Bonaire-National Park, Is it worth it?

[boat sju]

kristen,

Have you dove Nukove yet? I enjoyed the scenery in the park but I'd rather dive the Nukove area.

 

[tkaelin]

Yes it is worth doing at least once. My suggestion is do it early one morning just when they open. Bring your marine park pass and you will also need an id for each person who is using the marine park pass on the receipt. I would check the website out because the fees and rules have changed. There may be a small fee even with the park pass receipt. Also we did it in a regular pick up and threw tank and reg and tire filler adapter in the truck. The website seems to state that you can only enter with a 4 wheel drive vehicle that has a functioning spare. I don't recall that so you may want to review carefully before making the drive up. The standard rental pick up is only two wheel drive.

 

[Doctorfish]

I'm intrigued by this thread. I have only driven through the park once and would not do it again. Hot, dry, bumpy and long one way trip. Many of the rental trucks have worn tires and an incomplete tool kit so that a flat would be a major PITA.
I have dived the northern sites several times and do not think they differ much from the west side.

I am curious as to how many of you have or would do the park a second time.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I am curious as to how many of you have or would do the park a second time.

When I was taking dive groups six times a year to Bonaire back in the late 70's we would always end our week with a trip through that area. Never got tired of it. M

 

[Trailboss123]

I'm intrigued by this thread. I have only driven through the park once and would not do it again. Hot, dry, bumpy and long one way trip. Many of the rental trucks have worn tires and an incomplete tool kit so that a flat would be a major PITA.
I have dived the northern sites several times and do not think they differ much from the west side.

I am curious as to how many of you have or would do the park a second time.

One and done for me.

 

[gbf]

Once was enough for us.

Go kayaking in the mangroves, go to the cactus whiskey place, count your socks then sort by color.

Do just about anything else.

But some people love it. Different strokes...

 

[ijdod]

My take is to, by all means, get a dive in if you visit the park, but don't go there for the diving. I much prefer the North-Western sites, just past BOPEC, such as Candyland, Tailor Made and Carel's Vision. (and Nukove is already past the best parts) Of course, that's the beauty of Bonaire, everybody has their own favourites and preferences, and you can always dive somewhere else

 

[kristen8416]

kristen,

Have you dove Nukove yet? I enjoyed the scenery in the park but I'd rather dive the Nukove area.

We were going to the last time we were there and I can’t remember why we didn’t. We did Playa Frans and I remember this being on the list as well. Any suggestions on “must do” that I’ve missed would be great. We always try to do favs and add on. We keep meaning to do Candyland but get out there and bail. I think we second guess if we’re in the right spot being that it’s unmarked.

Here are the sites we’ve visited so far...
DELFINES
WINDSOCK
HILMA HOOKER
ANGEL CITY
SHARONS SERENITY KLEIN BONAIRE
SAMPLER KLEIN BONAIRE
BARI REEF
COUNTRY GARDEN-BOAT DIVE
LARRY’S REEF-BARI-BOAT DIVE
SALT PIER
SALT CITY
VISTA BLUE
AQUARIUS
TOLO
SOMETHING SPECIAL
OIL SLICK LEAP
CLIFF AT HAMLET OASIS
CAI WITH BAS TOL
Boka Spelonk with Bas Tol
INVISIBLES
BARI-SOUTH
YELLOW SUBMARINE
MARGATE BAY
1000 STEPS
PLAYA FRANS
BACHELORS BEACH
SWEET DREAMS
ANDREA I
CORPORAL MEISS

 

[kristen8416]

I'm intrigued by this thread. I have only driven through the park once and would not do it again. Hot, dry, bumpy and long one way trip. Many of the rental trucks have worn tires and an incomplete tool kit so that a flat would be a major PITA.
I have dived the northern sites several times and do not think they differ much from the west side.

I am curious as to how many of you have or would do the park a second time.

This is my main concern, having car trouble. We’ve woken up to a flat on our truck. I’d hate to get stuck out there.

 

[ijdod]

I'm intrigued by this thread. I have only driven through the park once and would not do it again. Hot, dry, bumpy and long one way trip. Many of the rental trucks have worn tires and an incomplete tool kit so that a flat would be a major PITA.
I have dived the northern sites several times and do not think they differ much from the west side.

I am curious as to how many of you have or would do the park a second time.

Usually once per trip. A couple of times when I lived on the island. I do check the state of the spare and toolkit of the rental though.