1st time to Bonaire question

[Black Jack]

Another vote for renting the truck and shore diving! You will have more shore sites than you can dive in a reasonable period of time.

 

[diversteve]

I want to think the others on this board for giving me some must dives for I am planning to dive at least 25 to 30 dives. Would anyone recommend getting with the dive shop to dive the other side of the inland? Thanks

If you want to dive the East side, contact Larry's Wildside Diving. He runs a Zodiac out there. I've heard there's more big stuff on that side.

Although I agree with other posters that shorediving is the way to go, there are some boatdives that are worth it:

Rappel
Hands Off (Klein drift dive)
Forest (Klein)

Shore Dives we liked:

south
Angel City
Invisibles
Vista Blue (ripping current in the PM)
Salt Pier (DM escorted now)

north
La Machaca/Cliff (Habitat reef)
Bari Reef (Sand Dollar reef)
Witches Hut
Rappel (boat only)

sites that were less memorable
South Bay
Jeff Davis
Jerry's Reef (although we found turtles near the mooring)

 

[Antietam]

Thanks for all the advise. It really sounds like Bonaire was the right choice! Cant wait to dive wherever, whenever we want. How many tanks can you take with you when you rent a truck? Do they limit you? Have narrowed down our resorts to Buddy and Sand Dollar with the edge going to Sand$ only because the house reef. Any thoughts?

 

[Walter]

Usually no limit on tanks, but how many can you expect to burn in a day of diving?

The walk back up isn't that bad assuming you're in reasonable good shape. I'm an old fat man and had no problems with it.

 

[NDH]

Thanks sjspeck
That is some really good info. We can't wait to hit the water.

 

[herman]

Thanks for all the advise. It really sounds like Bonaire was the right choice! Cant wait to dive wherever, whenever we want. How many tanks can you take with you when you rent a truck? Do they limit you? Have narrowed down our resorts to Buddy and Sand Dollar with the edge going to Sand$ only because the house reef. Any thoughts?

If the only reason your choosing SD over Buddy is the reef, you may want to reconsider, the 2 properties are side by side with a stone wall seperating them. Nothing wrong with SD but I do like the atmosphere at Buddy better. The Buddy staff at both the dive op and resort treat you like family....go back a couple of times and I'm not too sure your not family. One of the many reasons Buddy is almost always full even in the low season.

 

[piikki]

Thanks for all the advise. It really sounds like Bonaire was the right choice! Cant wait to dive wherever, whenever we want. How many tanks can you take with you when you rent a truck? Do they limit you? Have narrowed down our resorts to Buddy and Sand Dollar with the edge going to Sand$ only because the house reef. Any thoughts?

I asked from BDA about the tanks and they said they prefer max 2tanks/person to be taken out at a time.

Steve/others, if one gets to be the first one to request a site for Klein which one would you recommend for an easy/intermediate one for a first timer there? One to showcase the difference to main island? We are not too hot on drifts btw.

 

[DiverVince]

Antietam..You'll never go back to Roatan again..As Herman indicated above, the reef in front of Buddy & Sand Dollar (as well as Capt Don...they call this area "hotel row") are basically identical. Use different criteria to make your choice.

 

[diversteve]

Steve/others, if one gets to be the first one to request a site for Klein which one would you recommend for an easy/intermediate one for a first timer there? One to showcase the difference to main island? We are not too hot on drifts btw.

Usually it's by vote on the boat. So it depends. We let ourselves be talked into Rappel instead of a Klein site - which was one of our better dives. And nothing is really more than 15-20min. away by boat so there's no reluctance on the part of the crew to dive the better sites.

Of the Klein sites I mentioned, the only one I'd dive again is Forest. It was kind of similar to the others until the DM pointed out a "forest" of Black Coral at 70'.

 

[rdwhahb]

If the only reason your choosing SD over Buddy is the reef, you may want to reconsider, the 2 properties are side by side with a stone wall seperating them. Nothing wrong with SD but I do like the atmosphere at Buddy better. The Buddy staff at both the dive op and resort treat you like family....go back a couple of times and I'm not too sure your not family. One of the many reasons Buddy is almost always full even in the low season.

^^ I'll second those remarks. Buddy is great...their pool bar isn't bad either. :14: I was really impressed with the amount of life in the water just around their docks, as we like to snorkel between dives. We looked at the docks of nearby resorts and just couldn't get over how much better the shallows were at Buddy. Perhaps it's because they throw melon rinds and bread in the water there. *wink*

Two of my favorite remote dives were Oil Slick (that jump is fun) and Angel City (huge rock formations).

If staying at Buddy, swim North (right) a short ways past the parasail boat. There is a small wreck here. There is a huge moray that hangs out in the bottom of that boat.

Don't be afraid of the work at 1000 steps. I wussed out and only brought my snorkel to 1000 Steps. After getting there I realized that the hike wouldn't have been nearly as bad as I had feared. I never made it back with my gear though.