Bonaire handrails

[bcaderunr]

While I will probably get flamed....let me check my GAS level....Bonaire only cares about your $$$$$ and that is about it. It is a good place to dive. It used to be a great place to dive but it is easily surpassed by other places.
Just be careful and dive places you can handle and dont expect too much.

I have been diving all over the Caribbean since I was certified 8 years ago -- making up for lost time making $$$, raising kids, etc. Having just been to Bonaire for the first time and having been blown away by the quality, ease and low-cost of the diving there -- what are the places that surpass it? Because I can't wait to visit them. I ask with the utmost sincerity.

 

[coldwaterlloyd]

Bonaire is as about as easy as it gets for the sheer number of sites to choose from . Even if railings , cables were installed , they would be gone after the first good storm come hurricane season .

 

[vladimir]

There are shore diving sites with handrails, ladders, and all sorts of niceties - they're called dive resorts.

Yes...or swimming pools. We should preserve what meager challenge there is in Bonaire diving.

I have been diving all over the Caribbean since I was certified 8 years ago -- making up for lost time making $$$, raising kids, etc. Having just been to Bonaire for the first time and having been blown away by the quality, ease and low-cost of the diving there -- what are the places that surpass it? Because I can't wait to visit them. I ask with the utmost sincerity.

In terms of ease and low-cost, it is unsurpassed, in my experience, but Cocoview in Roatan is a frequesntly named competitor. I haven't been there, so I don't know. In terms of quality of diving, I prefer the outer atolls in Belize (off of a liveaboard or from Turneffe Island Resort) and Little Cayman Island (I stayed at the Little Cayman Beach Resort.

 

[DiverVince]

Yes...or swimming pools. We should preserve what meager challenge there is in Bonaire diving.

In terms of ease and low-cost, it is unsurpassed, in my experience, but Cocoview in Roatan is a frequesntly named competitor. I haven't been there, so I don't know. In terms of quality of diving, I prefer the outer atolls in Belize (off of a liveaboard or from Turneffe Island Resort) and Little Cayman Island (I stayed at the Little Cayman Beach Resort.

Well Vlad we stayed at Fantasy island on Roatan (right next to Cocoview) and really wasn't impressed in the least with the diving. Also stayed at Sam McCoy's on Little Cayman (we've been on all 3 Caymans). Bloody Bay wall was nice, but for the best overall dive experience (including shore diving when ever you please), Bonaire simply can't be beat!
As one divemaster there put it, "Bonaire is like the world's largest live-a-board"..

 

[vladimir]

Well Vlad we stayed at Fantasy island on Roatan (right next to Cocoview) and really wasn't impressed in the least with the diving. Also stayed at Sam McCoy's on Little Cayman (we've been on all 3 Caymans). Bloody Bay wall was nice, but for the best overall dive experience (including shore diving when ever you please), Bonaire simply can't be beat!
As one divemaster there put it, "Bonaire is like the world's largest live-a-board"..

We disagree, but I don't feel too strongly about it; I just wanted to give bcaderunr some options for comparable diving. I do agree that the best Caribbean dive vacation, in my experience, can be had in Bonaire. But I value the whole laid-back, dive-when-and-where-you-want-to vibe. For somebody who wants a shot at seeing sharks, for example, or just more variety, Belize would be a better choice.

 

[tarponchik]

It is a common occurance to see a diver with fins in one hand and a camera in the other

This can be even worse. I have to hold fins, camera AND my dear wife when we go in. But I'll vote for keeping it this way. If you do not feel fit to dive at the Lighthouse, there are always the Andreas and Oil Slick.

 

[TheWizard]

I think Ron was joking when he made the silly post about handrails, just to give us something to chat about, in the absence of any recent threads about evil-doing on Bonaire...

 

[bcaderunr]

Yes...or swimming pools. We should preserve what meager challenge there is in Bonaire diving.

In terms of ease and low-cost, it is unsurpassed, in my experience, but Cocoview in Roatan is a frequesntly named competitor. I haven't been there, so I don't know. In terms of quality of diving, I prefer the outer atolls in Belize (off of a liveaboard or from Turneffe Island Resort) and Little Cayman Island (I stayed at the Little Cayman Beach Resort.

I've been to Cocoview. And while it was a resort I'd go back to, the house reef was the only shore dive option and it's an AI on an isolated peninsula. You're pretty much confined to the property for the diving portion of your vacation. And it's the epicenter for "no-see-ums". I'm not dissing it, that's just the reality of the place.

Also been to Cayman Brac Beach Resort (twice). Sister resort to LCBR. Love the diving on the smaller Cayman Islands. Similar to Bonaire in quality of diving and laid-back-ness of the locales. BUT -- you are limited to boat diving only. Like I said -- Bonaire was a revelation. I do, however, keep an open mind. So many destinations, so little time!

 

[vladimir]

I've been to Cocoview. And while it was a resort I'd go back to, the house reef was the only shore dive option and it's an AI on an isolated peninsula. You're pretty much confined to the property for the diving portion of your vacation. And it's the epicenter for "no-see-ums". I'm not dissing it, that's just the reality of the place.

Also been to Cayman Brac Beach Resort (twice). Sister resort to LCBR. Love the diving on the smaller Cayman Islands. Similar to Bonaire in quality of diving and laid-back-ness of the locales. BUT -- you are limited to boat diving only. Like I said -- Bonaire was a revelation. I do, however, keep an open mind. So many destinations, so little time!

Great, that makes deciding on your next Caribbean vacation easy: Belize Aggressor. Don't like liveaboards? Turneffe island Resort.

 

[Docc]

We dove sidemount in Bonaire. On the rough shore entries, we just carried one tank at a time, floating beside us, out to a decent spot and dropped it. Did the other one and then walked gingerly out past the "rough" spots and snapped on the tanks. The exit was just the reverse. The entry at the Hooker can be a bitch when the waves are crashing.

I do agree that an escalator at 1000 steps would be nice. Going down isn't bad but coming up........