Best Dives in Bonaire

[jcroy66]

It definitely depends on the person. I would be DYING in a 5 mm and I consider myself a cold baby. When we visited in November, the only time I wore more than a dive skin was for night dives, when I wore a 3 mm full. Water temps registered 82-86. And yet we saw people picking up their tanks at the dive shop who were already in full wetsuits, fully zipped up, in 95* heat. *shaking head* Great way to get heat stroked!

In Belize in April, dive skins were also plenty. I only wore my wetsuit on the night dive and that was because the DM recommended it as protection from critters.

I do think I want a pair of dive skin pants (only have a long sleeved shirt currently) though to protect against sunburn before we go back to Bonaire in a few months.

 

[Mossman]

It really doesn't depend on the person. Everyone will eventually succumb to hypothermia without thermal protection in water less than 93 degrees. People tolerate and experience cold differently from other people, to be sure - some people run hotter and some people have better insulation and some people can ignore the cold - but the body is still cold nonetheless and that can manifest itself in various ways, usually by creating an increased demand for energy, thus increasing air consumption. On the other hand, exposure to cold temperatures of 82-86 degrees will tend to lower the body's "core temperature", which IMO makes one more tolerant of the too-hot temperatures to be found on land and makes a decent tradeoff (and there is probably an argument to be had that the hot air temps increase one's core temp and therefore make the body physiologically tolerate the cold for longer exposures than if coming from room temp).

Still, I hope we can all agree that anyone diving Bonaire in a dry suit (you know who you are) is nuts

 

[DiverVince]

Still, I hope we can all agree that anyone diving Bonaire in a dry suit (you know who you are) is nuts

Yup!! I for one quite agree..

 

[KY_BOB]

Everyone will eventually succumb to hypothermia without thermal protection in water less than 93 degrees. People tolerate and experience cold differently from other people, to be sure - some people run hotter and some people have better insulation and some people can ignore the cold - but the body is still cold nonetheless and that can manifest itself in various ways, usually by creating an increased demand for energy, thus increasing air consumption.

A lesson that I learned in Bonaire and I consider myself to handle cold pretty well. I did 5 dives one day, 1 morning dive, lunch, 2 more dives during the afternoon wearing a 3/2 shorty. I then had dinner and did 2 nights dives in a 3/2 full suit with only a 45 minute SI between them. The lowest water temp during the day was 81deg. Both of the night dives my computer showed 79deg. I'll admit that my computer always seems to read 1 or 2deg cooler that any of my buddies. Since we stayed fairly shallow, both of the night dives were fairly long, close to an hour. Regardless, I was chilly at the end of the first night dive. During the short SI I peeled the suit down to my waist and was feeling fine for the second night dive. By the end of the second night dive, I was almost shivering. According to my computer, my SAC rate was .1 higher than it was during the daylight dives, around .5 for the day dives, .6 for the second night dive. 80deg water, cold????

It just takes a little time for you body to regain it's core temp. I don't think my body had totally regained it's core temp when I did the first night dive but I know it hadn't for the second even though I felt perfect in air.

 

[Barb729]

It's my last day here in Bonaire, staying at the Black Durgon, this is my 6th time here
& love it. It's a little piece of Paradise. 2 weeks just isn't enough.
My favorite dive sites are, Karpata, Hilma Hooker & Tolo/Ole Blue, Tori Reef, Bari Reef. Oil Slick, Margate Bay, Something Special, Angel City and Cai. Done at least a dozen other sites but these are my personal favorites.
But seriously, there are no bad dive sites in Bonaire.
Have a wonderful time!

 

[boat sju]

Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

 

[Rythmmaker]

Asking about the best dive sites is like trying to decide which member of Red Hot Chili Peppers is the skinniest! There's no clear correct answer.

Of the 20 different dive sites I visited on my recent visit - "The Lake" was certainly one of my favorites - it's a double reef, absoulutely beautiful, and we saw spotted eagle rays swimming along the sandy bottom between the two reefs.

The Hilma Hooker is the most crowded (again, almost an oxymoron) site on the island - mainly because it is a great and relatively easy wreck dive. The sand is only 99 feet, so you don't have to worry about going too deep and there are always large tarpon hanging around (at least in the morning - the best time to go there, anyway). We parked and entered the water at the adjacent site - Angel City - and at the reef wall, worked our way back to the right (north) and slowly decended to the sand. You will see garden eels in the sand, and then very quickly the bow of the Hooker appears overhead - it's a dramatic way to dive the wreck and our guide was the one who suggested it. If you are low on air and need to make a direct exit to the shore, the parking area for Angel City is only 100 yards or less from the markers for the Hilma Hooker, so it's no problem to walk back, but you can make a slow ascent back up the reef from the wreck heading south and come out right where you started. An Excellent choice!

 

[divemaster86]

I am surprised no one has said Red Slave or Old Blue! Red slave is probably my favorite, but watch the currents

 

[Bas Noij]

Water temp at the moment is 83-84. This is actually too high for coral so hopefully (for the coral) it will drop to 81 or so. That will also mean I have to switch to my new 5mm as the old one has now thinned out to a 3mm and that means I freeze my nuts off (and I even wear a hooded vest underneath). For somebody not living on the island I would say a 3mm full suit is the ideal 'average suit'. Most people also do fine in a 3mm shorty.

Best dive sites: the off the beaten track ones!

Bas Noij
Dive like a VIP

 

[tardmaster]

the best site that we found was just on the other side of the petro plant. It was dubbed "Taylor made" by someone who guilt a shrine to it and put a t-shirt on it. we dove it twice. Seemed unspoiled. as far as water temps go...i HATE being cold in the water. that being said, i wore a .5 mil and was comfortable the whole week. longest dive was 52 minutes. nerver even got chilled. we also did a naked dive at night off of buddy's for about 30 minutes. LOVED it and didnt chilled then. we went in mid june this past year.