Hi all,

After spending many hours reading this forum and getting lots of help from all of you I would like to give a short report in case it helps some other new Bonaire Talker. Most of what I say has been said before but every report helped me.

FLIGHTS: We went Boston/San Juan/Bonaire via AA and American Eagle. Basically no issues and we were on time. No luggage loss. It was amusing to watch one of the crew "inspect" our American Eagle plane before we left by walking around it and twirling the propellers by hand! We found San Juan airport more efficient than Boston. Logan is always a zoo.

ACCOMODATIONS: We stayed at Belmar and have absolutely no regrets on that. The place really made our trip. People were nice and the apartment was perfect. The breezes going through that place made AC unneeded except to sleep. We spent most of our time on our covered deck. NOTE: the first night they put us in #10 which is a ground floor two bedroom on the end by the dive lockers. After that we were in #14, a one bedroom, 2nd floor which we had reserved. We liked 14 much better. More privacy, quieter, more open to the breezes and a better view. We even felt more secure leaving our doors open (only while we were there, of course).

SNORKELING: The best snorkeling we have had anywhere so far. Clarity of water compares with Grand Cayman, but variety of fish and health and abundance of coral outweighs Cayman and St. John. We did one day with Renee. We did a 3 stop in the morning and the night snorkel. She was wonderful and I would highly recommend her even to experienced snorkelers (which we were). She gave us a new perspective on snorkeling and much more patience. It's like taking a teacher under water with you.

The highlight of our week was doing the drift snorkel off the water taxi. They take you across from town, let you drop your cooler and other stuff on the beach and then drop you in the water quite a ways down the coast. The current pulls you back to the beach. We couldn't look fast enough. The left was shallow with tons to explore and the right showed the "wall" but close enough for a snorkeler to really enjoy. We were in the water for an hour and a half. It was spectacular. We then relaxed on the beach, had our lunch, did a little more low key snorkeling and caught the 2:30 taxi back. But be ready for the taxi!!! He was a little early and took off the minute people were on.

My other favorite place to snorkel was 1000 steps to witches hut. Lots of coral/lots of creatures. We did many others but those were out favorites of the ones we did. We had never seen an octopus or a seahorse - what a treat. Tons of eels - tons of everything!!

DINING: favorites were Crocantino's (twice) and Lion's Den. We did some others that were recommended but thought they were only so-so. We must be picky. We spent a lot of time at Lover's ice cream. Lunch at Chibi Chibi, Lost Penguin were great. ALSO for a nice, breezy quiet oasis in the middle of the day try Great Escape. We did lunch here a few times and not only was the food really good but it was a totally comfortable, restful place to be in the middle of the day. highly recommend even if you have to go out of your way.

PHONE: We rented a phone from Michael at Chat n Browse. Great service. Thanks for the help, Michael. Also a great place to stop for all kinds of stuff.

WALKING: We are exercise walkers and we did this every day. I was concerned that it would be too hot but because of the beautiful breezes we were able to do it.

CRIME: I have read the recent thread that was started while we were gone and have read a lot of what went before plus talked to several people while there. We took all precautions and had no problems. Belmar does have a security guard at night and we felt very secure there. BUT - It was an extreme annoyance to us to not feel we could so much as leave our lunch or a change of clothes in our truck. That we had to worry that a spare tire might go missing. That we had to feel like we were constantly watching over our shoulders, etc. etc. We do not go on vacation to have to worry. Yes - anywhere you go you have to use common sense. I never take good jewelry and so on. But this situation is a real turn off to the average tourist and I sincerely hope that it can be resolved before it makes a real nasty dent on Bonaire's tourist industry. I understand that for many of you divers that it is well worth it to put up with this to experience what is possible on Bonaire. What a wonderful world under the water. But it made us annoyed and angry. Some may not agree and that's OK. We may come back again some day but it won't be in a hurry. To spend the time getting there and the money, stay in a wonderful place and then spend our week figuring out how to not be victims just isn't what we want.

That being said - the people there were wonderful and I will certainly consider another trip if some of these problems are resolved.

I'm not writing this to start another controversial thread, but as a new traveler there I appreciated all the open reporting that is done here.

Thanks, sue

Sue, glad you had a great trip snorkeling and liked Belmar. I'm sorry that you felt unsafe. I have been 5 times, and feel safer on Bonaire than in most other destinations I've been foreign and in the US. You don't have to "look over your shoulder" on Bonaire. 99% of the crime reports are of petty theft from vehicles at dive sites. I certainly don't want this thread to turn into a debate, however, it is sad that the crime threads on BT scare folks so much that they can't enjoy their vacation. Bonaire is not Jamaica, Mexico, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, etcs. where crime is much higher and you DO have to look over your shoulder, carry your bag close to your chest, and not walk the streets in the evening (or even in the day in some places).

I would certainly hope you would give Bonaire another try, and be able to relax. And again, I'm sorry that what you read on BT made you feel so unsafe...very very sad.

Hi Cynde,

I just want to clarify that we did not feel unsafe on Bonaire. I realize that we are not talking about violent crime. We just felt annoyed and angry at the problem and lack of solution to the problems. And please don't blame the people on this forum who have discussed this issue. I went to Bonaire aware that a problem existed. I did not really realize HOW bad it was until the people at our accomodations, car rental, restaurants, etc. all warned us that this is a very real and more and more prevalent problem. Folks we talked to there were very open about it - why shouldn't it be open here. I would have been much more upset if I had gone not being aware at all. Many people won't mind overlooking this issue and just dealing with it. It just isn't something that we want to deal with. I still would recommend Bonaire as a destination to anyone who loves to snorkel or dive. Just know what the issues are before you go. Thanks, sue

Susan -

Thank you for taking the time and going to the effort to post such a detailed and informative trip report. It is a fitting and courteous way to repay all those from whom you learned so much before your journey.

We're glad you found the snorkeling to be rewarding. We agree with you that Bonaire snorkeling is far superior to St. John and Gran Cayman (and Kauaii, Hawaii, Virgin Gorda).

Charles Poteet
Dallas

Susan..So glad you enjoyed your trip..Belmar is a favorite of ours & we have stayed there on several occasions. I must tell you, honestly & with all candor, as someone who has traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, I feel extremely safe on Bonaire but I always practice what I consider to be a common sense approach to things. However perceptions are a very personal thing based upon your past experiences. I could tell you plenty of stories about other islands, but....Hope you return soon.

Susan... I was wondering if you could tell me more about the water taxi. I presume you went out to klein bonaire? Just wondering because I was thinking of taking the water taxi out for part of the day. How long were you out there total and did you see anything different on that trip than you did on the other sites? Also how much was it per person?

Shawn - yes, the water taxi goes to Klein Bonaire. I think it leaves at 10, 12, 2 and maybe 4. We left at 10 and then caught the return taxi from Klein at 2:30. A lot of people went out at 10 and just stayed until the taxi picked them up at 12:30. Depends on what you want. As we did the drift snorkel which took 1 1/2 hours before we got back to the beach, we wanted time to relax, eat lunch, rest a little, etc. It worked out great. It was nice and breezy while we were there. That might make a difference. I think the price was around $15 pp. It was a little more for the drift snorkel. BUT - if you love to snorkel - do this. It was the best we did. Tons of healthy coral of all types. Colorful. And fish galore. Just wonderful. As you drift the shallows are on your left and the deep on your right. You can explore both ways. have fun. sue

Susan: I refer you to the "Local Police Chief - Arrests Made" thread under Topic "Local Items"
Glad you enjoyed the Belmar. My wife and I wouldn't stay anywhere else.

Sorry. That should have said "New Police Chief."

Marcus - thanks so much for drawing my attention to that thread. What good news that is. sue