Where To Stay:
Bonaire boasts just about any kind of lodging one could want – all except for foreign based chains (i.e., Hilton, Hyatt, Super 8, etc.). And I think that is a good thing. Based on price, the top end would be Harbour Village (from $265/night, low season courtyard room to $1,000/night for three bedroom villa) and at the bottom (again, based on price) the Hotel-Bonaire Inn (from $34/night for a single). In particular, modest priced options have continued to appear recently – Wanna Dive Hut, Golden Reef, Old Inn, etc. And I think that is a great thing.

The Carib Inn is (http://www.caribinn.com/index.html) my favorite place to stay because – from my perspective – it offers the best combination of product, service and price. My criteria: a) Affordable; b) Clean; c) Good house dive; d) Fridge and microwave; e) Pool; f) Nice set up for diving; g) Pool; h) Airco; and i) a “good vibe.”

While lower priced alternatives are attractive such as Golden Reef (and I was very happy with Happy Holiday Homes the one time I stayed there), I seem to end up at the Carib Inn whenever possible – even though it does cost more. That is not to say that it is expensive ($100 to $160 a night) – it is still less expensive (in some cases much less expensive) than most other properties such as Buddys or Habitat or the Plaza.

The rooms run from $99 (standard room w/fridge and micro) to $159 (three bedroom house with two bathrooms). The rooms are nothing fancy but are well kept and clean. The house dive is great – easy access and interesting. In the last ten years, I have seen everything from a school of jacks attacking a moray to seahorses, turtles and an eagle ray. At nine units, the Carib Inn is small. The diving setup is well thought out and easy (both shore and boat). The pool is comfortable with more than enough seating and pool towels are always available.

But, most of all, I enjoy the staff. Most have been there for years (which I think speaks well of the owner). And Edward (who fills air tanks and helps with the boats) has to be the nicest guy I have ever met. It is the type of place where guests do favors for the staff and vice versa. (For example, on this visit I brought down four recessed ceiling lights from Home Depot for a staff member who is working on their house). Tips are accepted but I have never felt like they were ever expected – a bag of beef jerky has always been much appreciated! I suspect most people either do not tip or tip pretty modestly.

So here is what $109 (plus the per person lodging tax) got me: A studio room with airco. The room had two twin beds plus a day bed, a small tables with two chairs and a complete kitchen (no regular oven – only a microwave). The room was about six feet from the edge of the pool with a nice screen door. It was a thirty second walk to the office and a one minute walk to the (small) beach. In the other direction, the parking lot was also about a one minute walk. The best value is the two bedroom unit ($149) – it faces the ocean (and is about twenty feet from the steps down to the beach), the back door opens to the pool, has a giant dive locker, large kitchen and living areas, etc. but is always booked way in advance.

So, who would not like the Carib Inn? The Carib Inn does not have a bar or restaurant (although Richards and the Divi are a short walk away). They do not offer nitrox. They do not have a 24 hour front desk. They are not large and do not have a large resort feel – for examples, there are not many single folk looking to meet other singles. They do not have spa services. My only regret is that it can be hard to book one of the best rooms (i.e., the two bedroom) as they are booked far in advance.

Where To Eat (Groceries):
I tend to eat primarily in my room. I do this for several reasons: a) it helps me economize (which in turn allows me longer stays – my typical stay is closer to three weeks); and b) dining in Bonaire is rarely a quick process.

I typically bring certain food products with me to Bonaire. For example, beef jerky is basically not available on Bonaire (and it can make a truly appreciated gift to dive staff). Good cheddar is not available so I often bring some Tillamook (medium and reserve white) – both available at Costco in Olympia, Wa. One year, the only tequila I could find on Bonaire was “Mariachi” brand so I sometimes bring a bottle of Sauza Hornitos. All the rest, I buy locally.

Cultimara is located downtown and is probably the closest thing one can find to a one stop shop in Bonaire (meat, bakery, groceries, drug store, etc.) – and is open non-stop and on Sunday morning. It tends to be somewhat more expensive than other places but often has a better selection of US products. It is the only place I am aware of that stocks “regular” milk from the US – albeit they have some in stock typically for only part of the week and at a cost of about 11 guilders a gallon. The store can be sort of manic – last visit they had at least two pallets of gouda wheels. This time the only “cheese” they had was some parmesan (grated) and some cheese wiz. OK, in fairness, they also had some Kraft singles the first week but sold out during Regatta.

Bonaire Warehouse (located out past Lisa Gas) tends to be cheaper and often has a better selection of dutch products. Joke’s is near where I stay and has an amazing selection for being so tiny. The fruit vendor on the waterfront also had some decent fruit. The best fruit though was at the place out past Caribbean Fasteners (More for Less?) – a tad pricey but really good stuff from S. America. There are many others where I have shopped in the past – Flamingos (behind NAPA auto parts store), the place due east from the traffic circle, Sand Dollar, etc., etc.

Compared to ten years ago, the food selection is stunning – back then the options were much more limited. Compared to the last few years though, the selection was poor (Cultimara in particular had lots of empty shelf space). I am not sure what the cause (distributor issues, container shipping in a bad hurricane summer/fall, shipper and/or airline issues) but every store had fewer choices than in past years. And once the Regatta began, what was available was quickly reduced. This observation was confirmed when two fairly long time residents both commented on how selection seemed pretty limited.

I won’t go into costs here except to make a few general observations. What is cheap in the US might be expensive in Bonaire and vice versa. For example, a gallon of milk and a medium bag of tortilla chips will set you back $20 fl. On the other hand, Gouda might be less expensive than in the US. A friend of mine noticed that deviled ham (from Spain) was way cheaper than the same product (it may have even been the same brand) from the US. You can pick and choose cheaper products or you can go with the more familiar (and often more expensive US goods).

Where To Eat (Restaurants):
City Café – A very pleasant restaurant in a great location near the water. Service was good. The crowd eclectic, and the portions were ample.

Wanna Burger – Good burger and, if you are up for it, french fries served dutch style (with mayo). Fairly quick service except when there is a long line at the counter.

Pasa Bon Pizza – Great pizza. Very good service. Closed Mondays/Tuesday.

Casablanca – Hey, wasn’t this where the old locksmith was located? Great food, great value, great service. Closed Mondays. Could any two people alive actually eat all of the mixed grill?

Cuernavaca (sp?) -- A pretty bad experience. We sat out front facing the road rather than the water (where they suggested as the other areas were full). It took at least 20 minutes for anyone to show up. After placing our drink and tapas order, it was another 15 minutes for the drinks. About 30 minutes later, she said the kitchen was slow as they were really busy but they were working on it. Another half hour plus later, and still no food. The waitress was pretty understanding when she came out and asked if we had gotten our food yet. Given that we had ordered probably 90 minutes earlier– we said we were leaving and would like to cancel the food order. She said she totally understood and we asked for the bill for the drinks. She offered those to us at no charge. Needless to say, after two hours and only one non-alcoholic drink each, we gladly accepted her offer.

My advice – do not sit out front until the staff figure out who is covering that area. Or better yet, head to Casablanca. We were not the only ones sitting in that area to experience that level of service. On the plus side, she was very nice about it.

Internet Access:
The old place located upstairs in Playa is now permanently closed. There continues to be Chat-n-Browse (a nicely run operation) as well as access in both the City Café and Flamingo mall (as well as other places). De Tuin was closed (being remodeled?) as well during my stay.

While the City Café and Flamingo Mall places are related, you cannot use your access code from one place for the other. While they are working on connecting the two systems, they need Telbo for part of the process and, as might be expected, things have fallen behind.

Chat-n-Browse also offers very inexpensive phone calls back to the US – at a tiny fraction of the price that the “international phones” you see around. And, unlike Telbo’s office (you can buy a phone card there and use it at their pay phones), Chat-n-Browse is open great hours (morning until mid-evening and open on the weekends).

Crime & Safety:
During my visit, I felt like Bonaire had turned the corner on the crime issue. The Bonaire Reporter appeared to be both summarizing both incidents and prosecutions. It felt like petty crime was down – I heard of only one incident when I was down there (a stolen spare tire). On an objective basis, I have no idea whether things are improving or not.

On a subjective basis, I can say that I always felt safe. Day or night – in town or in the country. I am not sure how I feel given the most recent (and horrible) incident that happened to two residents. How Bonaire responds (and the average residents I talked to hate crime!) will dictate how I feel. A trio of similar incidents happened a year or so ago where I live (safe community with a population of approx. 40,000) and they were huge news.

If the home invasion type incidents (or other crimes against persons increase), I am convinced that it will greatly reduce tourism to Bonaire – especially from the US.

All Other Non-Diving Observations:
The weather was generally pleasant – although a few days were very warm with little breeze. There was a heavy rain on two occasions – neither last more than a few hours. One lasted about 30 minutes – and sounded very loud even at 60 FSW.

The regatta was fun but also made things more complicated. On the plus side, there was live music every night and some interesting booths. The races were also sort of fun to watch. Does anyone know what the booths were that seemed to have groceries (i.e., bottles of detergent, tins of crackers, etc.) as prizes? What is the game? On the negative side, parking was more difficult than normal and it took a few extra minutes to drive through town.

I did visit the casino one night (lost $40) and had fun. Divi seems to be the only casino open now and was pretty crowded (although as small as it is, it doesn’t take that many people to seem crowded).

Mosquitoes were perhaps more prevalent than during other visits (the recent rains I suspect) but were still very manageable. What is about the mosquitoes on Bonaire – they only bite me below the knee! Chat-n-Browse also had a good selection of different bug sprays.

I also saw two scorpions – way more than in past visits (one in probably eight prior visits). I am not sure if it was the rain or I was just “luckier” than in the past but… I understand their sting “only” causes pain for about six hours and do not require medical treatment but I am hoping to never confirm that!

Finally, I did do my typical drives around the island. I found the park very nice (although I think I prefer it on days with larger waves). It seems like the blow hole may have changed a bit -- it seems there is a crack where some of the air escapes through now (or was that always there?). I also went to Lac Cai on a Sunday and had a great time. While some of the conch piles are still there, at least a few have disappeared. And the first building (it was one your left just as you drove in) is way beyond wrecked. I forgot my camera that day, sorry!

What is the story with those conch piles? We were really taken aback by those.

Also, we learned to watch the expiration dates on the food at the grocery store--several items we bought early in the week were several years old!

Great trip report!

Nice report, David!

If you take a clove of garlic or an onion, cut it in half and rub it on the area where you got stung by the scorpion the "pain" and/or swelling goes away after a few minutes.

During the rain season the scorpions tend to come into the houses looking for a dry spot. They prefer dark corners, bags, clothes lying on the floor and they love paper bags and carton boxes. Just keep it of the floor.

Meredith:

At one time, Lac Bay had many conchs -- and they were harvested leaving the piles (my guess is that this was probably pre-1960). As a result, my understanding is that many of the shells making up the piles are 30+ years old (and some look much older than that).

Other than poaching (which I suspect is significant), I don't believe they are being harvested any longer. Most of the piles remain but a few that were closer to the mouth of the bay are gone (and I saw scattered shells around the bay). And that one restaurant is just gone...

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Marion:

Thanks for the first aid tip -- I hope never to use it!

I always shake out my clothes when I am in the tropics -- there are too many creepy crawlees (i.e., in the Yucatan you have to worry about snakes, spiders and centipedes -- here it is only scorpions.)

Now I also know to always keep my clothes picked up -- just like my parents taught me. Perhaps if we had scorpions growing up I would have listened better!

Great report!!! Thank-you.