Best Bonaire Dive Sites?

[Tana]

Headed to Bonaire soon and was wondering about dives sites around the island. Either must dive wreak or deep dives? And definitely the drive own truck shore dives around the island...any other info,, places to eat,, what else to do would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Kharon]

I'm 72 and I find I'm usually not too tired most days going for 2 shore dives in the morning and coming back to the apartment for lunch and a nap. Then an easy afternoon dive on the house reef (I now stay at Hamlet Oasis - dive shop on site and the HR is Cliff). Maybe another nap, dinner and finally a night dive on the house reef to swim with the tarpon. Early in the trip I might even get five dives a day in, but that's really pushing it.

I tend to stick with 2 morning dives a day that I drive to but having a walk-in dive site makes it easy for impromptu dives. I mix in some snorkling (much less tiring without tanks) and tend to pick easier entries. Sometimes I'll drive to an afternoon dive.

For making entries easier when there is surge: Watch the waves and count. Usually there will be a pattern of increasing wave height with several much smaller waves following the largest. Once you figure out the pattern you wait for the largest and then enter as it's receeding. Quickly go out far enough to float (chest high) and put your fins on. Note: fairly hard soled boots are a must.

For the best sandwich ever try Between Two Buns. Other than that I can't recommend places to eat. I used to stay at Coco Palm Garden and now stay at Hamlet Oasis (inexpensive apartments with full kitchen) and cook for myself.

Soon as you get there buy a couple of 1 or 2 liter bottles of water. Remove the top drink a little and put the rest in the freezer. Bring it along and you will have ice water to drink after each dive. A 2 liter usually lasts me for the day.

Get Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy (http://www.infobonaire.com/bsdme/) or Dive Guide Boanire (Dive Friends Bonaire shops on island) and look it over to decide what sites you most want to dive. I would recommend Yellow Submarine and Tori's Reef as having the easiest entry/exit and Angel City for the double reef and angel fish. Invisibles was the site I most enjoyed to the south (BTW dive south early before the wind picks up - makes entries much easier). Mid island I loved Cliff (use the stone wall for entry and the pipe to navigate - the mini-wall is to the left). To the north Tolo was my favorite. For the easiest entry/exit ever, park at the fuel pier (Windsock across from the airport you will see the iron pier - park just to the north). Sand entry and pier colums for support when putting fins on.It's the only place where I regularly see a bluespotted coronetfish.

One final tip. Unless you are a total wreckhead I'd skip Hilma Hooker. It was a total yawn for me. I want to see fish, more fish, and more fish and watch them interact.

Here are some links to give you an idea what it's like:




I don't think you have to get up at the crack of dawn for the southern dives. It's just better to head there for your morning dives rather than waiting till late noonish or the afternoon.

One thing I forgot. If you want to dive Red Slave or Red Beryl it's best to do them when there is little wind. Here's a link to an excellent source of wind forcast:

Windguru - Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba - Lac Cai

The line to look at is Wind Speed (knots).

It's true that it's best to leave the windows down and nothing valuable inside the truck while diving. But I think that can be said for pretty much anywhere these days. I've had stuff stolen at Lake George, NY while diving.

Finally (boy I'm long winded) it's a good habit when entering a shop or before asking a question to greet with Bon Dia (good morning) Bon Tarde (good afternoon) or Bon Noche (good evening/night). It's curteous and people react favorably. In the USVI shopowners often won't even acknowledge you if you don't first say hello, how are you or good morning. By greeting Bonairians in their own manner it tells them you are trying to meet them half way.

 

[diversteve]

The Hilma Hooker is the Bonaire wreck. Shore dive south of town or some operators do it via boat - often the two groups of divers meet on the wreck. Pretty big ship and IIRC around 85'. I don't actually know of any deep wrecks except the Mari Bahn and that requires tech gear and certification - it's somewhere near 200'

Salt Pier is a good shallow dive, the pilings are massive and encrusted. I've seen rays there, paired angelfish, invertebrates.

Bari Reef off Den Laman or Sand Dollar condos is the site with the highest counted fish species in the Caribbean according to Reef. Partly that's because the previous shop owners employed a naturalist that you did fish count dives with.

We also really liked Forest, a black coral dive off Klein Bonaire. And Cliff which you reach from either Dive Friends near Hamlet Oasis or Habitat's dive dock with a short swim north - is about the only vertical wall off Bonaire. We also liked Invisibles to the south and Angel City but there's large holes in the reef at AC - easy to twist an ankle. A good advanced dive is Vista Blue - it can be ripping at depth even if the ball looks still. We got on a boat once and most of the divers asked for Rappel - good dive you can't do from shore - the name indicates the entry options.

We liked It Rains Fishes for a nice meal. Get within a block of Bobbe-Jan's takeout bbq and you'll smell why it's popular. The Plaza resort does a weekly beach bbq mid-week, good food, steel drum band, beach volleyball. Don't miss Donna/Giorgio's once either. One odd thing on Bonaire is you're their guest for the evening so they often won't bring the check until you ask for it. I've heard At Sea is really good also.

There's kite surfing at Lac Bay on the SE side. The Donkey Farm - bring apples. We thought the flamingos were pretty funny - usually found at Gotomeer north or in the salt pans near Salt Pier. For historical context the Slave Huts south of town - it's also near two dive sittes. Coco Beach Club is newer - just south of Den Laman. If you drive north to dive the sites near Karpata - it's one way and the return takes you past Gotomeer (slight detour) and thru Rincon before dropping back down to Kralendijk. Your BMP tag also gets you into Slagbaai Park - I've not been there.

infobonaire.com lists some other things to do.

I moved this to the Bonaire forum

 

[tursiops]

To the OP: do some searching on this site. Your question has been answered many times.

 

[divezonescuba]

One dive not many people have done is the reef further offshore past the Hilma Hooker. We did this last week, it was really pristine. It is not too deep as you actually have to ascend to cross over it from the Wreck.

Invisibles is also pretty good.

 

[diversteve]

a buddy who owns on Bonaire told us about it ^
He usually drops in off a boat onto that reef first then ends on the wreck.

 

[scubadada]

@Tana

Where are you staying? As @Kharon said, a good house reef is really great. We used to stay at Sand Dollar, now stay next door at Den Laman. We also cook most of our own meals. Bari Reef is a fantastic house dive, Dive Friends has a location there and their boats leave from the pier if you are so inclined. We really like some of the sites off Klein Bonaire and some of the northern sites not reachable from shore

 

[AdivingBel]

One of my current favs (that I didn't see mentioned ) is Margate Bay. Easy-ish entry; short swim to the drop for a southern site; pretty topography (not just the standard rolling drop); relatively sheltered current-wise compared to nearby sites; plenty of wildlife. My only advice is to dive it after 10 AM 'cause the "skeeters" can be out in the mornings certain times of the year.
Have fun .

 

[Trailboss123]

A couple other favorite dive locations of mine, not yet mentioned are The Lake and Pink Beach (southern sites) and Weber's Joy, Oil Slick Leap and 1,000 Steps (northern sites).

 

[darook]

Everything mentioned already is right on. After many trips I suggest to just keep diving wherever you can as long as you are not exceeding NDL. Any site can provide surprises of both the pelagic or macro variety. Keep taking a peak to the blue for pelagics while going very slowly over the coral to see what macro critters you see. If you think you are going slow, slow down more. You will be amazed at what you see.