Just home from first trip on Bonaire. Man, are we hooked.

Flew non-stop from Newark - what a pleasant thing to not change planes. Seats are ridiculously close together, I had to stand up for much of the flight or feel like toothpaste in the tube (I'm 6'4"/280).

We really liked the Resort. Simple, attractive, firm beds, good food, great people. Beware though, that "deluxe oceanfront" rooms are a bit of a stretch. They do have great view, but are simple and smaller than they appear in pics on web. Still, more than fine for what we needed. Wi-fi connection was good from room. Patio off room was nice surprise. Big and cozy. Took many dips from baby pier and off Buddy dive steps too. Saw Tarpon right there.

Did 3 days shore diving, and as a newbie to shore diving, I'm hooked. So, so casual and easy. Come and go as you please, easy entry and exit. Recommend the house reefs - both day and night dives were excellent. Did only one boat dive - service and boat were top notch.

Wife is not a diver (although now she's planning to become one) - so we did much snorkling through the week - nice stuff right in front of villas off baby dock. Andrea II was amazing and we kept going back.

Went a little wild with the pickup truck. AB car rental was super. Really saw much of the island. 2 trips to Slagbaii Nat'l Park. Went to the slave huts at midnight - man was that spooky.

Already planning next trip. Hopefully March. Definately next new years.

Special Shout-outs.

- Michael at Chat and Browse - Completely helpful and courteous. Willing to make calls to help find what we needed.
- Bruce at Carib Inn - Changed a dive computer battery in a rush and charged me only 3 bucks. We kept going back to give him the business whenever we needed anything and the prices were excellent. Such a cute place too, just feels "right"
- Patrice at Bistro de Paris - Excellent food, lunch and dinner. Love that place and Patrice and Daika (server).
- Jack at Habitat - was great getting us in early on arrival day, so appreciated.
- The fireworks display 12/31. If you've never seen this - you simply must! Up and down the beach, boom! boom! Boom! I'm hooked.

Things we didnt like.
- Eden Beach Resort - we almost stayed here, and are so glad we didnt. Beach is nothing like the pic. really small and totally crowded with chain-smoking europeans. Yuck! Whole place smelled like a NYC sewer/subway in summer. Feel bad trashing the place, but if that was our home for the week, I would have been pissed.
- The mosquitos. Holy cow. They are pretty bad after the sun goes down. Bug spray absolutely a requirement.
- The stairs at Habitat. They caution you repeatedly to be careful, "slippery when wet", etc., but you cant imagine how dangerous they are. I was cautious and almost cracked my head twice. Another lady broke her ankle 4 hours after arriving. Another guy was in a sling. Really, really bad. Be careful (and if anyone from habitat is reading, please fix. asap.)

Anyway, thats my bit of experience and advice. So glad BonaireTalk was here when I was making my decisions. Can't wait to return.

Justin Fallon
Montauk, NY

Hey Justin - Nice report ..sounds like you had an awesome time which means you're truly hooked!
Bonaire is our favorite dive destination, although we try to get ourselves to go to "new" places every now and then.

The shore diving sure adds to the laid-back feel of the Island. There are just so many great dive sights to choose from.

We love the Carib Inn and Bruce and his staff are great ! We continue to stay at the Carib Inn because it's like a home away from home for us (with the addition of spectacular diving since we live in Kansas).

Lucky you for being there on New Year's Eve. The fireworks sound fun ! We have had the opportunity to be there during Carnival, another trip was a total solar eclipse, and in 2007 it was the Regatta. All very unique experiences !

Regarding the mosquitos, they have been more bothersome for some months because of all the rain Bonaire has received since late Summer.

Anyway, great report. Hopefully something will be done soon regarding the slippery situation.

Justin,
Are these the stairs to the upper level Oceanview Junior Suites?

Hi Linda,

I don't specifically know about the junior suites, but it seemed like all the staircases going to the second floor rooms were constructed the same way. They are somewhat steep and curved, and tiled with a glazed type of terra-cotta tile. They are slippery beyond belief and, coupled with the curved stairway, down-right dangerous, especially on the way down.

I'm pretty young and somewhat athletic and I literally caught myself twice. Please be VERY careful.

I dont knw why they wont fix the problem, as it's obviously been going on for a while. I'm booking a return family trip, and it's a real concern for me regarding my mother, who has a harder time getting around. I'd never let her attempt them, she'd get hurt for sure.

Justin, nice honest report, thanks. Glad you had such a good time.

Everything is slippery when it gets wet. The roads, cement sidewalks,pressure treated decks around the pool,rocks, bricks etc. However the tiles are like wet frozen ice. Even if it is dry out and your feet are wet, you need to be very careful. It wouldn't take much to put some sticky tar like paper down on the stairs.

sand paint comes to mind. that takes the slip away..

I was thinking that it could be remedied with a bit of sand blasting. Used crushed coral sand and there wouldnt even be any cleanup.

In the states, the ambulance chasers would have a field day.

Justin, Eden Beach is not bad during Low Season. During High Season there are a lot more people on island and also the cruise ships use Eden Beach as a shore excursion which puts lots of people there.
When we were on island a year ago in early Oct Eden Beach area was almost deserted. We used Wannadive for our air but stayed with GRI. Wannadive is a great shop with great guys who are very knowledgable about the diving on Bonaire.
Glad to see you are addicted to Bonaire like the rest of us.

Andy

Justin, did you mention your concern to the management at Habitat, in addition to saying "(and if anyone from habitat is reading, please fix. asap.)" in your post? If not, maybe as a customer you could email them your concern.

Hi Andy,

I'm sure Eden Beach can be nice, and I hate saying anything negative. We walked the "beach" in the early am and it was very quiet and nice. We met the people at WannaDive and they seemed super. We met someone on the flight who stayed there and really enjoyed it. I'm sure it's not all bad.

We did come back that afternoon to have post dive drinks and it was stuffed, packed with people and was so smoky we couldnt stay. We walked through the grounds on the way out and it reeked of sewage. Driving past two or three times a day you could always smell the same septic issues from the road.

Maybe they had a septic tank break and maybe it was just the tour boat crowds, but if I had signed up to stay there (and I was "this" close to doing so), I would have been pissed and demanded my money back.

Feel awkward saying so in a public forum, but there it is.

Hi Denise,

I did not directly say anything, since it seems to be very well known throughout the resort. There are signs and warnings. Even still, it's remarkably dangerous, and in my opinion they should fix it, no matter the cost. Someone is going to really get messed up if they havent already.

Justin, maybe chain-smoking keeps the skeeters away? And you must have excellent observation skills, being able to tell chain-smoking Europeans from chain-smoking Americans or South Americans at a glance. Well done!

Alex, do Americans still chainsmoke?

Maybe they do, but thankfully public places here are smoke free, so we don't have to deal with them.

Maybe they were Americans with accents. Who cares? Either way, yuck.

BTW, I'm just trying to be helpful, since this board helped make my decisions better when I was researching. Anything else to add? Or do you simply want to be a smarta**?

Justin, a phrase like "totally crowded with chain-smoking europeans" suggests you have problems with Europeans as well, not just with smokers. And calling a fellow BT-er a smartass isn't being helpful at all.

Guys, please try to play nice, no need for name calling here. Thank you...

Martin, no need to ask me to play nice, as I was not the one calling names. I merely responded in a civilized manner to someone else doing so.

Alex, you're just being a troublemaker. Don't whine if you get called out on it.

And for the record, I have no problem with Europeans. or South Americans. Or anyone.

Except troublemakers.

Please move along.

Justin, you're completely right. I'm the world's worst troublemaker. Completely uncivilized. A whiner as well as a smartass. Everybody who knows me will tell you so. Maybe I even smoke. I might even be European. You, on the other hand, are a very fine human being and a credit to BT. If only I could be like you.

Goodnight, everybody. Dying for a smoke here.

The end.

Justin, The sewage smell that you encountered is most likely the watering of the plant life at Eden Beach & Harbor Village. They use grey water. Without they grey water there would not be much plant life in the resorts. Matter of fact the Captain designed the system that Hamlet Bonaire uses. Also the flood area accross from Harbor Village tends to add to the smell. Think of low tide.

Hi, Justin

Thanks for your report and even your comments regarding those steep slippery stairs. I do know the ones. My daughter's family stayed on the ground level to avoid the stairs with a 2 1/2 yr old and 7 week old baby.

We love Capt. Don's and stay in the Oasis Cottages just behind the units by the pool. We have made many friends with the staff. In fact, you'll find that one of those T shirts hanging above the bar area is mine. Freddie can claim one, too!

On your next trip consider the cottages as they have room for your mom plus a kitchen.

Nice report.

Hi Jan,

You may be right. I understand and am sympathetic to the grey water situation. Either way, it was more than I would feel comfortable smelling all day on my vacation, which is why I posted the tip. Certainly not trying to start any flame wars.

Hi Linda,

That was my thoughts exactly, we're already trying to set up the trip for next New Year's. Do you know what they call the villas on the ocean past the dive shop by any chance?

Well, we call them "the Villas north of the dive shop". They are mostly privately owned but managed by Habitat.

I have to agree with Jan re: the odor around Harbor Village area. When we were on Bonaire Sept/Oct we would smell it from the road as we drove through the area. The odor was strong enough that it had to be coming from the flood area across from Harbor Village, but not sewage. Like he said, it's like low tide.

And regarding what you and Linda were discussing-
Although we did not stay in the "Villas north of the dive shop", we did a great night dive from that dive shop. How nice for the folks that stay in those villas -it's right in their backyard.

Oh how this makes me want to start planning our next trip ! !

We always have stayed in "those villas" as Cptn Don's. We like the feeling of being part of a resort but not. And for diving - snokeling right from your doorstep is great.. All of "those" villas have covered stairs to the upper levels, but if your feet /shoes are wet can bit a bit slick. Really no different from home - one just must pay attention and be careful.