Bonaire, Is it worth the trip?

[Stichus III]

The reefs in Bonaire are very good. The diving at 25 feet is just as good as it is at 125 feet. The problem with Bonaire is a lack of variety. Most of the reefs have the same feel to them. I suspect that inexperienced divers tend to love Bonaire because the diving is so easy, while the more experienced divers will get a little bored after 2 or 3 days of diving.

I was in Bonaire in July 2007 and I was a little disappointed, because I was expecting more. I’m from Aruba and was expecting the diving in Bonaire to be head and shoulders above the diving in Aruba, which was just not the case. However, my trip to Bonaire was very satisfying and I’d love to go back.

 

[Mossman]

Yes, in my opinion, the diving is better on Little Cayman and on the atolls in Belize. A direct flight from Newark Saturday morning can have you setting up your equipment on the Belize Aggressor around 3:00 pm. Little Cayman can be a real pain in the neck to get to. People will take issue with my preference of Belize diving over Bonaire diving--to each his own--but they are not qualified to judge if they have not been out on the atolls:

Having spent a week diving the atolls off the Pilot, I found them a bit monotonous compared to Bonaire and I probably won't go back. Haven't done LC yet as it's a real pain in the neck to get to - if only the Aggressor were more reliable on that count...

Grand Cayman's north wall would be nice if they'd bring in some fish.

 

[ronscuba]

Reading through all the posts in this thread, you start to see that we each appreciate different things when we dive.

Because of the limited flights, I haven't been to Bonaire yet. But that will change soon with Continental and Delta adding flights.

One thing no one can deny, is the shore diving makes Bonaire the land based equivalent of a liveaboard and that is a big draw for many people.

 

[DiveMaven]

This is just the first time I've ever heard anyone say that diving Bonaire gets boring after a few days. Most people seem to remark about how a week isn't enough. Either way, I look forward to finding out for myself.

 

[vladimir]

Having spent a week diving the atolls off the Pilot, I found them a bit monotonous compared to Bonaire and I probably won't go back.

We disagree, but I don't feel that strongly about it. I think most people would agree that the quality of diving is roughly equivalent. The deciding factor for many will be preferences with regard to accommodations, shore vs boat based diving, etc. I think you and I also agree that if quality and variety of diving is the only criterion, most people will make their way to the Pacific or Indian Oceans.

 

[Video rookie]

I've been to Bonaire for the last two years. Stayed at the Plaza Resort last year, and Buddy's this year. I personally prefered Toucan diving at the Plaza to the Buddy dive operation, but there is a lot more shore time activity at Buddy's. If you want quiet (except for the airplanes, which did not bother me) the Plaza is very nice and has a great pool for the non-divers in your group. The house reef at the Plaza (18th Palm) was very nice, but we also enjoyed the house reef at Buddy's. Our next adventures are a short trip to the FL keys in Oct, and a live aboard in the Bahamas over Christmas.

 

[El Orans]

I've been to Bonaire twice and will be back in the future.

It's very easy diving with a lot of choice.

Direct flights from Amsterdam help too...

 

[reefdiva]

The reefs in Bonaire are very good. The diving at 25 feet is just as good as it is at 125 feet. The problem with Bonaire is a lack of variety. Most of the reefs have the same feel to them. I suspect that inexperienced divers tend to love Bonaire because the diving is so easy, while the more experienced divers will get a little bored after 2 or 3 days of diving.

I have over 300 dives (maybe not as experienced as some) and I love Bonaire. For me the thrill is not so much how "hard" a dive can be but what can I find on that dive. On my last dive there last month I spent 2 hours at less than 30 feet and found amazing things --- seahorses, frogfish, spotted eagle ray, yellow headed jawfish, sailfin blennies ... the list is too numerous to go on!

I think that the reefs have great variety from the "canyons" at Karpata to the rubble at Front Porch to the gorgonians and fans in the south. Just my opinion though!

 

[drewuw]

I think that ronscuba has said it best. with his remarks. When I started this thread I never wanted to create turmoil within the community, but we all appreciate diffrent things. Although I have not made it to Bonair myself, we must consider that many things effect our favorite past time ie. time of year, water temp, etc. And side by side comparisions are tough to make because in a lot of respects we are comparing apples and oranges. The diversity of life is why we love this sport and as long as we keep appreciating the diversity of life and people we are some of the very lucky.

 

[parrotman]

I did Belize a couple of months ago on the Pilot as well and just returned from Bonaire a few days ago. I would not do the Belize trip again. However I have been to Bonaire many times and will go back. Having been to many Caribbean dive spots, that being Caymans, Bonaire, the Honduran Bay Islands, Cay Sal Banks, Bimini, Belize and Cozumel there are really only two that I go back to over and over. Bonaire and Utila. I do want to try Turks and Caicos but for consitent good diving you really can't beat Bonaire