Hi

I am arriving on 8/1. I am travelling alone for the first tie in a long time, as my wife on. Besides the diving (which I adore), what can I expect by way of nightlife after a day of diving? Thanks.

Dinner and a night dive?

I don't think there's much more night life to be had but perhaps others know better.

When my husband and I were there, the nightlife consisted of sitting on the balcony after dinner. Or on a real crazy night, we went on a night snorkel on the Sea Cow.

One of the best things on Bonaire is the wild night life, NONE ! ! ! No drunks, no wild redneck fighting, But be prepared for some hard core diving "made easy", no one has the energy to party after 4-5 dives every day and if you do get tired of diving, then there is hiking, windsurfing, nature in washington/slagbaai park & some of the friendliest island people you will ever meet. And as the saying goes ARRIVE A VISITOR & YOU WILL LEAVE A FRIEND. My wife and I will be making our 5th trip back this October. You will have a great time and there is a open bar downtown on the water and some of the condo's/townhouses serve wine,beer & drinks. Have a great trip and give us a report when you return.

Welcome to BT, Frank. Well there is some people that can manage to stay up after dinner. I've heard tell anyway. If you still have some energy, wander down to Karels and I'm sure some one can point you towards the disco that opens after the rest of us old fogies are dead to the world.

Hey wait a minute, you're not a spring chicken either. Who are you kidding, you're going to tell me that after a long day of pushing down the hill at Sugarloaf you're dancing at the disco at 1:00AM. If you do then the next day's skiing/diving is not going to be much fun.

I also find that there's something about the tropical sun that sucks the energy right out of our bodies. There are many phases that refer to this phenomenon, island time, sand gravity, liming, etc.

One other reason to consider an early bed time, the early mornings on Bonaire are the best times. This past trip we did early dives are they were some of the best. We also were the first ones at the sites. Very gratifying to be putting the gear back in the truck when the dive boats are arriving.

The place to be seen and to go in many circles is Havana. It is very lively and goes on until the wee hours. Sometimes the DJ is cranking some amazing music. It is a mix of young Dutch, a sprinkling of Antilleans and older Dutch as well with some ex pats and visiting tourists. The crowd spills into the street. City Cafe hosts some amazing music at times. Karel's is a lively hot spot. I disagree with many of the posts above having picked up my teen and her friends many a late night last Summer and this Summer.

The hotels have music often. Moogie plays Monday at Habitat, Wed. at Cactus Blue, Friday at Buddy Dive and Sunday at Patagonia. He plays other nights too but I am not sure where. Tue. is steel band at Plaza. Divi has music Sat. nights with Moogie I think. Check out the Bonaire Reporter or the slim tourist daily update guide.

Enjoy!

oh there is a new club called Calypso. It is near Papaya Moon and is open weekends only. I cannot comment but Maggie's friends went and thought it was very nice looking and there was great music. Lee's sometimes has lively nights. I was there St. Paddy's Day.

If I am not mistaken the new disco is open every other weekend...it belongs to the folks who own Papaya Moon and Paradise Coffee. There is plenty of night life on Bonaire if you know where to look. Ask one of the dive masters...

I have to add my bit ----- We are windsurfers and collapse after the second pinacolada after dinner and it sure is good to hear other people have trouble summoning up the energy to go out in the evenings..... We make it to restaurants and Havana, yes; but anything later normally requires a few days planning and stocking up on bodily reserves.

Trevor & Carole & Sam & Nic

If you want to try to leave a bit of your loose change on island, the Divi also has a nice little casino.

Any of the resort bars can be a fun place to hang out, and when Moogi (sp?) is there it can be a blast.

Depending on your length of stay, you will want to balance those wild evenings with some down time before nitrogen loading again under water.

My three trips so far to Bonaire have been as a solo traveler/diver and I spend a lot of time underwater but still manage a little elbow-bending each evening, though I don't recall ever being out after midnight - lol. I go there to dive and doing 5-6 dives a day requires some rest.

Frank, I've moved this to Everything Else, as it is not a trip report (yet). Have a great time!

Cynde

Don't forget the beautiful sunset view on the top of Seru Largu. From this vantage point you can see the lonely light house on the western shore, the salt pier to the south BPC to the north as well as Curacao (on a clear day) and Klein to the west. The sounds of nature as the evening pass on is heaven on earth. With a few Brights, you are set for a PERFECT evening.

Here is a non commercial slide show of Seru Largu:
http://www.theworldinaflash.com/photos/Bonaire/Seru_Largu/index.html