Trip Report Bonaire 11-18 May 2024

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jtreed

New
Messages
1
Reaction score
20
Location
Virginia, USA
# of dives
25 - 49
I didn’t realize this before my trip. Bonaire is not a tropical island. It is a desert island. Not bad, just different. Outside of the city center it is a desert landscape. You can find A/C if you want, but many/most places don’t have it. It’s not bad in the shade because of the constant breeze. Long sleeve sun shirts are your friend.

Overall, very safe. We didn’t leave anything in our truck just to be safe, but we saw zero signs of any crime of any sort. We never felt unsafe in any way.

Food was great. The main grocery store was a bit expensive, but not terrible. Restaurants and food trucks were all surprisingly good. Cheaper than big US cities, more expensive than small towns. Reservations seem to be a big thing here, even where you wouldn’t think you need one.

Rented a truck from Pickup Huren Bonaire. Small company. Easy to use. Had a sign waiting for me after leaving baggage claim. Had to drive off of airport property to sign paperwork. I did the good insurance. Otherwise, nothing unusual. Return was in the short turn parking lot. It took 2 seconds. So easy. Would definitely use them again.

Driving was easy. Mostly no stop signs. Zero lights. Lots of round abouts and yields. Except for the occasional one-way street in town, it was 100% clear what to do.

Got a house off booking.com. There was a small mixup, but the owner got us in a different place in 30 minutes. Not a big deal. Would probably go with a resort near the city center or north side of town in the future. (More shops and restaurants; less chance of a mix up)

Interesting to note, the island/housing does seem to be very economically divided. The nice houses, roads, stores are mostly start in the city center and go North. South and East are a lot more rustic.

Grocery stores close at 8:00. Gas stations only sell gas. Found a convenience store open late.

Used VIPdiving for tank rental. Super easy to do. $185 for six days unlimited. You choose air/Nitrox aluminum 63/80/100. Both DIN/yoke. All are the same price, lots of everything. Fills were very consistent (one bad fill for our group over the week). They provide Nitrox/pressure gauges for you to use, and you are supposed to use them to check out tanks. They have a 24/7 locked gear room, with security cameras. Would definitely use them again.

Entries and exits - Every site is different. If you are a bit athletic with good balance, not a big deal. If you are not at that point of your life, many spots will be challenging, just scout the different sites and choose wisely. One member of our group had a rough time in most locations. Three of us had zero issues all week.

Underwater - Everyone we met told us to go North or South. Avoid all the sites in the middle near the built up areas, resorts, etc. We mostly did that. We found some reef damage on the ends, but not too bad at all. Every site had tons of fish, lots of species. Very few large fish. The current was very manageable at every location we dove. The first few days, visibility was almost unlimited. The last two days, probably 50 feet. Water temp - 82-84.

We did one dive from Captain Don’s house reef. They built a small pier for giant stride entries. The named sites are very close together in town. We swam south through 3 named sites before turning at 1500. The reef was in much worse shape in this area. Still tons of fish. Still a great dive, and many coral species were not damaged at all.

We did one 2-tank boat dive with East Coast Divers. Definitely worth it. I had to book a few weeks in advance. Probably saw 75-100 turtles over the 2 dives (up to seven at once). Several dozen tarpon. The surface was rough. I fed the fish :wink:.

We dove the following sites, due to a big focus on ease of entry/exit.
  1. Salt pier
  2. Red Beryl
  3. Atlantis (poor decision - kite boarders were there first)
  4. Pink beach
  5. Tori’s reef
  6. Weber’s Joy
  7. Karpata
  8. Red Beryl (night)
  9. Fuji’s (sp) Reef
  10. White Hole/Turtle City
  11. Alice in Wonderland
  12. Angel City
  13. Hilma Hooker (night)
  14. Hilma Hooker
  15. La Machaca
 
I didn’t realize this before my trip. Bonaire is not a tropical island. It is a desert island. Not bad, just different. Outside of the city center it is a desert landscape. You can find A/C if you want, but many/most places don’t have it. It’s not bad in the shade because of the constant breeze. Long sleeve sun shirts are your friend.

Overall, very safe. We didn’t leave anything in our truck just to be safe, but we saw zero signs of any crime of any sort. We never felt unsafe in any way.

Food was great. The main grocery store was a bit expensive, but not terrible. Restaurants and food trucks were all surprisingly good. Cheaper than big US cities, more expensive than small towns. Reservations seem to be a big thing here, even where you wouldn’t think you need one.

Rented a truck from Pickup Huren Bonaire. Small company. Easy to use. Had a sign waiting for me after leaving baggage claim. Had to drive off of airport property to sign paperwork. I did the good insurance. Otherwise, nothing unusual. Return was in the short turn parking lot. It took 2 seconds. So easy. Would definitely use them again.

Driving was easy. Mostly no stop signs. Zero lights. Lots of round abouts and yields. Except for the occasional one-way street in town, it was 100% clear what to do.

Got a house off booking.com. There was a small mixup, but the owner got us in a different place in 30 minutes. Not a big deal. Would probably go with a resort near the city center or north side of town in the future. (More shops and restaurants; less chance of a mix up)

Interesting to note, the island/housing does seem to be very economically divided. The nice houses, roads, stores are mostly start in the city center and go North. South and East are a lot more rustic.

Grocery stores close at 8:00. Gas stations only sell gas. Found a convenience store open late.

Used VIPdiving for tank rental. Super easy to do. $185 for six days unlimited. You choose air/Nitrox aluminum 63/80/100. Both DIN/yoke. All are the same price, lots of everything. Fills were very consistent (one bad fill for our group over the week). They provide Nitrox/pressure gauges for you to use, and you are supposed to use them to check out tanks. They have a 24/7 locked gear room, with security cameras. Would definitely use them again.

Entries and exits - Every site is different. If you are a bit athletic with good balance, not a big deal. If you are not at that point of your life, many spots will be challenging, just scout the different sites and choose wisely. One member of our group had a rough time in most locations. Three of us had zero issues all week.

Underwater - Everyone we met told us to go North or South. Avoid all the sites in the middle near the built up areas, resorts, etc. We mostly did that. We found some reef damage on the ends, but not too bad at all. Every site had tons of fish, lots of species. Very few large fish. The current was very manageable at every location we dove. The first few days, visibility was almost unlimited. The last two days, probably 50 feet. Water temp - 82-84.

We did one dive from Captain Don’s house reef. They built a small pier for giant stride entries. The named sites are very close together in town. We swam south through 3 named sites before turning at 1500. The reef was in much worse shape in this area. Still tons of fish. Still a great dive, and many coral species were not damaged at all.

We did one 2-tank boat dive with East Coast Divers. Definitely worth it. I had to book a few weeks in advance. Probably saw 75-100 turtles over the 2 dives (up to seven at once). Several dozen tarpon. The surface was rough. I fed the fish :wink:.

We dove the following sites, due to a big focus on ease of entry/exit.
  1. Salt pier
  2. Red Beryl
  3. Atlantis (poor decision - kite boarders were there first)
  4. Pink beach
  5. Tori’s reef
  6. Weber’s Joy
  7. Karpata
  8. Red Beryl (night)
  9. Fuji’s (sp) Reef
  10. White Hole/Turtle City
  11. Alice in Wonderland
  12. Angel City
  13. Hilma Hooker (night)
  14. Hilma Hooker
  15. La Machaca
Hilma Hooker at night - that sounds cool. I've only ever dove that site during the day. And thanks for what reads like an objective, balanced report on coral and fish-life conditions in Bonaire. I'm tired of the reports saying "The reef is COMPLETELY DEAD and there are NO FISH so if you want to dive in Bonaire or anywhere in the Caribbean you should either go to Indonesia or sell your gear and take up knitting because it's like diving on the moon".
 
We were there the same week! Also did the 2 tank with East Coast Divers. Did it last year as well. MUCH rougher this year at the surface. We hit some pretty good current during the week. One really ripping drift dive on Klein from Forrest to Southwest Corner. The reefs are definitely different from last year, but still plenty beautiful with tons of fish!
 
Nice perspective and concise write-up! I think you hit all the points of interest to a Bonaire first-timer. An adventurous selection of sites for a first-timer, too. I haven't been in a couple of years, and maybe SCTLD/bleaching has changed things, but we always gravitated toward sites in "the middle." The middle is logistically easy, while far north and far south require a bit of commitment to the day.
 
Hilma Hooker at night - that sounds cool. I've only ever dove that site during the day. And thanks for what reads like an objective, balanced report on coral and fish-life conditions in Bonaire. I'm tired of the reports saying "The reef is COMPLETELY DEAD and there are NO FISH so if you want to dive in Bonaire or anywhere in the Caribbean you should either go to Indonesia or sell your gear and take up knitting because it's like diving on the moon".
Yea, the poster who did that was either trolling or knows nothing about the island and its reefs. 👍
 
What many people don’t realize is that anyplace you can enter the water is a dive site. Folks also don’t realize how great the diving and marine life is in Kralendijk central itself. The sailboat moorings, the top of the reef, and down to the bottom is filled with great finds throughout town.
 
I didn’t realize this before my trip. Bonaire is not a tropical island. It is a desert island. Not bad, just different. Outside of the city center it is a desert landscape. You can find A/C if you want, but many/most places don’t have it. It’s not bad in the shade because of the constant breeze. Long sleeve sun shirts are your friend.

Overall, very safe. We didn’t leave anything in our truck just to be safe, but we saw zero signs of any crime of any sort. We never felt unsafe in any way.

Food was great. The main grocery store was a bit expensive, but not terrible. Restaurants and food trucks were all surprisingly good. Cheaper than big US cities, more expensive than small towns. Reservations seem to be a big thing here, even where you wouldn’t think you need one.

Rented a truck from Pickup Huren Bonaire. Small company. Easy to use. Had a sign waiting for me after leaving baggage claim. Had to drive off of airport property to sign paperwork. I did the good insurance. Otherwise, nothing unusual. Return was in the short turn parking lot. It took 2 seconds. So easy. Would definitely use them again.

Driving was easy. Mostly no stop signs. Zero lights. Lots of round abouts and yields. Except for the occasional one-way street in town, it was 100% clear what to do.

Got a house off booking.com. There was a small mixup, but the owner got us in a different place in 30 minutes. Not a big deal. Would probably go with a resort near the city center or north side of town in the future. (More shops and restaurants; less chance of a mix up)

Interesting to note, the island/housing does seem to be very economically divided. The nice houses, roads, stores are mostly start in the city center and go North. South and East are a lot more rustic.

Grocery stores close at 8:00. Gas stations only sell gas. Found a convenience store open late.

Used VIPdiving for tank rental. Super easy to do. $185 for six days unlimited. You choose air/Nitrox aluminum 63/80/100. Both DIN/yoke. All are the same price, lots of everything. Fills were very consistent (one bad fill for our group over the week). They provide Nitrox/pressure gauges for you to use, and you are supposed to use them to check out tanks. They have a 24/7 locked gear room, with security cameras. Would definitely use them again.

Entries and exits - Every site is different. If you are a bit athletic with good balance, not a big deal. If you are not at that point of your life, many spots will be challenging, just scout the different sites and choose wisely. One member of our group had a rough time in most locations. Three of us had zero issues all week.

Underwater - Everyone we met told us to go North or South. Avoid all the sites in the middle near the built up areas, resorts, etc. We mostly did that. We found some reef damage on the ends, but not too bad at all. Every site had tons of fish, lots of species. Very few large fish. The current was very manageable at every location we dove. The first few days, visibility was almost unlimited. The last two days, probably 50 feet. Water temp - 82-84.

We did one dive from Captain Don’s house reef. They built a small pier for giant stride entries. The named sites are very close together in town. We swam south through 3 named sites before turning at 1500. The reef was in much worse shape in this area. Still tons of fish. Still a great dive, and many coral species were not damaged at all.

We did one 2-tank boat dive with East Coast Divers. Definitely worth it. I had to book a few weeks in advance. Probably saw 75-100 turtles over the 2 dives (up to seven at once). Several dozen tarpon. The surface was rough. I fed the fish :wink:.

We dove the following sites, due to a big focus on ease of entry/exit.
  1. Salt pier
  2. Red Beryl
  3. Atlantis (poor decision - kite boarders were there first)
  4. Pink beach
  5. Tori’s reef
  6. Weber’s Joy
  7. Karpata
  8. Red Beryl (night)
  9. Fuji’s (sp) Reef
  10. White Hole/Turtle City
  11. Alice in Wonderland
  12. Angel City
  13. Hilma Hooker (night)
  14. Hilma Hooker
  15. La Machaca
Funchi’s reef, your first AM dive with East Coast… good note that booking them really should be done weeks (months) ahead. You can also do private bookings of the entire boat with notice. VIP Diving is also a phenomenal shop, not associated with any dive resort, with an excellent staff.
 
We really like VIP as well. Last few visits we moved over to Bellafonte vs DenLaman and VIP provides tanks there so we've gotten use to them. Top notch shop for sure.
 
MUCH rougher this year at the surface.
I've only been here in Oct/Nov before, the low wind season. I can see why the seas off the east coast are choppy this time of year, it has been 20 mph winds from the east, with gusts of 35 mph since I got here five days ago. West coast has been great, but I haven't even bothered to go peek at east side yet. I imagine one can hear the waves crashing from the middle of the island on an otherwise quiet day.
 
Great write up. Very detailed but not over the top! Well done, and in my very humble opinion, very on par with how I feel about the island, dive sites, etc. Makes me want to book another trip....LOL
 
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