Bonaire - only limited days. How should I split it up? - From a beginner.

[Cherrynyc]

So many questions! I'm hoping you guys can help me get off this forum and get some sleep tonight.

My boyfriend and I are planning to island hop from Bonaire to Curacao and to Aruba for 10 days in February. I know, I know.. it's not a lot of time on each island... We are relocating from NYC to SF in a few months and we're trying to squeeze in our last Caribbean trip, and who knows when our next one will be, so wanted a taste of each. After heavy researching, we should have book majority of our time in Bonaire...

About us: we are beginner divers as we got our certification two years ago in the murky quarries of Pennsylvania, and traveled to T&C as our first dive trip last year and fell in love with it.

We plan on spending 2 1/2 days diving in Bonaire (staying at Buddy Dive), and 2 days diving in Curacao. Bf mentioned getting our advance open water certification on this trip but I'm not sure if we should spend our very limited time doing that. Looks like everyone traveling to Bonaire shore dives on their own but I'm not sure if we are ready for that without hiring a dive master. With that said, should we do one boat dive (perhaps 3 tank dive up North that Buddy Dive offers), and hire a dive master for shore diving the second day? 2 days of shore diving with a dive master? Or go for the AOW certification?
Are there any easy shore diving sites you would recommend? I have a huge list of recommendations from this forum but can't decipher if it's easy or advanced. Should I check out Klein island?
Also, recs on Curacao if you have (I know this is Bonaire forum…)!

3mm shortie or long wetsuit to buy? I was fine with 3mm shortie in T&C but would a long a better investment?

Is windsurfing fun to try?

Also, we love food and are looking for local and/or hole in the wall type of joints with variety of fresh catch on the menu. Any recs? We're not looking for any fancy dining as we have enough options of that in NYC. Want to try something different.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Kharon]

FIrst, Bonaire, Curacao, and Aruba are the same under water. The difference is on land. On Bonaire I can recommend Tori's Reef (very easy entry), Yellow Submarine (Dive Friends downtown shop & very easy entry), WIndsock (very easy entry) and Tolo (easy entry & dynamite reef). Unless you are a wreck fanitic skip Hilma Hooker. It's a yawn.

Second, shore diving is easy. Here is a tip. A trick I learned on Bonaire (after flubbing around on severtal shore entries). Watch the waves and count. Usually there will be a pattern of increasing wave height with several much smaller waves following the largest. Once you figure out the pattern you wait for the largest and then enter as it's receeding. Quickly go out far enough to float (chest high) and put your fins on.
One final tip. Get Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy (Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, BSDME, Author Susan Porter) and look it over to decide what sites you most want to dive.

 

[diversteve]

Buddy's reef is an easy shore dive. Bari Reef next to it is also. So maybe do some morning boat dives then if you feel confident try it yourselves in the afternoon. Every dive operator will put a DM in the water on every boat dive. Many of the DM's also freelance if they're not working so if you like yours - ask him/her. Often they'll mention it also. You meet them with everything you need at the site.

One dive you might enjoy at Bari is with the naturalist at Bonaire Dive and Adventure - he'll show you how to do a REEF fishcount and identify the species during the dive - he carries a slate and sometimes a fish card. So you get someone to watch you and a semi-private dive for the cost. There may be another couple of divers on the dive - on ours it was 3 total. A lot of it is shallow also - the fish live in the rubble there just offshore. We didn't go deeper down the reef till about 15-20mins. into the dive.

The hardest thing about Bonaire diving is typically the entries. Most are over ironshore/coral rubble both on the beach and just in the surf line. Look for sand channels bisecting the ironshore at the southern sites - many extend out deep enough till you're floating. Previous divers may have left small piles of coral rubble indicating the easiest entry points also. They're not always near the parking area. Go slow and hold onto/help your buddy and you'll do fine. Bring good treaded boots and possibly buy a fin keeper so you don't have to hold onto your fins during entry.

It's basically all the same reef along the west side so one site is pretty similar to another - except for things like the Hooker etc. The Hooker is a deep wreck with a long swim out over a rougher entry so I'd skip it. So pick sites where the entry looks easier. Windsock just west of the airport is one of the easiest, flattest entries on Bonaire. Might be a good site to try first.

Another good option might be the Salt Pier - the entry there is a sandy beach area - however there is ironshore slightly deeper. By then I was more or less floating so was able to get over it. The pier structures are a very interesting dive and there's really no reason to go out past the farthest set - about 40'. Occasionally some rays or other big pelagics are spotted there. There's also fire coral there so don't touch the brown stuff. It's a good site to see paired French Angels also.

Typically on Bonaire the reef parallels the shore. So you enter, swim out to the ball/reef drop then descend and dive into any (slight) current. Do your dive and reverse. Often the water is so clear that you'll see the ball or at least the rope a pretty long way away.

The sites Buddy's does on the 3-tank park trip are considered advanced. So are the 1/2 dozen sites preceeding the Lighthouse to the far south. Usually that's because of currents. We dove Vista Blue one afternoon and the fans/soft corals were laid over flat at depth - was calm at the surface. So after fighting that for 20mins. we called the dive. One of the best dives we did all week was Forest off Klein Bonaire - another was Rappel off the north side. Some operators dive both areas on a 2-tank boat dive since Klein is so close - from Buddy it's a short ride across the channel.

On Curacao - if you're planning to shore dive there - almost every major dive site has an on-site operator so contact them and pre-arrange any wanted guides. Another excellent option there is the Dive Bus. They'll pick you up in town, take you to the best nearby sites and provide a guide in the water on every dive. Mark and Suzy are excellent people also. http://www.the-dive-bus.com/

Most Curacao dives are beach entries. Many also require a longer swim out to the reef on the surface first. Some require that you return to a specific entry point to get out since the north side has a lot of tall ironshore cliffs - breaks in them are the beaches/dive site entry points. Others are easier - you can see the beach the entire time. And several have dive docks - Go West Diving in Westpunt does or Varsenbaai mid-island also has a dock. Both were among the better dives we did all week there. Another easy dive is the Tugboat south of town, it's a signature Curacao dive yet only 15' deep. The pier nearby is another good shallow option if there's no ship tied up - otherwise you can't dive under it.

Same low current diving as Bonaire - we only did one dive where we changed planned direction due to current and it was a drift dive.

if you want to see Willemstad, I'd stay in one of the resorts south of town. Lions Dive is pretty nice and they have Ocean Encounters 50' away for boat dives. And the Dolphin Dive is there as well - on Fridays?. The Dive Bus office is nearby also. Atlantis Apts. in town also has a shore dive off their property - never been there.

You can see a lot of the entries on both islands in the site photos here: http://www.shorediving.com/Earth/ABC/index.htm If you set out on your own to dive West Curacao the GPS info might be useful also - the farther west you get the less the secondary roads seem to be marked. Often we found sites by identifying nearby marked beaches or signs to the small town nearby then counting turn-offs after it. Basically you just keep heading west till you find the beach/water.

 

[Doctorfish]

I'm not sure I would bother with Aruba, too built up for my taste. I do not know the diving on Curacao, but on Bonaire but if you are only there for a few days, how you dive depends on where you stay. The house reefs at Buddy Dive, Habitat, Plaza and Divi are all excellent and worth exploring right from shore with easy ladder entry and very simple navigation. All are mini reef systems so it is near impossible to get lost. If you are are at Buddy dive, in my opinion, worth spending 2-3 dives right there, altering direction. For your second day, they run pretty good 2 tank AM boat dives and the DMs are very good at looking after new divers. They run a 3 tank day trip to the North once per week. If that coincides with your stay, take it.



There are many good small inexpensive restaurants on Bonaire, we like Mi Banana, Donna and Georgio's and Norca in town. The food at Buddy Dive's restaurant has never been good in my opinion. Rum Runner restaurant next door at Habitat is good, however.

 

[Cherrynyc]

Thank you all for your informative feedback and recommendations. These are really great tips, many I would have never known to do or consider... I am looking into it all right now!

Definitely will look into getting the book, and fin keeper.

We will probably not get our AOW certification on this trip, reconsider the 3 tank trip, and perhaps do a 2 tank dive boat dive first to get ourselves familiarized first time around, hopefully get one in Klein. Will also look into dive bus in Curacao.

We are currently booked for Blue Bay in Curacao. We actually looked into Lion's Dive first but they do not have any availability during our time of stay. I just looked into Atlantis and they have no availability either. Does anyone know anything about Blue Bay dive shop called Diversity?

We are only staying a day and half in Aruba as we want to relax on the beach the last few days before we leave (and the fact we were able to get non stop flight back to NYC for $220!) We never had too much interest in going for more than that because I hear is very touristy but wanted to cross it off our list while we were there.

 

[drrich2]

Hi:

I don't know how set in stone your travel arrangements are by now. If not much, I suggest you reconsider trying to hit 3 islands in 10 days. Anytime you arrive in the new place, there's a settling in period; getting in from the airport, checked in to your hotel, on the wireless internet service, figuring out where to eat, getting the lay of the land, going through orientation and doing the checkout dive (in Bonaire), in Bonaire I hope you know how to drive a stick shift, etc... And there's the checking out, too; and not diving within 12 hours of your plane departure.

That's a lot of drama that often ensues the first day or two on Bonaire, and some that's a factor the last day (turning the truck in, checking out of the resort, standing around at the airport getting checked in and your baggage loaded, the flight, etc...).

And you're going to go through travel and acclimation hassles at 3 different islands you're new to on one trip.

I understand the idea of crossing places off the list of 'to visit,' but if you aren't there in-depth enough to get an understanding of it, is that worth so much?

It's up to you.

Richard.

 

[fisheater]

I can't help you on the Caribbean questions, but please be sure to post on the NorCal sub-forum upon your arrive in S.F.

There's a LOT of great diving in store for you here.

 

[Cherrynyc]

Hi Rich, thank you for your concern and input. Unfortunately, the first thing I purchased was our plane ticket to Bonaire, and out of Aruba, mainly due to price. Hindsight, I should have researched a bit more before making this jump. I was a beginner diver so I thought 2-3 total diving days would suffice. Upon more researching, I was thinking of skipping Curacao, but I had always wanted to go there, so I just couldn't get myself to skip over it. At least I'll know which island I'll fall in love with most, and hopefully come back sooner than later.

I was thinking of getting an international data plan while on my trip as I do on most trips. How is the local service provider?

Here's a preliminary itinerary if you guys are interested. Most of flying is already book so there's not much wiggle room.
I couldn't have put this trip together without the help of forums such as Scuba Board and Trip Advisor.

Day 1 Bonaire: Fly from NYC. Check in Buddy Dive, relax, snorkel nearby in late afternoon.
Day 2 Bonaire: 2 or 3 tank boat trip, and maybe 1 shore dive in the afternoon.
Day 3 Bonaire: All day shore diving.
Day 4 Bonaire: 1/2 day shore diving in the morning. Lac Bay in the afternoon, perhaps Windsurfing lesson if time allows.
Day 5 Bonaire: Relax and fly to Curacao later in the afternoon (keeping in mind the full 24 hours after dive).
Check in at Blue Bay, relax and check out town have dinner in Willemstad.
Day 6 Curacao: Scuba Dive
Day 7 Curacao: Scuba Dive
Day 8 Curacao: Drive around the island, check out beaches and snorkel.
Day 9 Aruba: Fly to Aruba early morning. Check into Bucuti. Beach/relax. Have romantic dinner on the beach.
Day 10 Aruba: Relax on the beach all day. Maybe check into town for dinner.
Day 11: FLY HOME.

 

[Lorenzoid]

To echo Richard, that's a lot of wasted overhead time transiting between islands that are very similar. The only interest you mention beyond diving is lying on the beach and possible windsurfing, so my recommendation would have been to stick with Bonaire on this trip and go back to Curacao some other time. I got married on Curacao, but the diving there was not as enjoyable as Bonaire; we did our honeymoon on Bonaire--a week at Buddy Dive--and loved it. We've been back to Bonaire a couple more times since then. I wouldn't return to Curacao or Aruba. Curacao is very built up and somewhat urban. Yes, a few square block area of Willemstad is picturesque and worth a look, and you can dine at a picturesque overpriced restaurant while you gaze into each others' eyes and recall what a great time you had on Bonaire. Bonaire is all about diving, much of the island remains sparsely inhabited, and you can tool around the island at your leisure in the ubiquitous rental truck with the built-in tank rack. We just love the place. Aruba is hotels and beach, not geared for diving. Well, enjoy the island hopping, seeing as how you've already got it planned out. You'll be seeing more airport than anything else.

 

[Doctorfish]

I agree with Lorenzoid. you can re jig to skip Curacao and just stay on Bonaire, you won't regret it.