Bonaire

[Duiker]

OK, we have finally set the date for Friday 13th August and will honeymoon in Bonaire (if I like it or not) as its a Dutch colony and we spaka da lingo.
It seems its my responsibility to arrange the honeymoon so I was looking for recomendations and reports.
Any ideas people?
Cheers,

Mick

[Snash]

Mick

I went there in the 80's with my folks so my info is a bit out of date...

My Dad went there last year diving and had a great time. His girlfriend is Dutch so the lingo was no probs either. They hired a condo from the Netherlands and got a jeep out there.

In terms of recommendations, my best piece of advice would be to go to Google Groups and look at rec.scuba.locations and do a search on Bonaire. There are hundreds of old threads on Bonaire in the archives.

Remember though that the main contributors to that group tend to be Septics so you need to apply your Yank-Filter to the info.

HTH

Simon

[Snash]

Oh and congratulations!!!!  

BTW - I seem to remember folk saying make sure you pack your hand luggage well as KLM have a reputation for losing (temporarily) checked in bags and you don't want to start your honeymoon without the essentials - ie your dive kit.

Simon

[courage]

We were there last year, stayed at Buddies (next door to Captain Don’s) it was a great place to stay, the staff were friendly and very accommodating. The only thing I would say is that Bonaire is great for a diving holiday (the most diver friendly place I’ve ever been) but it wouldn’t be my first choice for a honeymoon destination. There is nothing you would call a beach on the whole island and non-diving recreation is a bit limited.

[John Gulliver]

Just hearsay - I haven't been to Bonaire - but several friends of mine who have say much the same, i.e. that the diving is very good but there isn't a lot else to do. They also say that Captain Don's and Buddy's are a long way from "civilisation", i.e. shops etc, so you definitely need to rent a car.

[courage]

Yes you really must hire a car; Budy’s have their own fleet of very nice blue pickup trucks with built-in tank rack (but I’m sure you can find similar vehicles from most of the other rental companies). It’s less than a ten minute drive from Buddy’s (or Captain Don’s) to the main town, which is quite nice with some good restaurants but slightly limited shopping facilities.  The roads are excellent and there is not too much traffic with the shore dive locations all conveniently marked with yellow painted rocks. One thing to keep in mind about the shore diving, is most of the entries involve picking your way through slippery and sometimes quite sharp rocks, so a good pair of dive boots (not those thin tropical booties) and a full wetsuit often come in handy if you want to avoid minor cuts and scrapes.