Dive sites I will always do again, dive site I will not do again.

[Superlyte27]

I'll never do Red Slave again. Would go down on that hooker again.

 

[darook]

I never say never other than to Brussels Sprouts. Those are a hard pass. In terms of sites that if I am not excited to do on Bonaire, Hilma Hooker tops the list. Have done it plenty of times but it just doesn't do much for me. That said, if I am with someone new to the island and they have to do it, I certainly would. At this point in my diving career I get as big a charge out of sharing the excitement that a new diver has for a site than I do for any of my own favorites. If my buddies are having fun and being safe, I'm happy.

Left to my own devices the sites that I prefer are Salt Pier, everything near Atlantis that doesn't have a kite surfer on it on south to Red Slave. Turtle City is amazing as well. Something Special and Front Porch are great late day dives that don't feature great coral but lots of critters.

 

[Jersey]

I'm with Trail Boss, done the Hooker from shore and boat, meh. I like long dives over deep dives (Photog & video opportunities). Don't see the big attraction for Something Special - we call it "Something Not So Special"

I like to mix in boat dives, South Side Klein site, Bonaventure area, all have a lovely shallow plateau filled with interesting things. Salt Pier - at least twice. Garbage aside, it's always amazing. The sheer number of fish! Their behavior, fighting, mating, barracuda herding a bait ball. East Coast dives. The Lake, Tori's, Invisibles. All top my list. Anyone ever dove from the fishing village? We've done a couple of the other unmarked sites along the road (Nukove, Tailormade, Candyland) , just never gotten up to do the village at the end of the road.

 

[wildbill9]

I agree, all the hype over salt pier and what I thought.was how.nasty humans can be.

 

[tarponchik]

Cool video, thanks.

 

[Snoweman]

I never say never other than to Brussels Sprouts.

I don't know anything about diving in Bonaire, but I'm pretty sure the Brussels sprouts you have been served are overcooked. Get them done correctly (without that sulfur stench) and with a balsamic reduction, there is barely anything better.

 

[Trailboss123]

I never say never other than to Brussels Sprouts. Those are a hard pass. In terms of sites that if I am not excited to do on Bonaire, Hilma Hooker tops the list. Have done it plenty of times but it just doesn't do much for me. That said, if I am with someone new to the island and they have to do it, I certainly would. At this point in my diving career I get as big a charge out of sharing the excitement that a new diver has for a site than I do for any of my own favorites. If my buddies are having fun and being safe, I'm happy.

Left to my own devices the sites that I prefer are Salt Pier, everything near Atlantis that doesn't have a kite surfer on it on south to Red Slave. Turtle City is amazing as well. Something Special and Front Porch are great late day dives that don't feature great coral but lots of critters.

You nailed it @darook - well stated.

 

[Trailboss123]

I'm with Trail Boss, done the Hooker from shore and boat, meh. I like long dives over deep dives (Photog & video opportunities). Don't see the big attraction for Something Special - we call it "Something Not So Special"

I like to mix in boat dives, South Side Klein site, Bonaventure area, all have a lovely shallow plateau filled with interesting things. Salt Pier - at least twice. Garbage aside, it's always amazing. The sheer number of fish! Their behavior, fighting, mating, barracuda herding a bait ball. East Coast dives. The Lake, Tori's, Invisibles. All top my list. Anyone ever dove from the fishing village? We've done a couple of the other unmarked sites along the road (Nukove, Tailormade, Candyland) , just never gotten up to do the village at the end of the road.

I wasn't a huge fan of Something Special, but I did a night dive there with @darook @Soloist and @uncfnp once and it totally changed my perspective on the dive site. One of the best night dives I have ever done. The Octo encounter was worth the price of admission. Concur with you on Salt Pier. It is always amazing for me: It is not about the reef. It is about the creatures that have chosen to make it their home. I feel like everything there is to see on Bonaire can be seen at Salt Pier on this one dive site. You name it, you will see it-- Green Morays out swimming, spotted morays, chain morays, barracuda, tarpon, spotted drums (juvenile and adult), nudibranchs, banded coral shrimp, and just about every other thing that you can find on Bonaire seems to be right there at this one dive site. Salt Pier never disappoints.

If I am not mistaken, the "village at the end of the road" that you might be referring to is called Playa Frans. The last designated dive site up north past Nukove. It is an OK dive site. Not on my "must do" - Not even really on my "will do" at this point. When I am up in that territory, it is Karpata, Candyland and Nukove.

Diving the east coast is absolutely a must do. It is like diving on another island. It is an extra expense and extra effort, bit well worth it!
No one has mentioned 1,000 Steps. Absolutely one of my favorite dive sites and a non-negotiable and must do dive- for many reasons.

 

[rayaa3]

I wasn't a huge fan of Something Special, but I did a night dive there with @darook @Soloist and @uncfnp once and it totally changed my perspective on the dive site. One of the best night dives I have ever done. The Octo encounter was worth the price of admission. Concur with you on Salt Pier. It is always amazing for me: It is not about the reef. It is about the creatures that have chosen to make it their home. I feel like everything there is to see on Bonaire can be seen at Salt Pier on this one dive site. You name it, you will see it-- Green Morays out swimming, spotted morays, chain morays, barracuda, tarpon, spotted drums (juvenile and adult), nudibranchs, banded coral shrimp, and just about every other thing that you can find on Bonaire seems to be right there at this one dive site. Salt Pier never disappoints.

If I am not mistaken, the "village at the end of the road" that you might be referring to is called Playa Frans. The last designated dive site up north past Nukove. It is an OK dive site. Not on my "must do" - Not even really on my "will do" at this point. When I am up in that territory, it is Karpata, Candyland and Nukove.

Diving the east coast is absolutely a must do. It is like diving on another island. It is an extra expense and extra effort, bit well worth it!
No one has mentioned 1,000 Steps. Absolutely one of my favorite dive sites and a non-negotiable and must do dive- for many reasons.

1000 steps - its on my list of things I want to try, but the wife has had both knees scoped over the last 2 years. Even the 2nd dive on karpata (when we do karpata, we do 2 tanks there) is hard for her to climb steps, on her knees.

I've offered to carry her gear after dive, but she's too proud to let me, and too afraid of the pain to try those 'it looks like 1000 when you look down them' steps.

 

[Soloist]

Do again and again: Vista Blue, Sweet Dreams, Invisibles (we saw dolphins last October), Pink Beach, Something Special (especially at night), Tori’s and Bari’s Reef. I really like heading south from The Lake and swimming into the stern of the Hooker, but it’s a long there and back. On our last trip I completely drained my tank, but discovered I had geared up on one of my wife’s 63’s. Idiot! Not a fan of the Hooker, but we see eagle rays there quite a bit. Salt Pier can be fun at night if you find a green moray on the hunt.