Bonaire or Belize

[nuts4corals]

Thinking of these two destinations... I completed my open water dives on curacau. It was nice stuff from what I remember. Hwoever, I was told that Bonair is a better dive destination. I've never been to either belize or bonair though. what do you guys reccomend? I dive mostly on vacation and this time will be going alone which is no big deal because the rest of the family does not dive. I'm the only one. I have a bit over 100 dives and thats pretty good since I only do about 10 dives per destination I go to. last year was cazumel and I was plesantly surprised at what I saw there. any and all info is appreciated. good or bad. LMK thanks

 

[DeputyDan]

Hard question to answer because both have so much to offer.

I have only dove in Belize by liveaboard and the diving on the outer islands was as good as Bonaire.

It also depends on what the rest of the group would like to do. My family enjoyed upcountry Belize more than the diving.

All that being said - if your primary focus is diving I would go to Bonaire. If your primary focus is topside activities with some diving thrown in, I would go to Belize.

 

[DiveMaven]

Since you say you're going to go alone on this trip, might I suggest you strongly consider doing a liveaboard out of Belize. You'll not only maximize the amount of diving you can do in a week, but you'll have no problem being a single. And I have to agree with DeputyDan, the sites you'll dive from liveaboard in Belize will easily be as good as anything you'll dive in Bonaire.

Bonaire is a shore diving mecca, so unless you can join a group, being solo could present some challenges in getting as much diving as you might want. You could do almost 100% boat dives so finding buddies wouldn't be a problem, and you'd likely find a buddy at your home reef. But being that "the thing" on Bonaire is to rent a truck and shore dive, being a solo traveler can be challenging.

IMO liveaboard diving is the way to go in Belize and shore diving is the way to go in Bonaire.

 

[DeputyDan]

In your post, when you said going alone - I did not know if that meant going on vacation by yourself or just being the only one that would be diving.

If you are the only one going on the trip I agree with Divemaven's response 100%!

 

[nuts4corals]

ok where can I check out about liveaboards???

yeah, not sure if I'll be going alone or not yet. wife wants to send me away though

 

[diversteve]

There's two:

Aggressor: Belize, C.A :: Belize Aggressor :: Scuba Diving
Dive Belize and the Blue Hole with Sun Dancer LiveAboard

If you've dove west Curacao, Bonaire is very similar. Similar fish, basically the same coral. At several sites you wouldn't know which island you were on. Much less junk on the reef on Bonaire though. I'd say Bonaire's water is clearer also.

A big difference is that the reef starts a lot closer to shore on Bonaire and at many sites you walk in over ironshore and coral rubble in the surge. I wouldn't want to do that w/o a buddy.

And the dive sites in some areas are just several hundred yards apart - especially south of town.

 

[ChaosReid]

I have been to both these destinations within the year and loved both for different reasons - Bonaire has very little to offer topside, but the diving is uniformly good to excellent, great visibility. Belize offers a host of adventures topside and is a beautiful country without the dive aspect. Stayed at Cap'n Don's on Bonaire and liked everything about it, although we ate out a fair bit because the restaurant was merely OK for dinner. Shore diving is RIGHT there off the dock; it's easy to rent a vehicle and get to anywhere else (after a day to orient, and left-hand roads!) for shore diving if you dare!
I LOVED Belize - stayed at Hamanasi Resort south of Dangriga, which puts it within reach of Gladden Spit for a whale shark viewing. Reef is 20-30 minutes off shore, but SO worth it! I thought the diving beat just about anything I saw in Bonaire, and Bonaire is ranked at the top by many. Do both; don't torture yourself!!!

 

[nuts4corals]

I have been to both these destinations within the year and loved both for different reasons - Bonaire has very little to offer topside, but the diving is uniformly good to excellent, great visibility. Belize offers a host of adventures topside and is a beautiful country without the dive aspect. Stayed at Cap'n Don's on Bonaire and liked everything about it, although we ate out a fair bit because the restaurant was merely OK for dinner. Shore diving is RIGHT there off the dock; it's easy to rent a vehicle and get to anywhere else (after a day to orient, and left-hand roads!) for shore diving if you dare!
I LOVED Belize - stayed at Hamanasi Resort south of Dangriga, which puts it within reach of Gladden Spit for a whale shark viewing. Reef is 20-30 minutes off shore, but SO worth it! I thought the diving beat just about anything I saw in Bonaire, and Bonaire is ranked at the top by many. Do both; don't torture yourself!!!

oh I definatly plan to do both... however, I'm still contemplating which one to do on this pqrticular trip. I like the fact that you could dive right off the dock or shore in bonair but worried if I can pair up with a dive buddy. with belize... not sure if a live aboard is for me. I say this because I've never been on a cruze in my life and I never had the desire to go on one either. When i go to a destination its usually not just for the diving and I do enjoy topside activities as well. so I'm torn, what to do???

 

[ChaosReid]

My understanding of the liveaboard experience is that it is all diving, ALL day and night and no shore intervals. Very intense. Is this so, experts?

 

[DeputyDan]

oh I definatly plan to do both... however, I'm still contemplating which one to do on this pqrticular trip. I like the fact that you could dive right off the dock or shore in bonair but worried if I can pair up with a dive buddy. with belize... not sure if a live aboard is for me. I say this because I've never been on a cruze in my life and I never had the desire to go on one either. When i go to a destination its usually not just for the diving and I do enjoy topside activities as well. so I'm torn, what to do???

A cruise and a liveaboard are two entirely different experiences. I have never been on a "traditional" cruise and never plan to go on one but I love liveaboards.