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The Black Coral at Forest maybe? The site name is indicative of how much is there in one area.
1st time to Bonaire..questions!
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I'm actually a fan of boat dives on Bonaire. For one thing there's 25+ sites around Klein Bonaire. The Hooker is often done by boat - the shore entry is pretty rocky. I don't believe you can dive Small Wall from shore unless staying at Black Durgon Inn. I've also seen boats off 1000Steps - it's not the walk down that's the problem (64 irregular stone steps up. Some are silly though, we dove Weber's Joy on a boat our first day then later parked there and walked in off the (steep) sandy beach.
Doctorfish
Contributor
For sheer convenience it's hard to beat a place like Buddy Dive.
Accommodation is adequate, ocean front location, good house reef with dock for entry, on site dive shop, boat dives if you want, good breakfast. drive and dive facility and trucks right there.
There are less expensive a la carte options but Buddy dive provides a good package at a good price point.
Accommodation is adequate, ocean front location, good house reef with dock for entry, on site dive shop, boat dives if you want, good breakfast. drive and dive facility and trucks right there.
There are less expensive a la carte options but Buddy dive provides a good package at a good price point.
nippurmagnum
Contributor
My wife and I have done two trips to Bonaire. Both times we stayed at Airbnbs, and never once wished we had gone to one of the diving resorts. We rented pick up trucks at the airport, rented tanks from local shops, and did all shore diving, and enjoyed it enough that we are doing our third trip in January. My wife typically only does one dive trip per year and was a little weary of going without a guide, but quickly realized that it was easy enough to guide ourselves, and she enjoyed the empowerment that came with that. And a big plus of staying at an Airbnb was that in addition to enjoying the local restaurants, we did a lot of cooking, having bought groceries at a cool Dutch supermarket called Van Den Tweel, which has great Dutch cheeses, breads, sausages, etc.
Most dive sites in Bonaire are very easy to enter/exit, tend to have little current, and are easy to navigate, as others have described. But do exercise common sense. Some of the sites have more challenging entries/exits and current (Karpata, Hilma Hooker, Red Slave come to mind), and variable conditions. Ask at the shops for advice about particular sites you are thinking of diving. Get multiple opinions. Ask other divers coming out of the water what they experienced in terms of current, and entries/exits. And just err on the safe side. The first time we went to Karpata, the seas had picked up, and the entry looked iffy, so we left it for the next day, and went diving elsewhere. We returned the next day to Karpata and the seas were flat, so entry/exit was a piece of cake.
I definitely would not get a guide to dive Salt Pier, as it's an easy dive provided seas are calm. What I find interesting about the pier is that most divers seem to keep away from the pilings, which are just absolutely encrusted with life and are one of the big attractions at the pier. Unless there is crazy surge, or you have really lousy buoyancy control, you should take your time at the pilings and inspect the incredible life on them.
This is what the pilings look like from a distance:
And this is what they look like up close:
Happy to answer any questions or provide Airbnb recommendations.
Most dive sites in Bonaire are very easy to enter/exit, tend to have little current, and are easy to navigate, as others have described. But do exercise common sense. Some of the sites have more challenging entries/exits and current (Karpata, Hilma Hooker, Red Slave come to mind), and variable conditions. Ask at the shops for advice about particular sites you are thinking of diving. Get multiple opinions. Ask other divers coming out of the water what they experienced in terms of current, and entries/exits. And just err on the safe side. The first time we went to Karpata, the seas had picked up, and the entry looked iffy, so we left it for the next day, and went diving elsewhere. We returned the next day to Karpata and the seas were flat, so entry/exit was a piece of cake.
I definitely would not get a guide to dive Salt Pier, as it's an easy dive provided seas are calm. What I find interesting about the pier is that most divers seem to keep away from the pilings, which are just absolutely encrusted with life and are one of the big attractions at the pier. Unless there is crazy surge, or you have really lousy buoyancy control, you should take your time at the pilings and inspect the incredible life on them.
This is what the pilings look like from a distance:
And this is what they look like up close:
Happy to answer any questions or provide Airbnb recommendations.
Doctorfish
Contributor
We are talking first timers to Bonaire with what seems like limited independent shore diving experience. I would still recommend a one stop resort like Buddy Dive or Habitat to minimize fuss.
I personally tend to evening or night dive the house reef every night while staying. I have seen octopus, frog fish and sea horses, chain eels all within 50 meters of the dock.
May not be the best reef on island but it sure is the easiest.
Staying at Buddy dive would give the OPs the option of diving the house reef, boat diving or getting in their truck and exploring more of the other shore dive locations. I personally like a mix of all 3.
I personally tend to evening or night dive the house reef every night while staying. I have seen octopus, frog fish and sea horses, chain eels all within 50 meters of the dock.
May not be the best reef on island but it sure is the easiest.
Staying at Buddy dive would give the OPs the option of diving the house reef, boat diving or getting in their truck and exploring more of the other shore dive locations. I personally like a mix of all 3.
At Salt Pier 2 weeks ago:
ljwillia
Contributor
We did our first trip to Bonaire last year. Stayed at Buddy Dive and loved it. We're going back in October. In Cozumel, we prefer condos to resorts but in Bonaire you can't beat the ease of Buddy Dive. Our room was steps from the water and the dive lockers. We only ate a couple of meals there but the food was good. Bar was good as well.
Trucks were a bit rough, but they get beaten up on the island. I can't imagine other operators don't have the same issues. We did get a flat one day. This time we'll be taking a tire inflator valve with us
I was a bit nervous about shore entries. My total experience was rolling or stepping off a boat. There is definitely a learning curve.
First time out we stayed on the southern sites. I was a bit of a nervous nelly about the description of some of the entry and exits to the north. This time, with more confidence we're looking forward to trying some of those sites.
One of the best tips I read on this board was to take an insulated grocery bag with you. Freeze some water the night before your dives and throw it in the bag along with sandwiches from Between Two Buns. We loved sitting on the tailgate after a dive drinking cold water and having an amazing lunch. If you have another water bottle in the bed of the truck you'll have warm rinse water at the end of the dive.
Have a great trip! You'll love it!
Trucks were a bit rough, but they get beaten up on the island. I can't imagine other operators don't have the same issues. We did get a flat one day. This time we'll be taking a tire inflator valve with us
I was a bit nervous about shore entries. My total experience was rolling or stepping off a boat. There is definitely a learning curve.
- Heavy soled boots are a must
- Get a Bonaire Dive book. We used Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. Took it to every site and followed the recommendations to find the best way in and out. Worked everytime.
- Watch other divers before you go in.
- When exiting, take your fins off when you're about chest deep and walk out. I preferred to hold hands with my hubby for stability. First time, I waited too long to take off my fins and got rolled big time. Sand everwhere!
First time out we stayed on the southern sites. I was a bit of a nervous nelly about the description of some of the entry and exits to the north. This time, with more confidence we're looking forward to trying some of those sites.
One of the best tips I read on this board was to take an insulated grocery bag with you. Freeze some water the night before your dives and throw it in the bag along with sandwiches from Between Two Buns. We loved sitting on the tailgate after a dive drinking cold water and having an amazing lunch. If you have another water bottle in the bed of the truck you'll have warm rinse water at the end of the dive.
Have a great trip! You'll love it!
maadJurguer
Contributor
LimitedSlip7
Contributor
Definitely do some East coast dives! We did a 2-tank dive with East Coast Divers and while expensive, it was definitely a highlight of the trip. The dives were pretty much an endless stream of turtles, eagle rays, sharks, and eels. More turtles than you can count...
If you're planning on doing the Osctracod dive I would recommend either using a dive guide or doing it from a boat. We attempted it ourselves without a guide and it did not go particularly well.
Salt Pier was amazing!
If you're planning on doing the Osctracod dive I would recommend either using a dive guide or doing it from a boat. We attempted it ourselves without a guide and it did not go particularly well.
Salt Pier was amazing!
drrich2
Contributor
What kind of sharks and how many? I ask because from what I understand (and experienced in 8 trips to Bonaire, where I've never seen one - but only 2 real east coast dives), seeing a shark diving the mainstream west coast sites is rare.
From the east coast dives at Cai, I recall a lot of eel grass (? correct name) and a whole lot of anemones, plus the fish seemed to average larger. Definitely a different experience from west coast diving.
Richard.
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