My friend who just returned from Bonaire said one of the best dinners he had was at Lions Dive. He mentioned that it ran him about $30.00. I know that where ever you go, restaurant prices can go from one extreme to the other, but is what he paid fairly typical? I've read other posts where people say this place was "expensive " or that place was "reasonable". But I haven't seen any real numbers. What would be considered a good round figure for a dinning budget (for a one week stay) allowing for eating "in" for breakfast and lunch?

Thanks,
Richard

Hi Richard,

You are right, the prices can vary all over the place. $30 at Lions dive sounds like one of Kirk's fancy specials with desert and a drink thrown in. I think the highest bill I have had was around $60 (for 2) included desert and a drink. Come to think of it, it was at Lion's Dive. Our average is more like $15pp with the range from $10 to $20. We ate large breakfast every mornings last March for $7 to 9. Lunch, like burgers, are in the $5 to 10 range. If you are only eating dinner out with an occasional lunch thrown in, I could easily do it on $20pp/day assuming you don't go too hard on the Amstels.

Here's a menu from one of my favorites
http://www.bonairedining.com/swisschalet/menu.html

I highly recommend the Zuri Gschnatzlets!

I'd call this about avg...

I have to recommend It's Raining Fishes. Ed and I are regulars to Bonaire and for that reason we only go out to dinner once in a blue moon. We tried Fishes this past November and will DEFINITELY be back. We had soup to nuts, including a drink each and the whole bill came to $60.00 US. We both agreed the quality and the amount of food we had at a nicely themed restaurant here in the states would have easily cost between $80 and $100 US (in the northeast anyway). Bobbejan's is a fantastic place for lunch, great food and prices. Also we went to Croccatino's and had an appetizer, soup and seafood salad (each) and both were huge and the prices were great. I think we walked out paying about $45 US dollars. Good luck!

Yoy can get great meals for from $3 US to $50 depending on where you go and what you have to drink with your meal. Gibi's, Jobe's? (in the center of Kralendijk on the corner near the Lost Penguin), China Nobo, and the Rose Inn in Rincon are all great deals with delicious food and large quantities. Leftovers will feed most people lunch the next day. There are other places with good food and reasonable prices all over the island. I have this weird preference for hole-in-the-wall places, even here in So Cal, home of the over-priced, over-rated, over-dressed nouvelle restaurant.

Looking at your profile, you are in for a pleasant surprise at the ease of diving on Bonaire.

In two trips over the last year, we've had a total of one meal that was over $80 for two people. That was at lobster night at the late great departed Den Laman and I'm thinking the tail we had musta been at least 2 kilos. I know it made for at least a 5 day supply mucho lobster salad. We also had quite a few drinks (a taxi night that), coffee and desert and I seem to remember it was around $85 for two. Among the other nice places we've eaten over a month between two trips (Fishes, Crocantinos, Mangos, Zeezicht, Bobbijeans, Lost Penguin, Richards, Pasa Bon, the Plaza, etc) I doubt that we ever paid over $60 (many under $30) for two including beers and sometimes desert and coffee. I kind of use the beachside food scale and figger that the location makes the meals in Bonaire most reasonable.

Linnea, I can't picture Jobe's. I'm picturing Julian's on the corner with the great burgers???

It could be Julian's, the name was hard to read when I was there. All I could make out was the J.
The place had/has a fence around it made of cinder blocks and wrought iron. Walk up counter and open air seating. I usually got their cabrito stoba.

Ok, the place Richard was talking about is JULIO'S and we love it too! Ed usually gets the Cabrito Stoba (goat) and I get the Chicken Stoba. (Stoba=stew) We get it with half french fries and half rice. YUM.....If I recall the price for each was 11,00 fls and for me there was always 2 servings out of one meal!

Julios! That's it! Great french fries if I remember correctly....

Hi Liz.... getting excited about the move yet?

Hi Kelly!

We are heading down on Thursday for 10 days to handle business and paperwork. Hopefully we will be able to get a couple of dives in. Everything is happening quickly. We are VERY excited, but nervous at the same time! HUGE step we are taking! Ed and I said we would put our plan in to motion and if even one thing was out of step we would't go through with it, but it is right on target. The only thing we have to do is sell our house here in New Jersey. It is a large home and on the water, so we are hoping it sells quickly... if know anyone interested in a 6 bedroom, 3 bath house...LOL. We are going to list it when we get back from Bonaire. We are hoping to sell within the next 3-6 months. Then we are going to get a small 2 bedroom, 2 bath house as home base here in the states. Say a prayer our house here sells quickly. Ed would really like to be down before the end of the year. Hugs! Liz