Bonaire newb, looking to narrow it down re: house reefs

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_Ralph

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Hi all,

Newbie to the Bonaire, have done some searching and lots of overwhelming information about this shore diving Mecca.

Wondering if some of you seasoned pros could help me narrow down some ideas on where to stay, who to use, etc.

I know most of this is subjective and very personal.

I'm more fascinated with macro video than anything, but do appreciate the wide angle as well.


Who has the best house reef?
Ease of access, tanks (daylight hours, 24hr p/up), ease of entry, lodging etc?

Is the reef shallow? Deep? Mid? (Ie, 20ft, 50ft, 100ft)?

What do you like it over other sites?


I'd like to get to know one or two sites really really well (ie 2+ dives/day), while checking out others.

As for lodging, nothing fancy required. Doesn't need to be a 'resort' nor hostel. Hot water is a nice luxury, AC not a requirement, hot plate & bbq/cooking pit would be nice, fridge.... And access to said house reef.

Nitrox appreciated.


That's about all I can think of at the moment. Any insights?

_R
 
For your first time, I'd recommend Buddy Dive, Captain Don's or Den Laman. All have 24/7 access to Bari Reef, all offer free nitrox, all have tank access any time day or night, all or well located and you can walk or giant stride right into the water and a few short kicks to the reef/wall. All are very reasonably priced. Super simple.
 
From north to south, The Cliff, Captain Don's, Buddy Dive's reef and Bari Reef run rough adjacent to each other. If you stay at Buddy Dive Resort, you can swim up to Captain Don's reef fairly easy, and I consider that whole area one site personally.

The reef slopes, so Captain Don's, Buddy's or Bari Reef can be about as shallow or deep as you're likely to want. The Cliff is a special case; the vertical section it's famous for doesn't run real deep. If you like the Cliff, I think Beachcomber Villas and Hamlet Oasis both use that.

Richard.
 
We have stayed a Buddy's a couple of times and found the house reef to be excellent. The good stuff starts at around 20' and I think the reef bottoms out near 90' Nice reef to just hang in one place and watch the world go by.
 
I like Richard's idea also with a couple caveats. First of all those resorts all charge PP since they're waterfront. And most/all have a single supplement if you are one. The Hamlet Oasis (or Coral Paradise) condos aren't waterfront but rent by the condo afaik not per guest. CP seems to be a less expensive option there. Due to location you can walk to Dive Friends/Hamlet or Habitat for boat dives. Either end of the Cliff dive site basically.

Also look for Sand Dollar condos on vrbo.com. Some of the privately owned units rent there for less than going thru Sand Dollars rental agent. Since a fuss a few years ago with Bonaire Dive/Adventure over dock usage, the Dive Friends at Sand Dollar (shop is streetside for easy tank pickup - has built a tank shack and steps down to the beach for their guests on the far south end of the property which is the middle of Bari Reef.

Den Laman condos is nice but more upscale, a lot newer and pricier. I believe all the studios face the parking lot also.

Bari has one of the largest fish species counts of any reef in the Caribbean - largely due to the REEF surveys done there by guests with the BD&A naturalists - they have a fish ID/count dive option. My buddy did it, he counted 185 species and his count was sent in to REEF - one dive. It's even sort of fun there in the shallows to the south - there's some coral rubble, hurricane rubble in 10' that's fun to poke thru. I filmed a Batfish there although I didn't know what it was till reviewing video with the naturalist - he said it's pretty rare to see one there.

Check out Black Durgon Inn also - they match your requirements almost exactly. It's a smaller property, has a "community" kitchen and happen to be the best shore access to Small Wall? afaik. http://www.blackdurgon.com/

Just past Bari Reef to the south (past the Coco Beach club) is Eden Beach. They do have some smaller units - IDK about pricing. Spice Beach Club is on-site - a reworking of their bar/restaurant area and the main Wannadive shop is there. I've seen divers shore dive there but IDK what site/how good it is.

Coco Palm Garden/Casa Oleander mentioned above is more affordable but across the street from the water in Belnem south of town. I believe they're near Bachelors Beach which probably makes Buddy Dive at Belmar condos your closest shop location.

We've stayed at Belmar - there you would have 24/7 tank access since your condo key gets you into the public areas of Buddy's for tanks, Nitrox analyzer and the upstairs units have lockers there also. Plus wetsuit storage. I'm sure there's some single bedroom units there but it will be pricier since all have full kitchens, patios etc. - and it's a newer more upscale property than the original Buddy Dive location. You also get use of the Buddy Drive-thru when diving north.

There's no food options in Belnem (except Hotel Roomer's small restaurant) so everything is a 5min. drive to town. The two main markets, Van der Tweel or Warehouse Foods - are a pretty short drive away as they're on the east side of town.

One last option, check out Carib Inn on the south end of town. I'm sure there's a dive there but IDK how good it is. I believe they still rent by the room not PP and have smaller boat(s). It's a little south of the Divi and people walk to restaurants in town from there so maybe a block or two more.

The best 24/7 access has to be Goood Dive in town now since they have an outside fill station. It's just not an overly convenient location. Most of the apts. etc. in town are across the street from the water and with the piers etc (Town Pier is the cruise pier) there's really only 3-4 dive spots. The Divi Flamingo is a little south of town but their shallow reef was pretty torn up some years ago so IDK how good it is now. Afaik, your locker (and tanks?) are on the dock.

Some of the Dive Friends posts mention a tank locker - apparently you can call and ask tanks to be put in it for overnight use. IDK the details. Someone also recently mentioned that Habitat stages Nitrox tanks "upstairs" now. Nice to not have to walk them up the ramp from the dive dock area.
 
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I like Richard's idea also with a couple caveats. First of all those resorts all charge PP since they're waterfront. And most/all have a single supplement if you are one. The Hamlet Oasis (or Coral Paradise) condos aren't waterfront but rent by the condo afaik not per guest. CP seems to be a less expensive option there. Due to location you can walk to Dive Friends/Hamlet or Habitat for boat dives. Either end of the Cliff dive site basically.

Also look for Sand Dollar condos on vrbo.com. Some of the privately owned units rent there for less than going thru Sand Dollars rental agent. Since a fuss a few years ago with Bonaire Dive/Adventure over dock usage, the Dive Friends at Sand Dollar (shop is streetside for easy tank pickup - has built a tank shack and steps down to the beach for their guests on the far south end of the property which is the middle of Bari Reef.

Den Laman condos is nice but more upscale, a lot newer and pricier. I believe all the studios face the parking lot also.

Bari has one of the largest fish species counts of any reef in the Caribbean - largely due to the REEF surveys done there by guests with the BD&A naturalists - they have a fish ID/count dive option. My buddy did it, he counted 185 species and his count was sent in to REEF - one dive. It's even sort of fun there in the shallows to the south - there's some coral rubble, hurricane rubble in 10' that's fun to poke thru. I filmed a Batfish there although I didn't know what it was till reviewing video with the naturalist - he said it's pretty rare to see one there.

Check out Black Durgon Inn also - they match your requirements almost exactly. It's a smaller property, has a "community" kitchen and happen to be the best shore access to Small Wall? afaik. http://www.blackdurgon.com/

Just past Bari Reef to the south (past the Coco Beach club) is Eden Beach. They do have some smaller units - IDK about pricing. Spice Beach Club is on-site - a reworking of their bar/restaurant area and the main Wannadive shop is there. I've seen divers shore dive there but IDK what site/how good it is.

Coco Palm Garden/Casa Oleander mentioned above is more affordable but across the street from the water in Belnem south of town. I believe they're near Bachelors Beach which probably makes Buddy Dive at Belmar condos your closest shop location.

We've stayed at Belmar - there you would have 24/7 tank access since your condo key gets you into the public areas of Buddy's for tanks, Nitrox analyzer and the upstairs units have lockers there also. Plus wetsuit storage. I'm sure there's some single bedroom units there but it will be pricier since all have full kitchens, patios etc. - and it's a newer more upscale property than the original Buddy Dive location. You also get use of the Buddy Drive-thru when diving north.

There's no food options in Belnem (except Hotel Roomer's small restaurant) so everything is a 5min. drive to town. The two main markets, Van der Tweel or Warehouse Foods - are a pretty short drive away as they're on the east side of town.

One last option, check out Carib Inn on the south end of town. I'm sure there's a dive there but IDK how good it is. I believe they still rent by the room not PP and have smaller boat(s). It's a little south of the Divi and people walk to restaurants in town from there so maybe a block or two more.

The best 24/7 access has to be Goood Dive in town now since they have an outside fill station. It's just not an overly convenient location. Most of the apts. etc. in town are across the street from the water and with the piers etc (Town Pier is the cruise pier) there's really only 3-4 dive spots. The Divi Flamingo is a little south of town but their shallow reef was pretty torn up some years ago so IDK how good it is now. Afaik, your locker (and tanks?) are on the dock.

Some of the Dive Friends post mention a tank locker - apparently you can call and ask tanks to be put in it for overnight use. IDK the details. Someone also recently mentioned that Habitat stages Nitrox tanks "upstairs" now. Nice to not have to walk them up the ramp from the dive dock area.
An unimportant aside, there is a new grocery store up a bit from warehouse that'll be done any day now. It looks nice and fairly big. Warehouse is undergoing a face-lift right now as well.
 
Thankyou all,

You have not disappointed and have given me some great things to ponder.

_R
 
Hi Ralph,

I've stayed at Sand Dollar and Den Laman several times, both very good. Bari Reef is fabulous, day and night, being right there makes it particularly easy. Bonaire has 7 of the top 10 sites for species richness in the Tropical Western Atlantic according to the REEF surveys REEF Database Stats | Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)

Good diving, Craig
 
It's so easy to get around on Bonaire using a rental truck, why pick where you're going to stay based on their house reef? As far as I know, all of the house reefs are accessible to people staying elsewhere. Staying anywhere near Kralendijk, it's no more than a 15-20 minute drive to any site. If for some reason you're not renting a truck, or you have health issues that require entries/exits with good stairs, then I suppose a house reef might be more important.

I like Buddy Dive, Captain Don's, Hamlet, etc., for the reason Richard explained.
 
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