Bonaire in 4 weeks and I have questions

[seaducer]

When is a great time to visit Bonaire?
I am trying to plan a trip there.
Thanks, this is a great thread...
Kirsten

I have been there in May, and in Feb/March. I think I saw more, and more larger fish in February than I did in May. Many people have been there year round but with such abundant sealife, warm waters, hot air with cool breezes, and snotty weather at home this is a February get away trip for me now.

Lucky for you airfare is getting cheaper (250$ less than I paid for the same flight now), if you have the time off work and can get a place to stay, I say go NOW.

 

[DiveMaven]

Gee, not to add to your expenses, but if you've just purchased your first UW camera and have never taken photos before, you might consider taking a course with Tim at Fish Eye Photo (shop is at Den Laman). We spent 2 days with him last year (PADI UW Photo specialty) and it made a HUGE difference in my husband's already good photo skills.

Tim has a 1/2 day course that includes instruction and 1 dive on Bari Reef that's designed to give you immediate results in your photography skills, and I'd recommend it highly.

Scubak, the "best" time is when you can go! Bonaire's so close to the equator that there isn't much variation in climate, temperature, etc. We choose to go during the summer because it's cheaper (low season), less crowded, there's more of a European presence vs. American (which we think is fun), and the most important...NO cruise ships!

 

[Waterskier1]

We choose to go during the summer because it's cheaper (low season), less crowded, there's more of a European presence vs. American (which we think is fun), and the most important...NO cruise ships!

NO Cruise Ships!? When was the last time you were there? :shocked2:

The most I've seen on a single day was two, but there are cruise ships that go to Bonaire. When they do, it is really crowded at Eden Beach (they bus the PAX there) and also at KonTiki at Lac Bay where PAXs were screaming for drinks faster than the servers could serve them.

And the streets in Kralendijk are packed with shoppers. There are also many mini-vans taking tourists to see the island, stopping at the major dive sites (1000 steps, Oil Slick, Ol' Blue, Karpata).

I don't mean to make it sound really bad (except for KonTiki) but there are Cruise ships that stop at Bonaire.

 

[donnad]

I believe what DiveMaven means that in the summer the cruise ships are elsewhere.......no bonaire stops. that's what i've seen on the cruise ship calendar. we are making our first trip to bonaire this july 3rd. can't wait!

 

[Waterskier1]

I believe what DiveMaven means that in the summer the cruise ships are elsewhere.......no bonaire stops. that's what i've seen on the cruise ship calendar. we are making our first trip to bonaire this july 3rd. can't wait!

Oh, I have only been to Bonaire in Jan, Feb, Mar and Oct. There have been cruise ships there then. I haven't been in summer so it is possible that different routes are taken. I mistakenly thought she didn't realize that Bonaire does have cruise ship stops.

 

[DiveMaven]

Thanks donnad, I absolutely meant that there are no cruise ships there in the summer. Cruiseships only stop in Bonaire from November through mid-May. We were there the first 2 weeks of July last year, and loved how quiet things were. Honestly, after being there, I don't ever want to imagine what it's like when 2 cruise ships are docked!

Heck, it was so quiet that when we made reservations twice at restaurants that nomally require reservations, we found there were only 4 other tables taken in one and 2 in the other. We didn't make any restaurant reservations after that. AND there were two instances where we got to a dive site, saw 2 trucks there, and moved to another that was less "crowded".

 

[scubaaaronh]

Another place to eat that is good and inexpensive for lunch is Last Bite Bakery just north of town. They have a 10 guilder lunch that is really good. Also pastries were very good. Watch the date on milk as it may be expired when you buy it. If i remember correctly Liz told me on my last trip the milk shows on tesdays and thursdays and the new stuff goes quick. not sure if that is still true or not. Cultimara has good baked goods in their bakery section. The place across from warehouse bonaire had the cheapets price on gatorade in single serving bottles. We didn't bother with much food as we planned on eating out most dinners but lunches we bought lunch meat cheese at cultimara and took some mac and cheese with us. Kraft mac and cheese was like 10 cents more so i wont waste space on that items again. We did take some seasoning packets with us, just so we had the seasoning we liked for spaghetti.

A couple dive sites i didn't see listed that were good sites were:
Bachelors beach. easy entry has a sandy beach and saw a lot of squid in the shallows. very nice site and not a ot of diver traffic.

18 Palms at Plaza nice night dive there easy to do through their beach area. There is a white light on a pole line that up with the light on the tiki bar and you will com right back in to the beach. They also have nice rinse tanks there for when your done. They also have rinse showers on the beach. and take a little cash and have a drink at the bar when your done. Saw a couple different octopus and a lot of crabs roght at the drop off right out front.

Windsock nothing really special just a nice easy entry dive for when you have done a lot and want an easy dive.

Wish we were going soon but not sure when we are going to go back. we were supposed to go in june but that fell apart.

 

[driftin' by]

I've been diligently following this thread and although I didn't ask these questions myself, all the responses have been great for our upcoming first trip to Bonaire in 16 days.... but who's counting?

So if we can't dive salt pier or town pier, where else can we find the orange cup corals? I heard on the underside of the Hilma Hooker? We're staying at BDR, any chance of finding them on Buddy's reef on a night dive?

I have 2 pair of booties, tropical and cold water and I was on the fence as to which ones to bring. The responses here definitely convinced me to being the super heavy-duty cold water ones which happen to be a pair of 5mil Henderson Hyperstretch with a sole that looks like a basketball shoe.

Also, FWIW, Nx was included with our package at BDR and at all the other resorts we considered. But I can emphatise with Pembina about it getting expensive and we lucked out with our airfare only costing us $298 each!

We too got Nx certified. Ch-ching!
Lodging didn't turn out to be as low as we expected becasue we couldn't find another couple or two to share a condo with. Ch-ching!
We're hiring a babysitter for 6 days. Ch-ching!
I've decided that I'm not going to want to cook while on vacay afterall so we'll be eating out mostly. Ch-ching!
I had to send my Ikelite housing in for service along with my Citizen watch and UK light. Ch-ching!
This trip was final justification for a new dSLR. Ch-ching!
I'm begging my wife to let me get a new Ikelite strobe. Chhhhh-CHING!

But it's going to be a great time, I know it!

 

[Pembina]

But I can emphatise with Pembina about it getting expensive and we lucked out with our airfare only costing us $298 each!

Oh My!!! Only $298 for airfare. If that was the case for us I would be flying and diving more often. The cheapest airfare I could find was $859 each and we still have to drive 2 hours to fly that cheap. From our local airport it would have been $1200+ per person.

Our diving is through Captain Don's which is right next door to the Coral Paradise Resort where we are staying. We are signed up for 6 boat dives and unlimited air but alas they do not offer a no charge upgrade to nitrox. That is costing us an additional $117 per person. UGH!!!!

 

[gpatz]

I Know where you all are coming from!

Last year was our first trip:
Air was $950 from SF bay area, booked 5 months in advance.
Air this year $750 booked 10 months in advance.

I also upgraded gear this year:
Olypmpus E510 DSLR Camera $600
Ikelite Case $1200
Ikelite Strobe $600
4 Dive Lights $160 ( I rented a light last year and it blinked off and on thru a entire night dive)
2 pairs Sunrays booties (my 5mm hardsole booties last year were to hot!) $120
2 Pairs of Omega Fins ( just curious to see if they work better for Bonaire shore diving) $240
A Wetwear custom 3mm full wetsuit ( was cold most of the time in 79 degree temp in Feb) $600
Servicing our Regs $300
Not counting all the little penny and dime odds and ends dive equipment $$$?

On lodging will be sharing a 1100 sq ft villa with another couple for 2 weeks, which is equal to what I paid for 1 week at this same time last year at Den Laman.

We will save on BBQ meals at the Villa this year, will make sandwichs for lunchs, and prepare light breakfeasts also like last year. We have to eat dinners out at least 5 nights because the Restaurants are so good and it is vacation after all.

The savings on the Air and Lodging this year helps absorb some of the cost of my upgrading gear.

Hopefully I won't be upgrading anymore gear in the near future (I know, famous last words). At least I have job security for at least the next 5 years and all the overtime I can handle.

You only live once, might as well enjoy it.