Bonaire - is it worth it?

[tursiops]

On a more serious note, what about people who dive or snorkel in board shorts and a rashguard instead of a wetsuit? Sure, as scuba divers, they will still have a BC to disinfect, and my guess is that residual water in a BC bladder is at least as much a concern as the BC outer surfaces. But what about clothing? Do the rules suggest you stand under an outdoor shower between dives? And okay okay, maybe your joking is actually not as absurd as it seems at first blush--what about our bare skin? I'm not good with ambiguity.

You folks are making a mountain out of a molehill. The disease at its worst is barely noticeable. Only a handful of sites are closed and they are all North of Karpata; some are boat-only sites.
The disinfection "rules" are easy; light chlorine rinse at the end of the day, then fresh water -- two rinse tubs instead of one. Rinse your wetsuit, it probably needs it anyway. Avoid diving a green site if you've been at an orange or red one.
The only reason for the OP to avoid Bonaire is the non-diving spouse.

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

You folks are making a mountain out of a molehill. The disease at its worst is barely noticeable. Only a handful of sites are closed and they are all North of Karpata; some are boat-only sites.

The disinfection "rules" are easy; light chlorine rinse at the end of the day, then fresh water -- two rinse tubs instead of one. Rinse your wetsuit, it probably needs it anyway. Avoid diving a green site if you've been at an orange or red one.
The only reason for the OP to avoid Bonaire is the non-diving spouse.

ok. phew. thanks.

 

[Lorenzoid]

The disinfection "rules" are easy; light chlorine rinse at the end of the day, then fresh water -- two rinse tubs instead of one. Rinse your wetsuit, it probably needs it anyway. Avoid diving a green site if you've been at an orange or red one.

I was under the impression it was required at the end of the day but also required if the color code of the site you are diving next is different from the one you just dived, or something like that. No?

 

[tursiops]

You folks are making a mountain out of a molehill. The disease at its worst is barely noticeable. Only a handful of sites are closed and they are all North of Karpata; some are boat-only sites.

ok. phew. thanks.

I'm 2 1/2 weeks into a 4 week stay. Sad about a few of the stoney corals, but most are quite unaffected.

 

[Chrisk919]

Good lord. I just dropped a few grand on the upcoming SB trip. I certainly hope it is.

I’m laughing with you, not at you, because I just did the same thing….

 

[arew+4]

I was under the impression it was required at the end of the day but also required if the color code of the site you are diving next is different from the one you just dived, or something like that. No?

Green, orange, red with out rinse, red, orange, green rinse in between. But you could rinse after every dive of you like. Shorts and T-shirt? Slip and fall into the nearest pool

 

[DreadnoughtNH]

Hello Forum
I am considering going to Bonaire this September for a week with my wife - who doesn't dive - so the main emphasis will be cycling and snorkelling (although I'll sneak in a few guided dives).

However, the SCTLD situation is very worrying. In terms our holiday enjoyment, I am concerned that the changing nature of the situation will mean more snorkelling / diving sites may be closed (I have checked the STINABonaire and InfoBonaire web sites so know the current situation), the quality of the snorkelling / diving will be much reduced in many sites and the mandatory precautions and guidelines (necessary I know) will be bit of pain and detract from the holiday - which I was hoping would be carefree, wonderful snorkelling around the island.

I'd probably avoid the infected sites and site of concern - so it doesnt seem to leave much!

I know there are a few threads on here regarding Bonaire but though would ask directly - is it worth going? We are flyng from the UK so its a long expensive haul. any other suggestions would be welcome.

Thanks Andrew

My wife and I went to Bonaire in May (first time) when the SCTLD situation was just starting to close down sites. We managed to get a good taste of the dive options from easy (The Lake) to moderately challenging (Red Slave). Oil Slick and the other north-western most sites were ok. I do believe the diving on the east side (White Hole, Turtle City, Cai) is significantly more interesting, but these sites are generally accessible only by boat (ECD).

I think the attraction of Bonaire over other Caribbean destinations is the independence that comes with the self-guided shore dives; you can choose your own schedule, pack up a truck, create your own dive plan, and choose your own dive sites (although the number of sites has clearly decreased with the SCTLD closures). Additionally, there is the cost factor: shore diving is significantly less expensive than boat diving. If you value more freedom, less structure, and enjoy shore diving, Bonaire is a great choice.

With that said, while we were very glad to have tried Bonaire, we don't think we'd go back. We know the island is very much a sacred cow to this community, but with the exception of the east and north-west sites, Bonaire felt tremendously over-dived and not significantly more interesting than other locales. We also determined that shore diving isn't really our cup of tea.

Even without SCTLD, we believe there are significantly better dive options in the Caribbean, particularly if you are making a long haul journey from the UK. I would suggest Belize (Turneffe in particular), Roatan, Saba, or even Grand Cayman/Little Cayman all over Bonaire.

 

[JoeTPhilly]

I was under the impression it was required at the end of the day but also required if the color code of the site you are diving next is different from the one you just dived, or something like that. No?

Based on what I saw I don't think there is much compliance. Maybe there was earlier in the disease but now that it has spread everywhere I think people just gave up.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Based on what I saw I don't think there is much compliance. Maybe there was earlier in the disease but now that it has spread everywhere I think people just gave up.

You're probably right. But I'm a habitual rule-follower. I'll be back to Bonaire when STINAPA officially gives up and relaxes the rules.

 

[Brett Hatch]

I have been to Bonaire once in early 2020 on a dive trip with 3 of my friends, and am going to attend the ScubaBoard trip Summer 2024. So I can't add anything to the above SCLTD discussion. But, on my 2020 trip, one of my dive buddies ended up getting an ear infection a few days before the trip, so he didn't dive at all for the first few days. It cleared up and he was able to dive for the second half, but we did end up doing more non-diving activities than originally planned.

He spent a day or two taking windsurfing lessons on the southwest side of the island, and had a really good time, it turns out that Bonaire has some world-class windsurfing. Make sure to sunscreen your ankles and the tops of your feet extra well! There's also a little bar and restaurant right near the windsurfing, and a little resort-y beach where you can spend a couple hours relaxing, and make a day out of it.

My group of 4 also spent a day going out to Lac Bay on the southeast side of the island, where there is a mangrove forest. We did a kayaking tour through the mangroves, and it was one of the highlights of the trip. It's cheap, pretty easy paddling, and you get to see some birds and topside wildlife. At one point we parked all of the kayaks in a clearing, and snorkeled the mangroves a few hundred yards in waist-deep water. The snorkeling part was super cool because you could look to the sides to see all sorts of sea life nesting in the mangrove roots, and float right over the upside down jellyfish. I highly recommend this to divers and non-divers alike.

We did not make it out to Klein Bonaire. But, it's my understanding that the Klein Bonaire dive sites are very shallow and make good snorkeling sites, so taking a dive boat out there to snorkel together should be a good time, maybe somebody who has done this can comment on whether they would do it again.

Hope this helps.