Bonaire - A First Timer's Perspective

[Tim Ingersoll]

I've been around the Caribbean quite a bit. This was the first time to Bonaire. We stayed at Den Laman for a week and did only shore dives. Here's what I think:

Pros. Independence. Visibility (at least in the northern sites). Fish variety. Number of fish. Health of reefs. Walls. Critters. Improving your navigation skills.

Cons. No big stuff. If you like turtles, rays and sharks you will be disappointed. No swim-throughs. Shore diving is a bit of work in the surf. it was a bit of pain in the butt for me since I wear full foot fins and no booties. It meant wearing my Tivas into the surf, changing into my fins and either throwing my sandals ashore or asking my biddy to ferry them.

The resort was very nice with on-site dive operation and restaurant. Hint: Take a start up kit for your kitchen. Condiments, salt/pepper, sugar, coffee, etc. are cheaper up here.

I loved this island. Make sure you drive around and see the sights. Its an amazing place. I loved diving up north in Washington Slagbaai Park. Wild donkeys and goats were unique to my Caribbean experience. The indian inscriptions up north were really cool and the slave cabins in the south will give you pause. I love the wild side of the island and would love to dive it some day.

Would I go back again? Yeah I might after I check out Dominica and the whale sharks off Holbox. . .oh yeah and get back to the Pacific. . .and . .

 

[DiveMaven]

Thanks for sharing, I absolutely agree with everything you said. For us, the independence part of Bonaire is enormous and going to be a big factor in future travel decisions. We loved the freedom and relaxation of doing our own thing so much that after spending 2 weeks on Bonaire in 2008, we're returning for 2 weeks in 2009....and can absolutely see why people go back year after year.

Also, when you talk about no big stuff, my husband is a photographer and macro is his passion, so the "lack of" isn't a problem for us. That said, I would honestly say that just about every day of our trip we saw either a turtle, ray, or huge tarpon....and even a nurse shark twice.

 

[robint]

Thanks for sharing, I absolutely agree with everything you said. For us, the independence part of Bonaire is enormous and going to be a big factor in future travel decisions. We loved the freedom and relaxation of doing our own thing so much that after spending 2 weeks on Bonaire in 2008, we're returning for 2 weeks in 2009....and can absolutely see why people go back year after year.

Also, when you talk about no big stuff, my husband is a photographer and macro is his passion, so the "lack of" isn't a problem for us. That said, I would honestly say that just about every day of our trip we saw either a turtle, ray, or huge tarpon....and even a nurse shark twice.

I agree, but we also did see turtles (several), eagle rays (several), and tarpon (dozens). No sharks for us but that was okay when you add in all the frogfish and seahorses!! I can honestly say we saw more little stuff, like baby "everything in the ocean" in Bonaire! Waaay cool.
We also loved the independence more than anything. The idea that we could get out of bed at 5-6am (we do get up that early, even on vacation) and grab our gear and walk right out into the water! We did dawn dives, day dives, boat dives, shore dives, dusk dives, night dives...
Will we go back, oh heck YEAH! We loved Bonaire. But we too need to explore a few other locations before we head back. I can say I think it is my husbands favorite dive destination. He used to compare every place to Cozumel, now it is Bonaire.

robin

 

[DeputyDan]

My kids and I are doing Belize in 2009 but we will back to Bonaire for trip # 4 in 2010.

Probably go with Herman "again"

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

Thanks for sharing, I absolutely agree with everything you said. For us, the independence part of Bonaire is enormous and going to be a big factor in future travel decisions. We loved the freedom and relaxation of doing our own thing so much that after spending 2 weeks on Bonaire in 2008, we're returning for 2 weeks in 2009....and can absolutely see why people go back year after year.

Also, when you talk about no big stuff, my husband is a photographer and macro is his passion, so the "lack of" isn't a problem for us. That said, I would honestly say that just about every day of our trip we saw either a turtle, ray, or huge tarpon....and even a nurse shark twice.

I hear what your saying about seeing something big every day. I'm just really spoiled. I like dives where I see lots of sharks, turtles and rays on every dive not just occasionally. I also really miss swim throughs. Like I said I loved Bonaire I just think people should be aware that its more of a macro environment.

 

[DiveMaven]

Agree 100%.

 

[phelana]

Next time to see the "big stuff" head to the East Side with Larry or Bas Toll. Also my clients saw massive turtles at Forest off of Klein Bonaire. Thanks for the report.

Ann Phelan
www.bonairecaribbean.com

 

[DiverKKC]

I agree, no big stuff (unless you count tarpon and eagle rays). However, I knew that going in and the 100% freedom of diving dozens of dive sites around the clock, pristine diving conditions, and an amazing array of macro life have me wanting to go back again and again.

And, like you said, topside is absolutely beautiful.

 

[drrich2]

I spent a week in Bonaire in March of '07. Had a great time. As far as 'big,' goes, over the course of 10 dives or so, I saw 2 rather small sea turtles, 1 large green moray eel on the bottom at one end of the Hilma Hooker, the tail of some other kind of large moray sticking out of a rocky crevice, what was probably a decent-sized octopus in a hole (how Wallob finds stuff like that I do not know; not really a 'big' find, but worth mentioning), a tarpon on a reef, a few tarpon at the Hilma Hooker (the place to dive in Bonaire to reliably seen tarpon from what I understand), and other than that I suppose large parrotfish were the 'big' things that spring to mind. I saw a school of fairly small barracuda, though.

We did not head to Klein Bonaire or the wild side, though.

Richard.

 

[gypsyjim]

While I haven't seen truly large creatures, I have always found large turtles, medium rays and of course tarpon, but Bonaire is always simply an awesome dive experience for us. A couple from our local club encountered a whale shark there last year I believe it was, but that is rare.

I have never found surf entry even marginally difficult in Bonaire. Even accounting for the fact that my early diving was off Maine, where any entry or exit you survived unscratched was memorable, Bonaire shore entries are what dreams are made of! You do have to watch your footing in the coral, but in 4 trips I have yet to see anything I could call surf, except on the "wild side".

DD, enjoy Belize. When are you going? Live aboard? We stayed at Hamanasi resort in the south: I think the live aboard would be the way to go.