Bonaire November 1–22, 2025
The first thing one should do when one retires is run away to a Caribbean island for three weeks with the love of your life and two of your closest friends. We left the gray of Illinois on November 1st for Bonaire to scuba dive, snorkel, float in the sea, read, eat at great restaurants, play countless games, enjoy a few cocktails, and talk and laugh for hours. No schedule. No alarm clock. Totally unscripted.
Diving in the Deep
Michael started diving in 2016 and quickly found it to be his favorite activity. He refers to it as his own form of spa and tranquility. On this trip, 109 lifetime dives later, he became a certified Master Diver and completed his self-reliant certification.
I don’t dive, but I never tire of warm sunshine and the endlessly blue Caribbean Sea. I am a willing and enthusiastic supporter of his underwater pursuits. I do some snorkeling, but mostly spend my days reading, journaling, working on art, and dabbling in photography while Michael explores below the surface of the sea. It’s a combination that works well for us.
We favor Bonaire, renowned for its shore diving, and it has easily become our place of choice for both diving and relaxing. This was our fourth trip since we first traveled to Bonaire in 2025. Michael learned about it from one of his diving magazines while looking for a place to shore dive. The island offers roughly 80 dive sites, each marked by a yellow painted rock and the site’s name. Names like The Lake, Hilma Hooker, Bachelor’s Beach, and One Thousand Steps become part of daily conversation. Bonaire is also a favorite among wind and kite surfers.
The Dutch Antilles
Bonaire is one of the three islands that make up the Dutch Antilles, often referred to as the ABC Islands, along with Aruba and Curaçao. Located about 80 miles north of Venezuela, all three sit safely outside the hurricane zone.
There are no American hotel chains or restaurants on the island (Kentucky Fried Chicken being the lone exception). Accommodations tend to be VRBOs, Airbnbs, or dive resorts. There’s little nightlife to speak of, because most visitors are on Bonaire for the water and prefer a good night’s sleep to a late night out.
Thanks to its ties to the Netherlands, highly rated chefs and hospitality professionals often migrate here to escape the dark, damp European winters. The result is a dining scene that more than satisfies the foodie in us.
Traveling with Friends
Sharing the experience with our good friends Kerry and Dude made it even better. They completed their open water certifications shortly before the trip and proved to be excellent dive buddies for Michael.
Our days followed a gentle, predictable rhythm. always with options. Slow mornings that included coffee and breakfast. Perhaps a dive or swim off the pier at our villa. Most certainly reading by the private pool or catching up on emails and calls home. A simple lunch, then off for the day’s main dives.
Non diving days meant floating in the sea, reading on shore, or road tripping the island. Late afternoons usually found us at a favorite local bar for a cocktail and a snack of fries, shrimp, or a burger.
We formed a sweet habit of watching the sunset together and each naming our “blessing of the day.” Dinner followed, either out at one of the fine choices of restaurants or at home prepared by Kerry and Dude. We often ended the evening with a game of cards.
These were simple routines, deeply enjoyed, and now fondly remembered months later.
Why Bonaire?
Bonaire didn’t win us over with spectacle or noise. It stole our hearts with rhythm, restraint, and room to breathe. It reminded us that retirement doesn’t need to be busy to be full, and that joy often shows up quietly in shared meals, familiar routines, and unhurried days shaped by light and water. For three unscripted weeks, we lived exactly where we were, and that may be the greatest luxury of all.
Places we recommend
VIP Diving (great guides, excellent service, the only dive shop Michael uses) Chefs (reserve early, hard to get into, but worth it) La Cantina/The Brewery (best cocktails, charming atmosphere, terrific staff and service) At Home (private in home dining by Manouk and Egbert. My favorite experience) Melisa Sailing (small sailing vessel, an evening of great food while watching the sun set and the stars come out) Restaurant Flora (fine dining by the sea at a boutique restaurant. Michael’s favorite) Foodies (on the east side of the island on Lac Bay. Quiet, laid back, always our last stop before departing Bonaire.)
