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Been to Bonaire or Curacao?
Been to Bonaire or Curacao?
We traded a week at our villa on STJ for a week in a villa on Bonaire and our trip is coming up soon. We have never been there before and looking for tips and recommendations. We will also be on Curacao for a few days prior for New Years Eve!
Any favorite things to do, places to eat, people to see? Any recs welcome! We are excited to check out a new place (though STJ will always be our favorite!)
Any favorite things to do, places to eat, people to see? Any recs welcome! We are excited to check out a new place (though STJ will always be our favorite!)
We have never been to Bonaire either, but we are going in March with Sea nile. We would love to hear more about it. We are going for the diving. I am told that it is one of the great dive spots of the world.
Here is a web site that I found to share informatrion:
http://www.bonairetalk.com/cgi-local/bb ... ?pg=topics
It's no VIOL, but it will have to do.
JIM
Here is a web site that I found to share informatrion:
http://www.bonairetalk.com/cgi-local/bb ... ?pg=topics
It's no VIOL, but it will have to do.
JIM
Man it's like some dream we live down here....
We went to Bonaire about 20 years ago. So this info is (obviously) dated.
We loved it - for what it is. Its a flat desert island with fabulous snorkeling. The water clarity (since its so dry there) is incredible, huge and varied schools of fish and extensive reefs with large structures, especially elkhorn coral. There was a freak storm quite a few years ago (Lenny) that had huge waves and damaged some of the reefs, but I hear that the snorkeling and diving is still great. Its on our "to go back to some day" list because we are avid snorkelers.
There was snorkeling from many beaches (at that time - not sure if it was damaged) and we rented a little mini-moke (kind of a dune buggy thing they rented at the time) to get around the island. I can't remember if we had a guide book or how we knew which beaches to snorkel from. I am sure there is tons of stuff on-line now.
We went out on the dive boats many days because they went to off shore reefs where there was shallow enough water for snorkeling. Incredible fish and reef life. One day, we got dropped off on another nearby island with a bunch of people. The coral and fish were amazing there, but the island was flat with no shade, so some people got terribly sunburned.
We enjoyed driving out to their national park and going to the beaches there. The driving was ummmm...interesting as it was all sand tracks and dunes, no paved roads. Almost got stuck going up the dunes, but it was fun. Had some great snorkeling. There was a place where you could see an old cannon in the water. Saw our first octopus there.
As you can tell, we are really all about snorkeling. However, we like to go out to eat too. Every place we ate was good Caribbean food, but only remember one specific place. It had a huge aquarium inside the restaurant. Don't remember name. I understand there are tons more restaurants there now.
The only other thing I can remember doing is driving around the island and seeing some historical buildings related to the salt mine trade.
Have a wonderful trip and I would love to see a trip report!
We loved it - for what it is. Its a flat desert island with fabulous snorkeling. The water clarity (since its so dry there) is incredible, huge and varied schools of fish and extensive reefs with large structures, especially elkhorn coral. There was a freak storm quite a few years ago (Lenny) that had huge waves and damaged some of the reefs, but I hear that the snorkeling and diving is still great. Its on our "to go back to some day" list because we are avid snorkelers.
There was snorkeling from many beaches (at that time - not sure if it was damaged) and we rented a little mini-moke (kind of a dune buggy thing they rented at the time) to get around the island. I can't remember if we had a guide book or how we knew which beaches to snorkel from. I am sure there is tons of stuff on-line now.
We went out on the dive boats many days because they went to off shore reefs where there was shallow enough water for snorkeling. Incredible fish and reef life. One day, we got dropped off on another nearby island with a bunch of people. The coral and fish were amazing there, but the island was flat with no shade, so some people got terribly sunburned.
We enjoyed driving out to their national park and going to the beaches there. The driving was ummmm...interesting as it was all sand tracks and dunes, no paved roads. Almost got stuck going up the dunes, but it was fun. Had some great snorkeling. There was a place where you could see an old cannon in the water. Saw our first octopus there.
As you can tell, we are really all about snorkeling. However, we like to go out to eat too. Every place we ate was good Caribbean food, but only remember one specific place. It had a huge aquarium inside the restaurant. Don't remember name. I understand there are tons more restaurants there now.
The only other thing I can remember doing is driving around the island and seeing some historical buildings related to the salt mine trade.
Have a wonderful trip and I would love to see a trip report!
We considered Bonaire for our honeymoon 15 years ago. The same family friend who recommended STJ also strongly suggested we consider Bonaire. (He is a diver)
Bonaire was again on the short list for the "lets try something new 2011 tour" but we couldn't get flights to work.
Please post about both islands when you return. I am very interested in learning more.
Bonaire was again on the short list for the "lets try something new 2011 tour" but we couldn't get flights to work.
Please post about both islands when you return. I am very interested in learning more.