Bonaire Dive Trip

[Willar]

Most of the dive sites have a mooring line and buoy at the edge of the reef or wreck. Swim out the the morring line and take a compass reading toward your truck. Drop down and head into the (usually slight) current as indicated by soft corals. Turn back at 2/3 of starting pressure and look for the mooring line then turn toward shore following your compass heading. Piece of cake!

I did not have the hard sole booties but used medium/soft sole. I had no problems at any dive site. Be aware that some sites have a step-down off the rocks of 12-24" in the surf. Have good footing and work together with your buddy. Other sites are easy, easy so if one looks too tough, move to the next.

The dive boats all get to Hilma Hooker wreck at 8:30-9:00 AM so either get there early or wait until later when they clear. But remember that it's a long wreck and nice reef so don't be scared off if there are several trucks. Oh, the south buoy is the bow, north is the stern, plus there's one in the center.

Take extra o-rings!!! and always put extra tanks in the truck.

 

[janeandjay]

I second the solar shower idea...also, I liked having a strap to hook my fins to my bcd for walking from the truck to the shore. This is especially useful if you have a camera or light and the entry is rocky or trecherous (frees up a hand).
We saw a woman with an urchin spine in her foot at Hilma Hooker. Spring for the hard soled booties.

 

[JodyO]

HI Tar Heel Diver,
My husband and I just returned from a week at Buddy Dive (11/27-12/4). The house reef is great but the boat dives are fantastic. OK, we are bit lazy (on vacation) and loading everything in the truck is work. So we dove the house reef and boat dives. Shore diving the house reef is incredibly easy. Just end your dive at 30-20 feet and you will see the rope that leads to the Buddy Dive dock. We saw so many beautiful tropical fish and the coral and sponges from the boat dive sites were spectacular. The dive operation is very well run and very professional. Would recommend the Lost Penguin for lunch if you like fresh fish. Rum runners also has pizza to go if you are too tired to go out and I have never been disappointed with their catch of the day. The grocery store in town has a good selection. We were not impressed with Lion's Den as we thought it was a bit over priced. Zee Zicht also has good fish dinners. One caution, be very specific with your room request. Buddy Dive has some fantastic rooms and some that are not so great. Request 2nd floor and you will probably be OK. One favor, please drink a Bright for me and have a wonderful vacation!

 

[tarheeldiver]

Most of the dive sites have a mooring line and buoy at the edge of the reef or wreck. Swim out the the morring line and take a compass reading toward your truck. Drop down and head into the (usually slight) current as indicated by soft corals. Turn back at 2/3 of starting pressure and look for the mooring line then turn toward shore following your compass heading. Piece of cake!

I did not have the hard sole booties but used medium/soft sole. I had no problems at any dive site. Be aware that some sites have a step-down off the rocks of 12-24" in the surf. Have good footing and work together with your buddy. Other sites are easy, easy so if one looks too tough, move to the next.

The dive boats all get to Hilma Hooker wreck at 8:30-9:00 AM so either get there early or wait until later when they clear. But remember that it's a long wreck and nice reef so don't be scared off if there are several trucks. Oh, the south buoy is the bow, north is the stern, plus there's one in the center. Take extra o-rings!!! and always put extra tanks in the truck
thanks Willar did you have any problems leaving extra tanks at your truck while you were diving no theft or anything? Also thanks Jody great to hear a report from someone who's recently returned I'm going to e-mail buddy dive about room selection see if I can get 2nd floor!

Take extra o-rings!!! and always put extra tanks in the truck.

thanks Willar did you have any problems leaving extra tanks at your truck while you were diving no theft or anything? Also thanks Jody great to hear a report from someone who's recently returned I'm going to e-mail buddy dive about room selection see if I can get 2nd floor!

 

[TheRedHead]

We had a downstairs 1 bedroom facing the pool from the patio and had no complaints about our accomodations. There was a real lack of lighting in our rooms and it made for a dim environment at night. We had air conditioning in both the living room and bedroom. I found Lion's Den - the house restaurant - very good and reasonably priced considering the quality of the food and excellent preparation. It is owned and managed by a real chef and the house specials are not to be missed.

We did 3 to 5 dives each day, diving the house reef and Bari reef next door the most often. We never had any problems with anything left in the truck. You'll get a full orientation from the Buddy staff when you arrive on how the drive through diving works.

Have fun!