Bonaire trip - some where else comparable?

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CPRC

Contributor
Messages
110
Reaction score
29
Location
Raleigh, nc
# of dives
500 - 999
No doubt Bonaire is beautiful dive destination. On a recent trip, my first to Bonaire, I experienced the following: efficient and organized dive shop (we stayed at Divi), onsite Covid testing, easy walk to restaurants, easy truck rental and cylinder shack next to P lot that was very well stocked with both air and Nx cylinders, short drives for shore diving. But…can anyone offer an equivalent diving experience with similar characteristics?
 
Do you mean anywhere else on Bonaire, or are you looking for destinations similar to Bonaire (in which case Curacao is the main contender)? When you say 'equivalent diving experience,' in what way? If it's shore diving, mainly Curacao, to some extent Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac, then maybe St. Croix and CocoView Resort in Roatan. If you mean quality reefs, Bonaire is good, but there are a number of places that compete nicely.

If you want a similar experience on Bonaire, then I've got to ask why you don't just go back to Divi Flamingo?
 
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curacao and grand cayman were both great imho. cayman aint cheap though.
 
Hi @CPRC

If you're talking about the shore diving, Bonaire is in a class by itself. However, Bonaire is limited in its flora and fauna. Many Caribbean locations are complimentary to what you see in Bonaire, and have a different diving experience. I very glad I've visited Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, Cayman Brac, Turks & Caicos, Curacao, Roatan, and Cozumel. I will add Belize to the list in April.

I've been to Bonaire 8 times now, 242 dives. I'll likely go back once or twice in 2022. However, variety is the spice of life, so many locations, so little time.

The Cayman Islands are now open. For fully vaccinated individuals previsit NAAT test, on island rapid testing
 
I have visited most, if not all, of the real dive destinations in the Caribbean with Bonaire and Curacao being the best. I have been to Curacao around 13 times and Bonaire 4 times. I prefer Curacao.
 
Grand Cayman is now open to fully-vaccinated travelers, but about 80% of the island—and nearly, if not, 100% of named dive sites—is being ravaged (their word, not mine) by SCTLD. Gear must be disinfected after diving a site. Visiting divers can be trained and join in the task of applying Medicine to corals which are infected but not yet consumed—certainly a worthwhile, if discouraging, pursuit. It is a heartbreaking situation, and devastating for the industry there, but I view Grand as an unacceptable venue for recreational diving until this undersea pandemic has burned itself out.
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i thought they had opened the borders to cayman. have they closed them again?
Sorta kinda. Need test prior to entry, then day 2, day 5 and day 10. Most dive places still hiring. Given the Cayman gov's previous Covid obsequiousness, I would avoid going like the plague.
 
I have been to Curacao around 13 times and Bonaire 4 times. I prefer Curacao.
Why do you prefer Curaçao? I’ve been to Bonaire but not to Curaçao so I always like to hear the comparisons of the two. I need to see if I’m missing out on something.
 

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