Bonaire must do

[daka]

If you are going to be in Bonaire, there are 2 things that you MUST do

1.) WELL IN ADVANCE of your trip book a GOLF CART tour (self guided) from BONAIRE CRUISERS, this is a 2 year old company that rents new Yamaha (gas) Golf Carts.

This is the  most fun you can have (at 15 mph), the cart rental is about $100 for the day. They mark off a route on a map, and off you go....(we immediately get lost, always happens to us) but since there are only a few roads and the island is so small, don't "sweat" it...you'll see other "carters" and get straight.

2.) While on your tour be sure to stop at SOROBON BEACH, and go to the SORONAT BAR (take your swim stuff, rent a chair for $5 )

You can have a GREAT lunch at the SORONAT, be sure to have a look at the upscale restaurant that unfortunately is only open for dinner...

We had one of the best days ever.......(and we'll do it again some time)

 

Edited November 17, 2018 by daka

[GloriaF]

Thanks for the golf cart rental heads up -- sounds like lots of fun!!  

 

Do the golf carts hold two or four people?

[ar1950]

4 minutes ago, GloriaF said:

Thanks for the golf cart rental heads up -- sounds like lots of fun!!  

 

Do the golf carts hold two or four people?

Looks like two people.

http://www.bonairecruisers.com/

 

[neverbeenhere]

Appears they have off-road vehicles that seat four. 

[daka]

Yes 2 people.....DON'T MISS IT

[voljeep]

Snorkeling ...

[mcrcruiser]

What with drivers  off cruise ships renting cars & driving on unfamiliar  roads & driving rules , I would question the safety of riding in a golf cart on a road meant for cars & trucks . JMVHO

[mcrcruiser]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

Snorkeling ...

 Bonaire is the best of the 3 ABC islands to snorkel 

[OCruisers]

If you like to snorkel, don't miss doing so in Bonaire!  

[foodsvcmgr]

Look for the flocks of wild flamingos at Goto Lake or the salt flats.

[daka]

12 minutes ago, mcrcruiser said:

What with drivers  off cruise ships renting cars & driving on unfamiliar  roads & driving rules , I would question the safety of riding in a golf cart on a road meant for cars & trucks . JMVHO

We did not find that to be a problem, there are no HIGHWAYS, and it seemed to me that the "locals" were VERY TOLERANT of the "TOURISTS"

[Wilson]

Bonaire has some amazing snorkeling. The absolute best company is Woodwind Tours.

 

[h-sar]

3 hours ago, mcrcruiser said:

What with drivers  off cruise ships renting cars & driving on unfamiliar  roads & driving rules , I would question the safety of riding in a golf cart on a road meant for cars & trucks . JMVHO

 

Last Christmas, when we were doing our van tour of Bonaire, we were so jealous of all the people who had rented golf carts. So wish we had done the same! I’m very paranoid about driving myself around on any Caribbean island, but would have absolutely no qualms in Bonaire as it was so flat, very little traffic, and everyone was going at a very leisurely peace. 

[daka]

19 hours ago, h-sar said:

 

Last Christmas, when we were doing our van tour of Bonaire, we were so jealous of all the people who had rented golf carts. So wish we had done the same! I’m very paranoid about driving myself around on any Caribbean island, but would have absolutely ***********no qualms in Bonaire as it was so flat, very little traffic, and everyone was going at a very leisurely peace. ****************

This is true, driving the golf cart was absolutely no problem....just one thing to look out for, when you do pull off the pavement, watch out for a big drop to the "sand" in places it was about 4 - 6", and it made a bit of a bump...but certainly not dangerous...just use COMMON SENSE...(?)

[kayehall]

On ‎11‎/‎17‎/‎2018 at 3:47 PM, daka said:

If you are going to be in Bonaire, there are 2 things that you MUST do

1.) WELL IN ADVANCE of your trip book a GOLF CART tour (self guided) from BONAIRE CRUISERS, this is a 2 year old company that rents new Yamaha (gas) Golf Carts.

This is the  most fun you can have (at 15 mph), the cart rental is about $100 for the day. They mark off a route on a map, and off you go....(we immediately get lost, always happens to us) but since there are only a few roads and the island is so small, don't "sweat" it...you'll see other "carters" and get straight.

2.) While on your tour be sure to stop at SOROBON BEACH, and go to the SORONAT BAR (take your swim stuff, rent a chair for $5 )

You can have a GREAT lunch at the SORONAT, be sure to have a look at the upscale restaurant that unfortunately is only open for dinner...

We had one of the best days ever.......(and we'll do it again some time)

 

Did you just go south on the carts or did you see the north end too?  Which was better...like more to see?

[daka]

We decided to just go North and see the beaches, salt mine, Flamingo's, (just a few, not flocks like I expected), and the SOROBON Beach "resort" SORONAT Bar ... you could do both, but we will go south the next time...

We've been on a lot of  Western, and Eastern Caribbean cruises, but the Southern (A B C) is the best cruise, we are going to go just there from now on, Curisau and Bonaire are the best 

[Duanerice1]

The don't miss on Bonaire is snorkeling around Klein Bonaire.  Some of the best in the world.  And yea, the golf carts are fun but can be done in many places and are great for people that don;t want world class snorkeling.  This quality of snorkeling can't be done in that many places.

 

For those that are worried, renting golf carts on Bonaire is very popular and the roads are very safe.  Doesn't mean something can't happen but the people are used to it.

 

Edited November 24, 2018 by Duanerice1

[CTSandy]

Just back from Bonaire and we rented a golf cart - wonderful experience and I can't recommend it highly enough.  They give you a sheet with emergency numbers - we asked if anyone had ever reported an injury/accident and they said they've never had a call.  They did say that one of the problems is that people pull them off on the road and don't look at where they're going and run over thorns that puncture the tires and then have to call for help.  Not much traffic on the roads and everyone was very polite.  Would do this again in a minute - our best excursion on the cruise!

[wheezedr]

Had a great day with the golf cart rental but would add one small tip.  Do not leave anything in the basket of the cart, even if just a short stop for a picture.  On our day a couple stopped for a quick photo op. They were in view of their cart so figured it was ok to leave their pack.  In literally seconds two guys on a motorcycle zipped past , grabbed the bag and were long gone before they could react.  Be cautious.

[capriccio]

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise that included our second visit to Bonaire.  On our first a few years ago we did the snorkeling excursion with Woodwind and agree with everyone's high praises of Dee and her guides.  This year we rented a golf cart and drove around the entire island (both north and south routes) with a visit to the Donkey Sanctuary (https://donkeysanctuary.org/en/) that was great.  We had no traffic problems and only made one wrong turn (realized almost immediately). 

[jean87510]

17 hours ago, capriccio said:

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise that included our second visit to Bonaire.  On our first a few years ago we did the snorkeling excursion with Woodwind and agree with everyone's high praises of Dee and her guides.  This year we rented a golf cart and drove around the entire island (both north and south routes) with a visit to the Donkey Sanctuary (https://donkeysanctuary.org/en/) that was great.  We had no traffic problems and only made one wrong turn (realized almost immediately). 

Was just about to post about donkey sanctuary. Great 1-2 hour side trip. But take a car or golf cart there. Taxis do not like to go there or pick up per the owner and our experience. Owner drove us back to port. It was my teenagers favorite stop on a 7 port cruise.

[Soul Brother]

We were in Bonaire last week and booked Woodwind back in June based on the rave reviews on this site.

 

Have to say, it was actually better than I could have ever imagined.

Dee and her crew are amazing, they have all the gear you could ever need (I'm a big guy and they had stuff that fit me) including a dive shirt.

The walk from the ship is so easy and close.

The Woodwind is a beautiful catamaran with ample covered areas if you're not wanting too much sun.

The guide we had was amazing, pointing out many things that we would have never seen on our own.

Saw 2 sea turtles and one actually got partially on my back (turtles doing, not mine) as I just floated there.

 

We did the 4 hour tour.  It included one dive, then snack of watermelon and cookies.  Then a second dive off the deeper part of the reef (where we saw the turtles).  Followed by a great stir fry type lunch as we headed back. Unlimited drinks as well including beer/wine.

Do not miss this tour if you're able to get it.  It's the best time and value we had during our entire cruise.

[Reginaldvanpelt]

On 1/9/2019 at 11:19 AM, Soul Brother said:

We were in Bonaire last week and booked Woodwind back in June based on the rave reviews on this site.

 

Have to say, it was actually better than I could have ever imagined.

Dee and her crew are amazing, they have all the gear you could ever need (I'm a big guy and they had stuff that fit me) including a dive shirt.

The walk from the ship is so easy and close.

The Woodwind is a beautiful catamaran with ample covered areas if you're not wanting too much sun.

The guide we had was amazing, pointing out many things that we would have never seen on our own.

Saw 2 sea turtles and one actually got partially on my back (turtles doing, not mine) as I just floated there.

 

We did the 4 hour tour.  It included one dive, then snack of watermelon and cookies.  Then a second dive off the deeper part of the reef (where we saw the turtles).  Followed by a great stir fry type lunch as we headed back. Unlimited drinks as well including beer/wine.

Do not miss this tour if you're able to get it.  It's the best time and value we had during our entire cruise.

 

Thanks for the review. We have this scheduled for our May cruise and I'm really looking forward to it!

[springfire]

We will be renting a golf cart for the morning and booked a snorkeling trip with Woodwind for the afternoon.  It might be much but we want to see and do as much as we can.  We will be in Bonaire the first week in February.

[Barton Seagoon]

Thanks for the tip on the golf carts.  We have just booked one, for our day on Bonaire on the 4th of Febuary.  It sounds like it will be a lot of fun!

 

"Barton"