up close what I wanted I learned real fast. I was 48 when I was certified and now have gone thru OW,AOW, Nitrox, Boat and am working on Photography, am now 59 and will be diving for many years to come.
Andy

We are booked at the Divi in the Timeshare Units for one week Feb 12th- 19th, I am bringing a group so far of 10 people. This will be our first time, we are spending a week in Curacao first. We are all from Canada and come on a charter from Toronto, Ontario to Curacao then take the Divi Divi over to Bonaire.

Hi everyone, I just posted my Divi update on a thread just above this one. Check it out, and while you're at it, check out these pics from a fellow Divi diver. It's worth the time.

http://www.snapfish.com/shareereg/p=809191124499421903/l=57455332/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/t_=0/pns/share/p=809191124499421903/l=57455332/otsc=SYE/otsi=SALB/t_=0

Enjoy!

PS: Al at Bay Adventures is the man who can help you book your trip. He is WONDERFUL!

www.bayadventures.com

Let me add my 2 cents on getting certified. I was 49 when I got certified and it opened up a whole new world. Now it was only 5 months ago but I've got 70 dives logged and will be in the Bahamas in 2 weeks and New Years in Bonaire. Woohoo... My first trip to Bonaire and I am so excited I feel like a little kid. I'm counting the days... We will be staying at the Golden Reef Inn with Liz so I know all will be perfect.

I'm 46 and got certified in '98. It has really changed the way my husband and I vacation. We did it together. We did the coursework online with a PADI CC-ROM and took the final written test at a local dive shop. We then arranged for our open water coursework to be done in Cozumel through Dive Paradise. It took up the first 4 days of an 8 day vacation but we never regretted it. We LOVE the tropics but cant tolerate the sun for too long and cannot simply sit by a pool and read a book all day long. Diving allows us to have something wonderful to do together, meet others regarding a common love/interest, and also have time to relax and enjoy the tropics. It is an exhausting vacation if you dive like we do... always 3 boat dives a day with shore and night dives thrown in for good measure. But... it is really the best "vacation" we could ever ask for.

Take the plunge and go for it! You will NEVER regret it!