GETTING THERE AND BACK—Yikes! What a nightmare! Now that Air Jamaica doesn’t fly into Bonaire midweek, we had to fly into Curacao. The flight out of Jamaica had mechanical problems and was delayed 7 hours. We didn’t arrive in Curacao until 10 pm. By that time, there were no more Divi Divi flights leaving for Bonaire. AJ refused to put us in a hotel for the night. Just as we were about to give up and pay for a hotel ourselves, we saw a light on in the Dutch Antilles Express office and managed to book a flight with them that was leaving in just 30 minutes! We arrived on Bonaire at around 11 pm, after being up since 4 am.

The return was just as bad. Divi Divi failed to load our luggage, and when we got to Curacao we had no bags with an international connection to make. We got to the Air Jamaica counter only to find out their flight to Montego Bay was CANCELLED (they had our e mail address but never notified us). They ended up putting us on an American flight to Miami. To Divi Divi’s credit, everyone was apologetic and very helpful. The American flight was about 3 hours delayed, so the next Divi Divi flight brought our bags in time to check them in for the American flight.

ACCOMMODATIONS—We stayed at Caribbean Club Bonaire. Friendly managers, simple but clean 1 BR bungalow with small kitchen, great rates. What’s not to love?

RENTAL CAR—We used Island Rentals and got a very nice Chevrolet S10 double cab pickup with air. Due to it being low season and the fact that they did not have the vehicle we wanted, they made us a good deal on the S10.

DINING—We ate at many places. Won’t mention them all—just the ones we were favorably impressed with.

Mona Lisa—Our long-standing, all time favorite. Everything Chef Hans makes is delectable! Regular menu can be a bit pricey, but the barhap is a great deal. Delicious potatoes served there. The food is wonderfully flavorful and creative, and the cheesecake with homemade sorbet of the day is always scrumptious! The passion fruit cheesecake with mango sorbet was wow, wow, wow!

Casablanca—Can’t beat the grilled meats, the Casablanca Chicken, size of the portions or prices. Second night on the island, we ordered the mixed grill for two at $40 and ate lunch on the leftovers for two days.

Cactus Blue—(See under “Dining”Topic our review entitled “CACTUS BLUE GETS OUR VOTE FOR BEST NEW RESTAURANT”) This is a great place! Just down the street from Casablanca. Yummy food, nice owners.

Julio’s Place—This little local eatery saved our necks the night we arrived. What else is open on the island at 11 pm in the middle of the week? Good burgers at a good price along with some other dishes. Coming from Capt. Don’s Habitat on the main road toward town, it is on the right where the road curves to go toward Cultimara.

Donna and Georgio’s—We like the new location on the waterfront near Divi Flamingo. The dinner salad was great! Spaghetti with meat sauce was good. Prices reasonable.

Den Laman—Our first time to this restaurant. Loved the location. Beautiful waterfront views from an open air dining room. Food was very good. Would have returned for a second round, but we ran out of time. It is located at the roundabout near Buddy Dive.

Buddy Dive pool restaurant—Had two lunches there. Good sandwiches, lovely ocean views, a beautiful video of underwater sea life on the in-house TVs and some BIG iguanas that like to be fed and photographed.

Zeezight—A great burger deal at lunch--$6, comes with fries and you can eat on the waterfront in AIR CONDITIONING!

Lost Penguin—Great breakfasts. We love the Belgian waffles with maple, chocolate and our favorite, coconut –lime, syrups. Also has a good variety of sandwiches, nachos, salsa and chips, salads and the iced tea is all you can drink! Very reasonable.

Le-Ma-Se Grocery in Rincon—Yummy milkshakes! Try the banana.

Ate at other restaurants, but they were just so-so. Wanted to try Bistro Le Paris, but one of the owner’s family members died and the restaurant was closed. We extend our condolences and hope to visit next time.

Dishonorable Mentions:

Cappucino Bar at the end of the downtown pier—Beware! Drink prices change from night to night, depending on who is working. We paid anywhere from 7 guilders to 12 guilders a drink for virgin cocktails on different nights. We went at the same time each night. So why the difference in prices? Go figure…

An unnamed restaurant—Had tasty food at very cheap prices. But we both got a case of Montezuma’s revenge almost immediately afterward that took a week to get rid of. Don’t want to ruin business by calling names--maybe it was a one time thing--but we probably will not return.

SNORKELING SITES—We are snorkelers, not divers. Tried diving and decided we like the “bigger overall view” from the surface. Also, we like to stay in the water for hours and have the luxury of following a fish, turtle, ray, school of squid or whatever for 45 minutes at a time if we want. We snorkeled a lot of places. These were our favorites in order of preference.

Wayaka II in Washington Slagbaai Park—Lots of marine life. We saw 3 lobsters here. Two were together under a coral shelf. They weighed about 5 and 7 pounds each. Pointed them out to some other snorkelers, and we all agreed they were the biggest lobsters any of us had ever seen. Also saw two flounders and several eels. Many varieties of fish here. Near the shore, the coral is in grotto-like formations that make for interesting snorkeling. Easy in and out via a small sand beach.

Hidden Beach—After two years of trying, we finally found it! On the south end between Sweet Dreams and Margate Bay. Behind a large clump of bushes. Someone has made a small drive in from the road and marked the shoreline with a pile of rocks with a pole stuck in them. The “beach” is not much. Just a bit of sand strewn with big pieces of washed up coral. The reef is about 20-30 yards out. Go straight in, and if the prevailing winds permit, swim left first and then drift back. The coral is phenomenal—so many varieties! We must have gone 1/2 mile up the shore before turning back. Just as we were exiting in about 3 feet of water SUDDENLY a SCHOOL of gigantic parrot fish charged us (probably ran from us is more accurate, but it looked like charging). We followed them out into about 10 feet of water, and once they saw we were no threat, they almost ignored us. Allowed us to get up among them. We counted 23 altogether. They were easily 2-3 feet long each—massive! We’d seen maybe one or two at a time in the past, but never a school of 23! Incredible!

Rock Pile at Klein Bonaire—We paid a small fee to join a dive boat to get to some areas of Klein we’d never seen. While the divers were in the water, we snorkeled up a storm. Beautiful coral here, but it was somewhat deep so fish life was hard to identify. Also, it was a bit more choppy than we really like to snorkel in.

Andrea I and II—Went there on separate snorkels. Always big schools of fish here and lots of variety. Also, some fairly nice coral out deeper. Be sure to snorkel along the shoreline as well as out deeper to get the full effect. Both times we went here we saw turtles. Usually we encounter a school of squid. If the sea is choppy, this will be about the calmest place on the island to snorkel. Try entering at Andrea I and snorkel to the left along the shoreline to Petries Pillar (buoy in the deeper water will have the name on it). Then go out deeper to the dropoff and snorkel back to your entry point. Or enter at Andrea II and snorkel left to Andrea I and back.

Thousand Steps—The surf can be a little challenging here, so pick a calm day. Pretty easy in and out from a beach. Nice coral but in a little deeper water.

Oil Slick Leap—It is as it says. Put on your gear and take a flying leap off the small cliff. This is a rather deep snorkel site and sometimes can have choppy waves, so pick a calm day. We suggest going to the left along the shoreline toward the homes. There are some interesting coral formations. We saw a medium sized barracuda here and three beautiful white jellyfish the size of soccer balls. Snorkel around the shoreline near the homes before going out a little deeper for the snorkel back. Getting out is easy as there is a swimming pool type ladder to assist you.

Tori’s Reef—Nothing much out deep so stay close to the shoreline. Many varieties of fish. We saw an octopus here. Very easy in and out as there is a canal leading into the ocean.

Old Sunset Beach Hotel Rubble—Enter at the wall by the Den Laman restaurant and go left. There is an old submerged pier that makes for some interesting exploring as well as some big rocks in the water. We saw a large crab being closely followed by a flounder. It was so funny to watch. Everywhere that crab would go, the flounder was right with him. Don’t go too far toward Eden Beach as there is nothing but sand—in close or out deep.

MISCELLANEOUS—If you forget a washcloth (facecloth), they can be purchased at Cultimara in the housewares section. For Styrofoam ice chests, check the Warehouse Market behind Lisa Gas. Almost anything can be found at the Superstore, the island’s version of “Wal-Mart.” From town, go toward Capt. Don’s Habitat to the roundabout. Take the road to the right and go down about 2 blocks. The Superstore is on the left. Going to Ol’ Blue, Karpata or Washington Slagbaai Park and don’t want to circle the island to get back to town? There is a shortcut! Go past Karpata and take the paved road to the right toward Rincon and Washington Park. A short distance on the right will be a gravel road. There is a red rock marking the entrance. This road will take you back to the main road toward town just above Oil Slick Leap. From Washington Park simply double back through Rincon toward Karpata until you reach the gravel road. If you need to rent a cell phone, check out Chat ‘n Browse at the roundabout near Buddy Dive. Michael Gaynor made us a great deal as he did last time we were on the island.

Overall, it was a great 16 days on Bonaire. We tried to find the guys who were kitesurfing around the island but could never locate them. Would love to see them in action. We did drive around to Lac Bay and watch the windsurfers one day. Mostly, we just rested and relaxed. And, after all...isn't that what a vacation is supposed to be all about? :-)

So many places ! Great ! Makes me want to put my snorkel mask and fins on. Doesn't surprise us with AJ . We will not use them anymore after getting stuck in Montego Bay over night with no plane for us to return. Great restaurants ! Glad you had a nice time

Great report! Thanks for taking the time to write. Karen and I are looking forward to our January migration. We have also searched for Hidden Beach. Glad to know it's really there. Like you, Mona Lisa is one of our very favorite places on the planet.

Larry - thanks for such a detailed report! Now I realize how many places we haven't been to & must try in Feb! Sounds like you had some great snorkeling too.
Too bad about the flights - you just never know. Last year went without a hitch but the two previous years were awful. We've been going with AA but at least if something goes wrong they make up for it in vouchers & putting us up in nice hotels.
Thanks again for a great report

Thanks for the great snorkeling trip report!!! I felt like I was right there snorkeling beside you! I will be there in just two short weeks and I can't wait!!!

Larry, thanks for sharing your trip with us!

Aren't alpha male rainbow parrotfish incredible? Last year at (I believe) Soft Corral Gardens some friends and I watched a large school of them cruising the shallows - awesome sight indeed!

Great report Larry! I'm a happy to hear that someone can find Hidden Beach. I will try again to find it this December.

Nice report! Hidden Beach is a great dive as well as a snorkel. Have any pics?

I really wish that everyone would start boycotting AJ. Their whole attitude about everything is really repulsive. There was a time when I thought they were the most reliable and together airline in the business. Now, I feel the direct opposite. My last three encounters with AJ has been an absolute nightmare. It is almost unfortunate that Montego Bay or Kingston has become a hub for the rest of the Caribbean. This is the only thing that keeps AJ in business. It certainly is not their reliability or customer care.

Sorry Larry. In my rant I forgot to mention what a nice report you made for us.

Sorry, we don't have any photos. We don't own a digital underwater camera because we only go to the Caribbean to snorkel once a year. We tried the disposable underwater cameras--forget that! The photos were awful.

Concerning Air Jamaica, while we were on Bonaire a business owner told us that the Jamaican government took over AJ and that's when it went downhill. Can't verify the accuracy of that one way or the other.

Thanks everyone for your nice comments!

Can't wait for my trip to Bonaire on AJ the 14th of Oct. What a great airline! I wouldn't travel anyother way! ... Ron

To each his own...

Our previous two trips on AJ were fine. But it's been two years since we flew them. This trip was a nightmare--not just one way, but BOTH ways.

Fantastic report with wonderful details Larry! I'm "just" a snorkeler too and I loved the descriptions of some of my fave places and some I haven't tried yet.

My first time to Bon was 4 yrs ago and it was on AJ...no a/c coming or going! When others and I complained to the flight attendants, they made up excuses. I vowed never to fly them again...so I think they weren't great quite awhile ago. Flown AA ever since with no complaints.

Ron, as I said before, AJ used to be a superb airline. On my 14 trips to Bonaire, all have been with them, as they fly out of Philadelphia. It has just been our last 3 times that Murphy's Law was upon us with them. We were stuck in Philadelphia, stuck in Montego Bay, cancelled flights at the last minute, arrogance from their employees, and a whole myriad of other things. Anyway, please give Babs and Harry my best if you are styaing at the Dive Inn.

Larry, nice report. Heck, it sounds like it didn't take you too long at all to get to Bonaire! (just kidding, takes me over 24 hours from the left coast...lol). It does seem to be getting more difficult to get to Bonaire, regardless. Glad you didn't let your delay in getting there ruin your trip.

Tom...you are correct..."Last year at (I believe) Soft Corral Gardens some friends and I watched a large school of them cruising the shallows - awesome sight indeed!" I believe that someone said "it looks like 13 rastas cruising the shallows"