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

[diversteve]

Try the goat stew and cactus soup at Rose Inn in Rincon. Rose Inn, Bonaire - Restaurant Reviews - TripAdvisor

mixed reviews so ymmv.

If this is still your plan:

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.

Maybe do your BMP Orientation dive the afternoon of Day 1. Dive Friends does them all day. They have two locations near Buddy - at Sand Dollar Condos just south or Hamlet just north - only open till 4:30. Since you're not on any island long enough to get the benefits of a weeklong package deal, it will allow you to get on Buddy's boat the next morning. Otherwise you miss a morning boat trip since the orientations usually start after 9AM most places. And they do 2 dives before returning.

You won't be allowed on Buddy's boat in the morning without it - they get fined if the BMP park police check the boat - happened to us once. Of course if your class starts the next morning I'm sure it's included.

When it gets close to your arrival date call Buddy's and have them put you on the boat sign-up board. I'd go for one of the smaller boats as theyr'e a little harder to re-board but you won't have as many people bustling around while you're getting ready. There's very few sites on Bonaire that have any noticeable swells typically which is the only reason for a bigger boat. http://www.buddydive.com/en/diving/boats.html

 

[Chasin' Tales]

Concerning the flights and the no diving 24 hours before flying...the flight from BON to CUR probably does not get but a thousand or two feet in the air. The islands are so close that there is not time to get to elevations that would raise too much concern about decompression sickness. If you have 12-18 hours before flying from BON to CUR, that should be sufficient. Others, please confirm or advise if this is not the case.

There really isn't much need for a DM for shore diving in Bonaire. Unless there are creatures that are an absolute must see (frogfish, seahorse, etc.), you can easily have enjoyable shore diving without a DM. The diving is easy. Lot's of info on here and Bonaire Talk.

Good luck and enjoy the trip!

 

[wwguy]

Concerning the flights and the no diving 24 hours before flying...the flight from BON to CUR probably does not get but a thousand or two feet in the air. The islands are so close that there is not time to get to elevations that would raise too much concern about decompression sickness. If you have 12-18 hours before flying from BON to CUR, that should be sufficient. Others, please confirm or advise if this is not the case.

This topic was discussed in another Bonaire thread about a year ago. The consensus then was that the minimum actual altitude for westbound flights between Bonaire and Curacao is 4000' and the minimum for eastbound flights is 3000'. But these commercial aircraft are all depressurized during flight, so what really matters is the equivalent effective cabin altitude inside the cabin and the rate of pressure reduction as the cabin is depressurized. These variables are determined by the pilot and/or computer and are influenced by route, aircraft, flight duration, and other factors beyond your control.

 

[SayNo2Snow]

If your still able to consider options, one great place for dinner on Curacao is Landhuis Daniel, just west of Willemstad as you enter the town of Terra Cora (a little on the pricey side) but the food is incredible. Casual attaire, but bring bug spray (if you forget, they have some you can use)

 

[Damselfish]

I know you've heard it already, but hitting all 3 islands in 10 days is not a good idea. It's not even a good way to get familiar with all of them - I think you'll come away not really experiencing any of them, plus need a vacation after the vacation. Even if you are well traveled, you're going to discover dive travel adds twists you haven't experienced yet. Flights can be changed for a fee, it might be worth it. But if you haven't purchased interisland flights or accommodations yet you still have of flexibility. You can still choose to do one or 2 islands, and Aruba doesn't really have to be one of them - you can treat it as a stopover or an overnight at most if it works better for flights.

The 3 islands are actually rather different above and below water. I vastly prefer Curacao. But as a new diver, who says the diving part of the trip is important, I would do the majority of the trip in Bonaire since that's where you're already flying. It's a great place to build up experience and confidence. Then you'd have plenty of time to take AOW there as well as do more diving where you've gotten familiar with stuff. If you stay at a resort on the water you'll probably quickly decide it's really easy to shore dive from there, and maybe find you don't need that private DM after all. Some shore dive entries are easier than others, do your research and stick to what you're comfortable with. And while people talk a lot about the shore diving there, there is nothing wrong with doing boat dives there if you prefer it or it makes you more comfortable. Boat dives are usually cheaper there than other places.

I think Curacao is the hardest of the 3 islands to get to know in just a couple days. If you go there for the "city and culture" you may come away with the erroneous impression that "it's too built up" and not want to return there, I've heard that many times. If you just stay in the city and dive based from there it will be much less convienient to do the better stuff and chances are you won't do it. You'll also probably miss the countryside and all the hidden beaches (which are very different from the long stretch of sand in Aruba, but IMO much more interesting.) Don't even think of breaking it up even more by trying to pack in a day doing Klein Curacao.


(ok, so after typing all that I realize OP is going in Feb, so maybe there already? Will be interesting to hear how it went...)

 

[lmorin]

Here is another factor: between-island air travel has become much more problematic. Last month, we were prevented from boarding a Tiara flight from Aruba to Bonaire, despite being at the check-in desk 1.5 hr prior to departure. We also learned at that time that our return flight 3 wks later had been cancelled (all air reservations were made 5 mo earlier). We were fortunate to get the last seats on a Bonaire to Aruba Insel flight. However, that flight arrived 45 min late, departed an additional 10 min late, forced us off the plane and through security only to re-board the same plane when we landed in Curacao, eventually arriving in Aruba over 1 1/2 hr later than scheduled. Hence, missed our return flight to NYC. Both Tiara and Insel are experiencing serious financial difficulties. From what I understand, the problem is brought about largely because an entity in Venezuela that regulates currency has not paid them a lot of money. Tiara is owed $40million and Insel is owed $70million. Not trivial. Aruba apparently provided Tiara with a $1million loan to pay employees, enabling operations to be maintained. At least to some degree.

 

[jujubeess]

Hello Cherry NYC,
I sent you a private message Jujubees