Bonaire on a whim in two weeks

[pa diver]

We decided with two days planning to make reservations in Bonaire Sept 8-16th. Now the real planning/investigation begins. We're a 40's couple, somewhat new divers (60-75 dives) like to dive, dinner/drinks, explore a little and like meeting new people. I will probably want to dive a little more than Elise so if there are other people in the same boat, would love to meet.

Please bear with me while I ask a few questions;

1. Any other SB's on the island at that time.
2. I'm tracking down a couple of shore diving guides that I'll absorb in the next two weeks. We have a drive/dive package and I wanted to know of a few "not to be missed sites" and wondered is there a "not to be missed" boat dive.
3. Is there a list of local restaurants, although we have have a kitchen we like to find the little out of the way, non-touristy places to eat.
4. Are there some tips for things to bring, we have a pretty good packing list but our last 3 trips have been to Cozumel. Are there suggestions unique to Bonaire.
5. Do they have small tanks on the island? I'm guessing Elise would prefer not to lug around an 80 if she doesn't need it, smaller tank would be great for her.

Any and all other info will be greatly appreciated........Thanks, Mike

 

[ronbeau]

We decided with two days planning to make reservations in Bonaire Sept 8-16th. Now the real planning/investigation begins. We're a 40's couple, somewhat new divers (60-75 dives) like to dive, dinner/drinks, explore a little and like meeting new people. I will probably want to dive a little more than Elise so if there are other people in the same boat, would love to meet.

Please bear with me while I ask a few questions;

1. Any other SB's on the island at that time.
2. I'm tracking down a couple of shore diving guides that I'll absorb in the next two weeks. We have a drive/dive package and I wanted to know of a few "not to be missed sites" and wondered is there a "not to be missed" boat dive.
3. Is there a list of local restaurants, although we have have a kitchen we like to find the little out of the way, non-touristy places to eat.
4. Are there some tips for things to bring, we have a pretty good packing list but our last 3 trips have been to Cozumel. Are there suggestions unique to Bonaire.
5. Do they have small tanks on the island? I'm guessing Elise would prefer not to lug around an 80 if she doesn't need it, smaller tank would be great for her.

Any and all other info will be greatly appreciated........Thanks, Mike

Casablanca Restaurant - Mixed grill is excellent and will probably feed you for two meals each for $36.

My daughter and wife used 63s when we were there in July 2007. We were using Wanna Dive Bonaire for tanks & weights.

1000 Steps would probably be best done as a boat dive.
If you plan to dive on Klein Bonaire you will need to do it via a boat dive.

I didn't get a chance to dive Oil Slick Leap but many people consider to be one of the better dives on the island.

 

[reefdiva]

Mike, Let me try to answer your questions in order ...

2. Get a copy of Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Susan Porter. She lives on the island and dives daily. It is available from her website www.bsdme.info as well as at many of the dive shops in Bonaire. It is a wealth of information on the shore dive sites and includes how to best enter and exit as well as what you might expect to see on the dive. My favorite dives (in no particular order) are The Lake, Angel City (go to the 2nd reef), the Rock and Margate Bay.

3. For local food try El Fagoen, Mi Banana, Maiky Snack, Antriol Catering. Other great restaurants include Pasa Bon Pizza (their specialty is fresh fish pizza), BobbeJan's, Patagonia and Wil's Tropical Grill. If you are on island on a Saturday go to the Carneceria Latina and pick up a fresh grilled chicken. Good fresh fruit and veggies can be purchased at More For Less. Many restaurants close in Sept for the owners holidays so always check ahead. In restaurants in Bonaire you need to ask for your check when you are finished as it is considered impolite to present the check without the customer requesting it. If you pay in US dollars your change will be in guilders. Also, at some of the smaller places (ie: Maikey Snack) you should not try to use large bills (if paying in US dollars)

4. Pack light. You do not need to dress up in Bonaire. For dinner my husband usually wears shorts and a nice t-shirt or polo style shirt -- and I do the same! Some people prefer long pants because of mosquitos but I have never had a problem. Be sure you have a pair of cheap flipflops and cheap sunglasses to wear to dive sites as you do not want to leave anything of value in your truck.

5. I use a 63 tank (air not Nitrox) and have had no trouble finding them. We use Dive Friends (Photo Tours/Yellow Submarine).

Enjoy!!!

 

[spectrum]

Any and all other info will be greatly appreciated........Thanks, Mike

Where area you staying, some things are location specific.

Pete

 

[diversteve]

The September issue of Scuba Diving has an article entitled "5 Perfect Days in Bonaire" The September Sport Diver has an article titled "A Taste of Bonaire" Dive-n-Dine. That pretty much covers it. We dove most of the sites SD mentions, all were great.

If you were going to do a little more boat diving, I'd add Rappel and the drift dive at Hands Off. Forest off Klein Bonaire is literally a "forest" of Black Coral. Great dive.

And do Salt Pier (shore dive but DM accompanied) if there's no ship loading. Town Pier(the other DM accompanied dive) at night is the dive everybody talks about also.

Bari Reef off Den Laman/Sand Dollar is the #1 reef in the Caribbean for fish diversity. Bonaire Dive/Adventure can set you up to do a REEF fishcount when you dive there.

Bring good treaded boots...most sites you'll be entering over coral rubble and ironshore. Even some of the sites with a "beach" typically have ironshore offshore.

Places we liked for food were Zee Zicht and It Rains Fishes - great view but on the expensive side. Also the pizza at Donna/Giorgios. Casablanca is also great food.

 

[jghflash]

It's all great! You will most likely be surprised and amazed at how convenient and fun it is to drive down the road, pick a reef and dive in..........anytime, anywhere! My wife and I found ourselves passing up a dive site that had one truck parked at it to go to one where we were the only ones on the reef. Now is that spoiled or what???

Cactus Blue is a very good restaurant, they had their first anniversary last February. Bobbejan's is fun, good ribs. La Guernica tapas restaurant is very nice, desserts there are evil.

As for diving, find a yellow rock and jump in! Some of my fovorites are 1000 Steps, Oil Slick Leap and Karpata up north. I especially like Angel City on the south end. It's a horse shoe shaped double reef with a LOT of fish life on it.

Susan's "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy" is a great reference and very helpful. Also check out Shordiving.com, they have descriptions and photo's of the dive sites on Bonaire. Have a great trip!

 

[pa diver]

Where area you staying, some things are location specific.

Pete

We're staying at the Golden Reef Inn............thanks for all of the answers so far.

 

[DiverVince]

A word of caution... You will probably NOT want to return to Cozumel.

 

[herman]

We're staying at the Golden Reef Inn............thanks for all of the answers so far.

Liz and Ed will take good care of you, as will Wannadivebonaire, the dive shop they use. One "don't miss" to add is the Monday night BBQ that Liz throws. Great local food....Gibi's goat stew...yummm.

Add to your dive list Hilma Hooker, Old Blue and Oil Slick.

 

[pa diver]

Liz and Ed will take good care of you, as will Wannadivebonaire, the dive shop they use. One "don't miss" to add is the Monday night BBQ that Liz throws. Great local food....Gibi's goat stew...yummm.

Add to your dive list Hilma Hooker, Old Blue and Oil Slick.

I've seen some of your posts and can tell your addicted to Bonaire. Maybe you can answer a few more basics for me......How is the coffee on the island, more important to me than it should be but..........are there any other handy items to bring beyond the cheap sunglasses, flipflops, things you can stand to lose.. etc. And goat stew sound too good to pass up, although after a day of diving there are few foods that don't taste great. Again, thanks for the input.