If you've been to Bonaire, please come in

[love1999]

Where did you stay?  We have it somewhat narrowed down but trying to decide if being beachfront is worth the extra cost.  Any restaurant or activity favorites?

[chimera]

We do dive trips - normally stay at Captain Don's. have friends and the in laws who have done Divi and Buddy. These don't really have beach access just water access as the shore line is very rocky - for us it's either get on the boat, jump off the dock, or hop in the truck and pick a yellow marker to go diving. So not much help with the beach. They do have bike rentals and it is pretty flat to get around. You can take the water taxis out to Klein for the day.

Food in town
It rains Fishes, there is an Italian place I'm blanking on the name, Cuba Compagnie, Karel's beach bar (this one is out on its own little pier and

RumRunners (at capt dons)and Blennies/ ingredients (at buddy)


Sunset from Fishes

[orangello]

We love Bonaire! Both times we've been we've stayed in a villa at the Crown Ridge development. They're oceanfront with private pools, and have walk in access to the Andrea I and II dive sites. We eat a lot of meals at the house, and the Van Den Tweel is one of the best island grocery stores we've found - they have great deli stuff, and the coffee bar at the front has really good coffees.

Some recommendations - drive up to the national park and drive through it. It takes a long time, but it's worth it - lots of places to stop and hang out, take a dip, and even snorkel or scuba if the conditions are right. Bring your own food and drinks. Also, head over to the other side of the island and go to Jibe City- hang at the beach bar and watch all the windsurfers and people attempting to be windsurfers. If you're adventurous, we took an amazing kayak and cave exploring tour with Hans - his company is called Outdoor Bonaire. Be prepared for adventure, we had no clue we'd be rappelling down rocks and swimming in an underground lake, so we were a bit surprised - but it was one of my most favorite vacation tours of all time. There's a food truck at airport beach with delicious fresh fish and a great group of guys running it - just be prepared to wait, it took and hour and a half for our food to get prepared the last time we were there.

Food - the Between 2 Buns coffeehouse has good breakfasts, sandwiches, and pastries, and there's a cool Italian place nearby that does a nice dinner - make reservations. Captain Dons is a great place for a sunset pizza and drinks, and watching the giant tarpon swim lazily by right next to you is super fun!

Also, one last random - the restaurant attached to the airport is where I've gotten one of the best coffees I've ever had - highly recommend!

Sunset from our patio. I'm standing on our stairs that lead to the rocky beach.

[moorea]

Husband dives, I do not. We stayed at Divi. There really was no beach - just entry into water. Ok for me as I like sitting by the pool more than the beach. It was about a 10 minute walk to town if I recall correctly.

We would stay there again, but studio room is a must for us. The regular rooms felt claustrophobic/cold (not temperature, just ambiance) and overall I just didn't like them - it's the only time I've ever been so upset about a room choice (I should've listened to the reviews!) - fortunately they had a studio room that we were able to upgrade.

ETA - We ate at Capriccios (reservations a must) - food was good but service sucked. They forgot to bring us our meals - we were waiting for our entrees as others were on dessert. It's not a big place and there was no explanation and only a comp of a soup that we didn't order but they brought out to give us something when we finally asked where our meals were. It really kinda ruined our experience of the place. There was a good restaurant a few blocks from Divi that we ate at twice, but I can't remember the name and I don't see it on TripAdvisor.

[UnderProtest]

Ha, thanks RockNVoll, I actually just got back from Bonaire on Saturday. I can't really comment to the accommodations as I stayed at a friends house, but I love being on the beach there. There are so many amazing shells and coral to see.

Food-
All in Kralendijk
Capriccio- Italian place -amazing food, get the local wahoo if its on special. Also the parma ham and melon is wonderful. We had standing reservations
Luciano- great gelato and looked like great coffee and cocktails
La Creperie- great savory and sweet crepes
Karels (?)- the bar on the pier in town.....we only had coffee and juice, but the view is amazing....take bread (or Cheerios in our case) to feed the fish
It Rains Fishes- I didn't go there, but my hosts did on the one night they didn't go to Capriccio, so I trust their judgment


Between 2 Buns- a great little sandwich shop just outside of the town
Spice at Eden Resort- resort restaurant, has great drinks at the outdoor bar and a decent buffet breakfast
Beach bar at Lac Bay- not Jive City, the other one next to Bonaire Windsurf place, good burgers, fish nuggets and salads, also good drinks

Activities
Ferry to Kleine Bonaire- take snorkels and a picnic lunch. Great quiet day. There is a ferry from close to town and from Eden Resort
Lac Bay- windsurfing lessons, try not to go when there is a cruise ship in town, great place to watch the locals windsurf just around to the left, they are known for their windsurfing
Market in Kralendijk- stalls in the town center with some pretty stuff.....only open when cruise ships are in port

[mryrcn]

Is this where you are definitely going? My take is that you're on the beach all day and it isn't worth the extra $. A lot of restaurants in Bonaire require reservations and it is very much European dining and not just in and out. But there are some. Where we stayed we cooked a lot of our own meals. If you want a beach front with American style food I would suggest Plaza Resort. We ate breakfast there one day and it was good. We also dove from their beach several times. The snorkeling there is good.

Food in Bonaire is very expensive. Keep that in mind.

Bobbejeans - grab some ribs and satay, walk to the waterfront and watch the sunset. They are only open a few days a week.
It Rains Fishes - it's good.
Carpaccio - eh. The wine list is great but the food was just okay.
Between 2 Buns - Is amazing. Owner is from Italy. Everything is super fresh and delicious.
At Sea - make reservations here. We always eat here at least twice. It is amazing. Tons of chef's bites between your courses. So much better than Carpaccio.
Kite Burger - look for the food truck on Donkey Beach across from the airport. You have to try the lion fish burger. Their regular burger is really good a well. Grab a burger and a Polar (Venezuelan beer) and hang out on the beach while eating lunch.
There is a good Italian place near the drugstore close to Captain Don's. It's right after you go through the traffic circle. I can't think of the name of it.
Definitely eat the fries there.

Also go to the grocery store Van Den Tweel - it's like an Ikea of grocery stores. Bring market bags. They don't provide bags and you have to pay otherwise. Just buy like 4 of those cheap bags at TJMaxx. Easy to pack and reuse for future trips. Also, have a quarter ready to "rent a cart" just like at Aldi.

When the cruise ships are in, downtown gets packed. Typically just during the day. Stay out of downtown then if you can help it. Unless it's the Scientology cruise ship. They never get off of the boat. It will just sit in port.

Also, right now there's a frog fish hanging out in front of Dive Friends Bonaire main waterfront location. You might be able to see that snorkeling. If you need any gear, they are the ones. Also, I think you should just get certified and they are a great place to do it. Take all of your classes at home and then transfer for the open water part in Bonaire. Just make sure everyone is PADI.

Buy this book. It will help you with the sites even though you aren't diving but are snorkeling. It still has pertinent information for snorkeling. Like how to find some of the sites. www.bsdme.info