Paradise was found during our first visit to Bonaire. Now, our 7th stay on the island, and this place is pure magic. The sweet sound of the water, the wind in your hair, my perfect partner by my side…It’s clearly a match made in heaven.
We love the island for so many reasons…Bonaire is rustic, beautiful, unassuming and totally unexpected. It’s not for everyone, but it’s definitely for us.
Bonaire is considered one of the most underrated islands in the Caribbean. The ABC islands are all part of the Dutch Caribbean. Bonaire is the 'B' in the ABC Islands, and it's just 47 miles from its 'C' sibling, Curaçao. Both live in the shadow of their 'A' cousin Aruba.
We have been to all 3 islands and they are very different (for so many reasons). One time, we visited all 3 islands during one trip!
SMS Travels to the ABC Islands
We have come to absolutely LOVE Bonaire. The island has reliable year-round sunshine, and there is no hurricane season to speak of. Thankfully, my blog doesn't have many followers, or else more people would be visiting Bonaire :)
Prior to this trip, we purchased a DJI Osmo Action 5 camera. We took so many incredible videos and even started a YouTube channel. We are quite the amateurs, but I've linked a few videos throughout the blog.
This was our 4th time renting the Waterdream Watervilla Airbnb. While it's much larger than we need, the private pool is a game-changer. We love sitting outside on our back patio during all hours of the day and night.
Once again, we rented a Moke, which is quite possibly the coolest car we've ever driven...and definitely the coolest car on the island! It is a cross between a golf cart and a Jeep...standard shift, open air and so much fun!
When I saw the PINK Moke, I nearly lost it...a pink car on the island of flamingos. I mean, Bonaire's airport is named the Flamingo Airport, and it's PINK! This was too good to be true!
I guess it was...hahaha. We experienced some car issues, but Hertz quickly replaced it with a "not-as-fun" white Moke.
Still adorable, and very very cool!
Per usual, we enjoyed a lot of great food, fun drinks and lots of snorkeling. The food is surprisingly spectacular and we have a handful of favorites we make sure to enjoy during each of our visits to the island.
It Rains Fishes, Osaka, El Bigote and Chefs Bonaire are our top choices, followed closely by Sebastian's, Brass Boer and Bina (new to the list!)
It Rains Fishes is a waterfront restaurant in downtown Kralendijk. We ate here for dinner four times (including my birthday!) and again for lunch. Their catch of the day (typically snapper, but the wahoo is our favorite), fish and chips and tuna poke bowl are all consistent and delicious!
Osaka is the place we go to when we want refreshing and delicious sushi and sashimi. We went 3x during our stay and our favorites are the tuna tataki, tuna sashimi, and the spicy caterpillar, kamikaze, hurricane and red dragon sushi rolls. The penicillin cocktail is excellent!
El Bigote has great Mexican food. We went 2x during this stay. I can't count how many times we've been to El Bigote (10+ times...) and I've ordered the ribs every single time. Sometimes I'll share them with Steve, but I just can't get myself to order anything else. Our favorites are the ribs, jalapeno poppers and Caesar salad. We call it the trifecta! Surprisingly, the key lime pie (more like a mousse) is delicious!
So much to love at this cool little spot.
Chefs Bonaire requires reservations up to 6 months in advance so I jumped on these back in December and we snagged 2 reservations during this visit. The overall experience is like no other and THE BEST on the island. Not only is the food always divine, but Han and Mark always make every guest feel special.
Brass Boer has been a favorite place for us in the past. This time, we decided not to eat here for dinner (it takes a really long time...) so we tried their 5-course breakfast instead.
Sebastian's is the place to go for some of the best sunsets. We enjoy their spicy spaghetti pasta, shrimp fettuccini and lobster pappardelle.
Sonrisa Bonaire is a small restaurant at a boutique hotel. They have themed dinners a few nights a week so we decided to give them a try on their fondue and schnitzel nights. The cheap wine was a bonus!
Pizza Mare was a good lunch spot after a morning of snorkeling on the north side of the island. We ordered the pepperoni pizza and added ricotta cheese.
Yhanni's Arepas is a casual and comfortable outdoor dining spot that strictly serves arepas. It’s great to hit up instead of a food truck. You can easily take it to-go, but we prefer eating there so we can add their delicious sauces to each bite. The prices are also very reasonable. We enjoyed the Pabellon with any of the meats.
Between 2 Buns is a great spot to stop if you are hungry before snorkeling the north side of the island. It is open for breakfast and lunch and is popular with locals. We really enjoy being able to order lunch items early in the morning. Our go-to is the jalapeno popper grilled cheese with French fries. We also have a difficult time resisting the items in their dessert case.
Stoked food truck is a repurposed red, double-decker bus that sits on top of a perch over-looking Te Amo beach. It has typical fare made up of burgers and wraps and they serve potato wedges in lieu of fries.
We tried a few new places this visit including...
Bina is the nicest of three restaurants located within the Chogogo Dive & Beach Resort. It has a lovely atmosphere that overlooks the water. They have a small a la carte menu, but you can also choose a surprise chef’s menu of 3, 4 or 5 courses that can be paired with wine. We found the chef’s menu to be creative and delicious. We were also treated to generous pours for our wine pairing and the service and pacing of courses was perfect on the night we dined.
The vibe at Eddy’s is different than a lot of the other dinner places we frequent. It is much more casual and even has live music some nights. The menu draws influence from Colombian and Venezuelan cuisine with a heavy local spin. The tres leches cake is outstanding!
Saus’e is a cute, super casual fast food stand that caught our eye as we drove by one day. We were completely blown away by how amazing their smash burgers were. Unfortunately, they are only open a few nights a week (Th-Sun). I wish they were open for lunch because it would be a perfect spot that we might crave daily. Even though the atmosphere isn’t what we lean towards for dinner, we will figure out how to fit it in during future visits.
Seaside Kriyoyo Fusion is located on the water in the recently renovated Isidel Beach Park, next to the Chogogo Beach Resort. They are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but we view it as a good place for lunch or snack accompanied with a beer or cocktail. The menu has a lot of local flare and we enjoyed the Chicken Rouleau during both visits.
Daily Catch is a cute fish market located in downtown Kralendijk that also serves lunch, primarily to go. We tried the fish tacos and fish & chips, but the highlight was watching the beautiful freshly caught fish get delivered.
Ons Broodje is a charming and very reasonably priced sandwich shop in downtown Kralendijk. All of the sandwiches are served on freshly baked bread and you can order cold sandwiches beginning at 7:00 am and warm sandwiches starting at 9:00 am (they also serve breakfast). The Dutch menus and greeting when we arrived was intimidating initially, but the staff was very warm, welcoming and helpful.
Don't forget to stop at Gio's or Luciano's for gelato. Just perfect!
Unfortunately, a few other favorites were closed for the summer, but looking forward to visiting Mezze for dinner again, and Cactus Blue and King Kong food trucks for lunch!
Sometimes, we'd go into downtown Kralendijk before dinner so we could grab a drink and watch the sunset.
The drive down the main road is quite beautiful during anytime of day or night.
Check out this video from our YouTube channel.
Other times, we enjoyed a few bubbles before dinner. Who doesn't love bubbles?!
The drive around the southern part of the island is our favorite thing to do and there is so much to see! Salt mines, donkeys (they were always posing for me!), flamingos, turquoise blue water...it's beautiful. We usually stop at a few snorkel sites during the drive. It's so easy to hop out of the car and get right in the water.
Take a look at this video from our YouTube channel.
Jibe City is easily one of our favorite places on the island. It's on the complete other side from our place and the drive is incredible. Once you arrive, it's pure relaxation. A bucket of beers and a bowl of fries from Sebastian's Beach Bar...that's what I call the breakfast of champions! We would spend most mornings here enjoying the sun and watching wind surfers.
Bonaire is home to three of the world’s seven species of sea turtles. Green and hawksbill turtles can be seen year-round, while loggerheads generally visit only during the nesting season.
You can learn more about Bonaire's Sea Turtle by visiting the Sea Turtle Conservation website
During our visit, we joined one of their nest monitoring patrols on the island of Klein Bonaire.
This was the second time we’ve volunteered with this group, and we absolutely love it! I’ve had an affinity for turtles for a long time, so this experience makes my heart so happy. Just after sunrise, we traveled via boat to the uninhabited island of Klein Bonaire where we spent five hours hiking along the beach. The island isn’t open to visitors until after 9 am, so we had it all to ourselves.
We looked for new nests and monitored the existing 38 nests. Only 6 nests had hatched prior to today, but we were lucky and found a nest to excavate and released 12 babies! What an incredible experience!
Bonaire proudly holds the distinction of being the world's first "Blue Destination," which is recognition for exceptional sustainable tourism and marine conservation efforts. It is the only country in the world to be completely surrounded by a protected marine park — and that means incredible underwater worlds.
For this reason, Bonaire is one of the best islands for snorkeling on the planet, and known as the shore-diving capital of the world, with 54 of its 86 spots all accessible right from the sand.
Something that's easily noticeable as you drive around Bonaire are the yellow stones. Bonaire’s yellow stones serve a dual function. They help snorkelers and divers find their way, but also protect the fragile coral reef. With black lettering, they are clearly visible and point you in the right direction.
The Walk/Drift/Snorkel from Andrea 1 to Andrea 2 is easily our favorite snorkel on Bonaire. Both of these sites are located on the northern part of the island.
Take a look at this video on our YouTube channel.
1,000 Steps is another favorite northern snorkel site. The site gets its name from the limestone stairs you have to descend to get there. Though the name might sound a bit intimidating, it's actually only about 67 steps. The site consists of white sand and bleached chunks of coral, and the cove is surrounded by limestone cliffs.
Take a look at this video on our YouTube channel.
Well, there you have it!
18 days…and it’s never long enough! Our 7th visit to the island and time and time again, we are so happy to be in a place where we feel total peace.
Fun in the sun, feet in the sand, and snorkeling in the sea...Cheers to living our island dream!
