Trip Report Bonaire - December 24 - December 31 2022

[Trailboss123]

didn't mention Hamlet Oasis. If you go in, and head south, that's the Cliff dive site. Dive Friends is the on site services provider. I don't hear of people heading north, so I'm tentatively inferring that may not be too good.

Heading south to dive the Cliff is the preferred way to go for sure. Beautiful dive. North is an option, but only if you want to do a very deep dive. Cooper's Barge lies in about 135 feet to the north. I have done it, but don't recommend it necessarily. You also have the desalination plant to the north. Best to head south from Hamlet Oasis-- all that being said, I am a big proponent of starting my dive from Captain Don's and going north all the way to the Cliff and then returning back to Captain Don's. Much better and easier entry and exit.

 

[MrChen]

Heading south to dive the Cliff is the preferred way to go for sure. Beautiful dive. North is an option, but only if you want to do a very deep dive. Cooper's Barge lies in about 135 feet to the north. I have done it, but don't recommend it necessarily. You also have the desalination plant to the north. Best to head south from Hamlet Oasis-- all that being said, I am a big proponent of starting my dive from Captain Don's and going north all the way to the Cliff and then returning back to Captain Don's. Much better and easier entry and exit.

I'm curious, if you aren't staying at Captain Don's, then how do you enter the water? I've stayed here twice in the past and there's a sign which says the entrance is for guests staying at the resort only.

 

[Ghost95]

Just got back from a trip to Bonaire. Have used this forum extensively for advice on diving trips, so figured I would finally contribute and post about one of my recent trips.

Firstly, what an amazing trip. The freedom of shorediving was a nice experience (first time) and a change of pace for my wife and I from the normal dive resort/liveaboards we are used to. But it did make us appreciate the times we've done liveaboards or stayed at resorts where others setup/transport the gear and tanks. It is a lot of work hauling tanks, rinsing gear, and setting everything up, taking it apart.

Lodging: We stayed at Beaches Ocean-view Apartments. Located less than 1.5 km south of the airport. Smaller family run operation consisting of ~10 units. Each with a kitchenette, private bathroom, AC, dive lockers/rinse stations, and a pool. There is a common area of the rooftop where they have beer, wine, and soda available for purchase at reasonable prices. 100% recommend this place and if we return to Bonaire, we will be staying here.

Rental Car: Rented thru National at the airport. Got a newer Nissan Frontier, manual transmission. I'm able to get my corporate rate thru National, not sure if it makes sense for others.

Dive Shop: Got our tanks from Wannadive. They give 10% off for those staying at Beaches Ocean-view Apartments and have free nitrox. Location was right next to Beaches which made it an obvious choice for us. They also have a north location too. Their service was great, and tanks were consistently filled to 3,000 - 3,200 psi. Highly recommend.

Diving: Dove 2-3 sites a day. My wife and I discovered that when not in a group, we are low air users. Every dive we did was about 75 minutes. Doing dives this long, it becomes a bit harder to do more than 3 dives a day. Three 75 minute dives is almost 4 hours. Plus surface intervals you start running out of time quickly. If you want to dive 3+ sites a day, you need to start early, bring snacks/water, and have a plan. I was surprised that we were able to beat the crowd at some of the popular sites by starting around 8:30 am (figured it would have to be earlier). We also did some of the other popular sites later in the afternoon (4pm) to avoid the crowds as well. This approach worked well for us.

We dove the following sites (listed from north to south). General all sites were similar and very good. Saw a lot of moray eels, garden eels, 2 green sea turtles, squid, crabs, shrimp, baracuda, and more reef fish than I can name. Reef was in excellent shape. As good as any place I've been in the Caribbean (Belize & Utila). Can't compare to the Pacific's biodiversity, but for the Caribbean, Bonaire is top-notch.

• Boka Slagbaai: In national park, not worth the effort to get to. Reef is somewhat damaged here, but still saw tons of fish. Definitely recommend a trip to the national park though.
• Karpata: One of the best. We dove two times.
• Ol' Blue: Very similar or the same as Karpata.
• 1,000 steps
• Oil Slick Leap
• The Beach: Unnumbered site located just north of Bachelor's Beach, accessible via the The Beach Restaurant. We did as our checkout dive as this was across the street from WannaDive.
• The Lake
• Hilma Hooker: Not a big wreck diver, but enjoyed this as it is surrounded by reef. Several huge tarpon.
• Angel City
• Alice in Wonderland
• Salt Pier
• Invisibles
• Margate Bay
• Red Slave: Reef not in as good of shape here. Seemed like current near the buoy was pulling hard to the south here. We went north from the buoy.

Dining: We did a combination of eating in/out. Shopped at Van Den Tweel and loaded up the fridge in our apartment. They had a good selection of food, reasonable selection of wine, and some beers. My wife is a vegetarian, and all the restaurants we went had at least 1+ vegetarian options on the menu. For the week of Christmas/New Year's, plan to make reservations in advance.

• The Beach: Across the street from our lodging. All tables were reserved for the night, so we ate at the bar.
• La Cantina: Downtown. Made a reservation ahead of time for Christmas. One of the best meals I've ever had. Nice courtyard.
• Joe's Restaurant: Between airport and downtown. Had reservation. Very good food, nice atmosphere.
• Stoked Food Truck: Located on beach at airport. Quick spot, good food. Open until 7pm, so an option for dinner.
• King Kong Burgers: Located ~2km south of airport. Great burgers and fries. Quick option for lunch. not open for dinner. Have vegetarian burgers.
• Roos Suriname Food: Excellent option for those who like ethnic food. Highly recommend.
• Kos Bon So: Located in Rincon. Local place. Excellent option for food and a beer if you are up north at the park or diving Karpata. Great prices.
• Posada Para Mira: Located in Rincon. Also a good option if you are up north at the national park or diving Karpata.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks for the report. It sounds like a great trip.

I have a question. How is the snorkeling? I dove, my wife doesn't. She's be fine snorkeling a shallow part of a reef while I mucked about in deeper water but I don't want to disappear on her for the whole vacation.

Thanks for the report.

 

[slushangar]

Thanks for the report. It sounds like a great trip.

I have a question. How is the snorkeling? I dove, my wife doesn't. She's be fine snorkeling a shallow part of a reef while I mucked about in deeper water but I don't want to disappear on her for the whole vacation.

Thanks for the report.

I'd say the snorkeling is good. Some sites are better than others. I think your plan would work well.

 

[Ghost95]

I'd say the snorkeling is good. Some sites are better than others. I think your plan would work well.

Thanks. It's always tough to find dive sites with a non diving spouse. Needing shore entry, calm, clear, warm water, and stuff to see for both at the same spot is not always available.

 

[Doctorfish]

House reef at Captain Dons or Buddy Dive might satisfy both snorkeler and diver. I think Salt Pier would be good as well but tougher entry.

 

[Trailboss123]

I'm curious, if you aren't staying at Captain Don's, then how do you enter the water? I've stayed here twice in the past and there's a sign which says the entrance is for guests staying at the resort only.

I have never seen the sign you are referring to. If I had seen it, I would respect it. I have done at least 30 or more dives from Captain Don's. Both north and south. Nobody has ever said a thing to me. I just walk down to the pier and either giant stride in or take the stairs. I also have had my fair share of pizza at Rum Runners and have never spent a night at Captain Don's.

 

[MrChen]

I have never seen the sign you are referring to. If I had seen it, I would respect it. I have done at least 30 or more dives from Captain Don's. Both north and south. Nobody has ever said a thing to me. I just walk down to the pier and either giant stride in or take the stairs. I also have had my fair share of pizza at Rum Runners and have never spent a night at Captain Don's.

If I recall, it's just past the dive shop, before you start going down the slope. I want to say it's on the right-hand side but could be wrong and maybe they've removed it. By all means, go diving there if they let you.

 

[MrChen]

I have never seen the sign you are referring to. If I had seen it, I would respect it. I have done at least 30 or more dives from Captain Don's. Both north and south. Nobody has ever said a thing to me. I just walk down to the pier and either giant stride in or take the stairs. I also have had my fair share of pizza at Rum Runners and have never spent a night at Captain Don's.

Another reason I was asking is because there are other sites which are house reefs to other resorts, and I was under the impression that the resorts don't like non-paying guests to use their facilities (i.e. Small Wall / Black Durgon Inn).
If there are sites which don't mind, I would love to know which are non-guest friendly.

 

[MrChen]

It's hard to read, but see this video and the sign on the right.