Bonaire & Florida Dive Spots

[Day-By-Day]

I'm finally working on getting certified as a recreational diver and through my PADI instructor have actually booked my first "big" dive trip to Bonaire this coming September. :fish::goldfish:

I will be staying at Buddy Dive Resort and would love any feedback from anyone who has actually been there. I will be going with a rather large group (anywhere from 15 -25 booked so far) and expect to hear a vast array of dive tales....(the fish was this big....I swear!) Feedback can be anything you'd like to share from your diving experiences, what to do and what not to do, must see things or a great place to eat.

My boyfriend is an advanced technical diver who dives with a rebreather, so if anyone out there also dives with a rebreather and would like to comment those would be welcome as well.

Between now and September I will have completed my open water certification and will get as many dives under my belt as I can (living in South Florida that shouldn't be difficult).

 

[herman]

There are many many hours of reading on Bonaire here. Grab something to drink and do a search. Buddy is a first rate operation, been there many times and if they were not booked I would be there again this year. For your rebreather diver, checkout Rectec divers on Bonaire. Walt has everything he needs for his rebreather and does deep/tech trips. 2 sites to check out. Bonaire Talk - The place to discuss everything and anything about Bonaire!
Info Bonaire - The Bonaire Information Site - The Most Current and Up-To-Date Information

 

[robint]

I'm finally working on getting certified as a recreational diver and through my PADI instructor have actually booked my first "big" dive trip to Bonaire this coming September. :fish::goldfish:

I will be staying at Buddy Dive Resort and would love any feedback from anyone who has actually been there. I will be going with a rather large group (anywhere from 15 -25 booked so far) and expect to hear a vast array of dive tales....(the fish was this big....I swear!) Feedback can be anything you'd like to share from your diving experiences, what to do and what not to do, must see things or a great place to eat.

My boyfriend is an advanced technical diver who dives with a rebreather, so if anyone out there also dives with a rebreather and would like to comment those would be welcome as well.

Between now and September I will have completed my open water certification and will get as many dives under my belt as I can (living in South Florida that shouldn't be difficult).

We were just there in June with a group of underwater photographers and we all had a blast. Here are photos and my videos: <Ron & Robin's Bonaire Trip> <>Photos

some of my videos I have posted on YOuTube:




more videos on our website including a big topside video!
edit: I just uploaded the topside video to YouTube:


robin

 

[oly5050user]

There are many many hours of reading on Bonaire here. Grab something to drink and do a search. Buddy is a first rate operation, been there many times and if they were not booked I would be there again this year. For your rebreather diver, checkout Rectec divers on Bonaire. Walt has everything he needs for his rebreather and does deep/tech trips. 2 sites to check out. Bonaire Talk - The place to discuss everything and anything about Bonaire!
Info Bonaire - The Bonaire Information Site - The Most Current and Up-To-Date Information

Herman- I have open spots there for week of May 4-11 if you really want to go.

 

[reefdiva]

I'm finally working on getting certified as a recreational diver and through my PADI instructor have actually booked my first "big" dive trip to Bonaire this coming September. :fish::goldfish:

I will be staying at Buddy Dive Resort and would love any feedback from anyone who has actually been there. I will be going with a rather large group (anywhere from 15 -25 booked so far) and expect to hear a vast array of dive tales....(the fish was this big....I swear!) Feedback can be anything you'd like to share from your diving experiences, what to do and what not to do, must see things or a great place to eat.

My boyfriend is an advanced technical diver who dives with a rebreather, so if anyone out there also dives with a rebreather and would like to comment those would be welcome as well.

Between now and September I will have completed my open water certification and will get as many dives under my belt as I can (living in South Florida that shouldn't be difficult).

First off, congratulations on your certification!! Bonaire will be a fabulous spot for your first big dive trip since the shore diving is so easy. In addition to the websites mentioned by Herman check out Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, BSDME, Author Susan Porter. It is the website of the author of the guide Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy.

Be sure you have hard soled boots as the shore line is rough and not at all easy to navigate with bare feet.

Our favorite restaurants are Pasa Bon Pizza, Wil's, Patagonia, El Fagoen, Bobbejan's, Bistro de Paris and Lion's Den. We tend to eat breakfast and lunch in our place and dinner out. Restaurants do not present your check without your asking for it. Also, Sept is a month when many restaurant owners go on holiday so some may be closed during your stay. US dollars are accepted but yuor change will be in local currency.

Save some time to take a driving tour of the island to see the salt, the flamingos, the windsurfers, the donkeys, the lizards, the cactus fences, the caves and the lighthouses.

Have fun researching!

 

[herman]

Herman- I have open spots there for week of May 4-11 if you really want to go.

Thanks for the offer..I ment I was not staying at Buddy because they were full....did not mean I was not going.I have 2 open spots in July myself...and just got an offer for a second week free if I wanted to hang around and be a DM/guide..putting the wife on the plane with the rest of the group :dancingsnoopy:

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

Bonaire was was my first big dive vacation also. We looked around Buddy Dive when we were there and that is where we would like to stay when we go back. The reefs are gorgeous. Navigation is easy. Buddy's house reef is nice. There is a little ship wreck between Buddy's and Captain Don's called the Machaca and a great big green moray eel lives there. One of my favorite dives was Oil Slick Leap. It's all about shore diving...where you want and when you want. We went to the donkey sanctuary. We also took a 1/2 day horse back ride over to Lac Bay and got to ride bareback in the water. You need to call ahead for that. We also had massages by Nubia. That was really good. Any questions...feel free to PM me.

 

[Blackrock]

We just got back from Bonaire on the 20th. We had a fantastic time! I'll be posting a trip report and hopefully some photos & videos soon. But until then....

The dive sites we like the best:

Karpata - Dove it twice and saw turtles both times
The Lake -a southern site with plenty of cool stuff to see in the shallows.
Angel City - a southern site with a double reef. If you're comfortable with the depth, I
completely recommend seeing the second reef. It's awesome and very
different than the other reefs. The coral formations are huge!
Our confidence - Wreck of an older sailing ship. Enter at WannaDive @ Eden Beach and
swim a bit South. It's only in 45 fsw.
Hilma Hooker - Dove it several times. Really cool wreck. It's a bit deep though. The top
at around 50fsw bottom around 90 fsw. The reef is nice too though.
Oil Slick Leap - Cool reef. Nice Shallows. Fun Entry.


As far as getting The BSDM book is concerned. It was helpful at times but could have been more detailed and helpful. I found it lacking to some extent. Buddy will have at least one store copy of the book for you to look at and plan your dives or you can buy it there for less than you would here in the US.

Don't eat at the Reef restaurant under Den Laman. The food was Awful. Do Eat at Pasa Bon Pizza. It is seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. A nice American guy owns it. Open from Wed-Sun. Do eat at La Guernica. Their Paella is Awesome.
Have a Bongos beach bar (at Eden Beach). Really friendly people and nice atmosphere.

PM me for more details if you want. We did tons of stuff while we were there and dove many sites.

 

[mempilot]

For your rebreather diver, checkout Rectec divers on Bonaire. Walt has everything he needs for his rebreather and does deep/tech trips.

herman,

Thanks for the heads up on RecTec. I just got off the phone with Walt, and he is going to take care of everything for me. While I'll be doing most of my diving with Karen and the group, I also want to hit a couple of their deep wrecks and reefs.

RecTec is going to provide me with RB bottles for my Meg, a bailout bottle for the deep dives, sorb, and O2/air and trimix.

The really cool thing is that they are located right next door to Divebuddy Resort. How convenient is that?

 

[oly5050user]

We just got back from Bonaire on the 20th. We had a fantastic time! I'll be posting a trip report and hopefully some photos & videos soon. But until then....

The dive sites we like the best:

Karpata - Dove it twice and saw turtles both times
The Lake -a southern site with plenty of cool stuff to see in the shallows.
Angel City - a southern site with a double reef. If you're comfortable with the depth, I
completely recommend seeing the second reef. It's awesome and very
different than the other reefs. The coral formations are huge!
Our confidence - Wreck of an older sailing ship. Enter at WannaDive @ Eden Beach and
swim a bit South. It's only in 45 fsw.
Hilma Hooker - Dove it several times. Really cool wreck. It's a bit deep though. The top
at around 50fsw bottom around 90 fsw. The reef is nice too though.
Oil Slick Leap - Cool reef. Nice Shallows. Fun Entry.


As far as getting The BSDM book is concerned. It was helpful at times but could have been more detailed and helpful. I found it lacking to some extent. Buddy will have at least one store copy of the book for you to look at and plan your dives or you can buy it there for less than you would here in the US.

Don't eat at the Reef restaurant under Den Laman. The food was Awful. Do Eat at Pasa Bon Pizza. It is seriously some of the best pizza I've ever had. A nice American guy owns it. Open from Wed-Sun. Do eat at La Guernica. Their Paella is Awesome.
Have a Bongos beach bar (at Eden Beach). Really friendly people and nice atmosphere.

PM me for more details if you want. We did tons of stuff while we were there and dove many sites.

Hope Liz had a good time..sorry to hearabout the restaurant at Den Laman..used to be good..what happened? New owners since last year or what?