Bonaire - Plan the vacation, vacation the plan?

[Ruu]

So, after some rumination, it appears that Bonaire (or Fiji, but that is another thread in another forum) is on the horizon this September. I've been around a bit, and initially thought Bonaire would be more of the same five-year-olds-on-a-schooltrip-holding-hands style of diving, with Dive Master leading the way. Upon reading the boards for a while, I am rapidly gaining the impression that I'm headed out to the diving equivalent of the old west - stumble out of bed in the morning, borrow tanks from outside your neighbour's room, jump into the sea and dive for a bit, drive somewhere in a raggedy jeep that you borrowed from a parking spot suspiciously close to that of your neighbour's room, dive for a bit while your neighbour's cellphone is stolen from the jeep (well he should have left the windows open), go to the bar and swap tanks with the barman, night dive a bit more under the light's of Captain Bob's bugzapper, sell the tanks to a Venezuelan scrapper and then have dinner.

How far exactly is this from the truth? I'm mildly concerned that although I would rate myself a middling diver with enough dives to not drown myself and enough shore dives not to get a sea urchin stuck where I would not want a sea urchin stuck (which to be fair is just about everywhere), I'm not 100% confident of my ability to magically navigate a completely unfamiliar reef solo (and although I will be traveling with my wife, she doesn't dive (yet)). That isn't to say that I wouldn't appreciate some more solo time, since I am the kind of irritating photographer that can and has harassed a single 4 foot stretch of rock for almost an hour when given the opportunity - I just like the idea of tagging along with some people that might know a good location from the out pipe of the local sewage treatment plant (or maybe the out pipe of the local sewage treatment plant *is* a god dive site - these are important questions that I cannot answer alone).

Anyway, my current plan was to stay for a couple of weeks, starting with the harbor village (does that make me a snob?) acknowledging that it may not have the best house reef, but it would get us acclimated, and then move on to the Den Laman condos for the second week, where I would have the Bari reef but less attention. I know a jeep would be a useful tool, but is it essential? What are the odds of teaming up with other jeep-ready divers (I'll have a hand-held metal detector ready to search for keys) if I do a few boat dives and meet some people? What if everyone has seen "a perfect getaway"? I know I did, and it didn't exactly make me feel good about meeting vacationing couples, that's for damn sure.

Is there anything else I could be doing, other than making long-winded and probably not particularly funny posts on scubaboard?

Also, I assume it is worth picking up a copy of "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy"? I assume so, but maybe it's full of sections like "Dive tables - what the experts don't want you to know" and "Cutting yourself - a hands-on guide to shark photography". Inquiring minds want to know.

Dave

 

[DiverVince]

New Ruu..As a long time traveler to Bonaire, let me answer some of your questions..
Like the old west? No, far from it. Bonaire has got the diving thing down to a science. Diver's paradise is on all the license plates and it's very fitting. They've had a lot of practice at it.

H.V. is a great place to stay, Toucan is the dive Op there & they do a fine job. As far as the house reef directly in front, it's lacking but it's really not a big deal to cross the channel underwater & dive "Something Special" in front of Blue Water Residence which is real nice.

As far as UW navigation, in reality it's pretty EZ. Just give it a little practice.

There are valid reasons why Bonaire gets so many repeat visitors. And as far as picking up a copy of BSDME, yes, get it. The best place to meet other divers is of course on the dive boats. Others can then gauge your underwater skills & it's EZ to chat with others of like mind after the dive.

Really, don't try to analyze too much, go & have fun and follow the much publicized advice of at shore dive sites, leave the windows down & nothing of value in your truck (or jeep). And another piece of advice, take some good hard soled boots for the shore diving.

 

[RJP]

Navigation is a cinch. Even for a wreck/cave kinda guy like me! Enter the water, turn left, keep the reef on your left for a while. Turn around, keep the reef on your right for about the same amount of time. Exit the water. On the next dive, simply reverse the direction.

I found Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy to be worth very little. It's not much more than a pamphlet, honestly. There are similarly detailed maps and dive site descriptions available on-line.

Don't want to open the "Bonaire crime" can of worms, but my buddy and I followed the conventional wisdom of leaving nothing in the truck and had no problems at all. That's true for the vast majority of people that go there.

HV might be a good choice, especially if your spouse doesn't dive. You may wish to consider The Plaza Resort as well, since it's got one of the only "sand" beaches on the island.

 

[drrich2]

Navigation is a cinch. Even for a wreck/cave kinda guy like me! Enter the water, turn left, keep the reef on your left for a while. Turn around, keep the reef on your right for about the same amount of time. Exit the water. On the next dive, simply reverse the direction.

Also, be mindful you're shore-diving off and island with a sloping reef. Worst case scenario; you swim up to the surface toward the end of your dive, look around, and 'BAM,' there's the island. Swim to it. It's not like worrying you're going to get lost from a dive boat out on the ocean.

And no, for shore diving, you don't need to worry about having to follow Divemasters around.

Where navigation could be good (I assume; never was good at it myself) would be sites where there's a nicer entry path. Example: Aquarius. We went in and it was a good entry. Then my wife got sea sick. When she gets sea sick, she wants out. NOW! OUT-OUT-OUT! Direct. No swim up & down the reef looking for the exit. Surface, see island, head for it. This meant crawling over some coral & rocks. Still got a faintly 'off color' spot on my leg from that.

In all fairness, she & our friend are both sea sickness-prone, and I'm told it's a very bad feeling.

Richard.

 

[Bonairetrip]

First, at least where I dive in Bonaire, you are treated totally like an adult. On a boat, you can follow the DM. Or not. You can get back on the boat after more than an hour w/o problem as long as you board the boat with the minimum PSI. On a shore dive, it is just you doing your dive. I have gone solo and with buddies. Day and night. Nobody has ever said boo either way.

Second, reconsider renting a truck. It will allow you to explore the park (if you are so inclined) and easily do shore dives. I pay about $250 a week and use the premium (not regular) AMEX insurance. I leave the doors unlocked (all times) and the windows most of the way down (when at a dive site). And leave nothing you care about in the car. The place I now rent from (Telerin) was a dream to work with last year. The only bad things I have had happen in my 10+ trips (each trip is 14 to 21 days) is I have had my gas siphoned once and I once had a flat tire (damned thorns!)

Wild west? Not really -- but there is a fair amount of diving freedom. No gloves, no light sticks, no knifes, don't touch the coral or take anything. Pretty much other than that....

 

[DeputyDan]

Rent a vehicle (jeep or truck)
You won't be sorry!

 

[DiveMaven]

If you're worried about navigating while shore diving on your own, simply pick the dive sites that have permanent mooring pins. Then you can navigate easily off of that. Once you're more comfortable, then you simply spot a distinctive coral head or sponge before you decend on the reef, navigate back to that, then you can "prairie dog" once you're shallow to look for your truck, or surface and have a leisurely swim back to shore..

 

[Ruu]

H.V. is a great place to stay, Toucan is the dive Op there & they do a fine job. As far as the house reef directly in front, it's lacking but it's really not a big deal to cross the channel underwater & dive "Something Special" in front of Blue Water Residence which is real nice.

How far from the house reef is "something special"? Can you see it underwater with good visibility, or are we talking about a 15 minute swim across a thousand foot trench?

Also, I shall look into renting a truck while I'm there - how similar is the driving to something like the US? Are the drivers savages like over here on the east coast (as I quickly found out when I arrived, a turn signal in New Jersey identifies you as the wounded antelope of the herd)?

Dave

 

[RJP]

Also, I shall look into renting a truck while I'm there - how similar is the driving to something like the US? Are the drivers savages like over here on the east coast (as I quickly found out when I arrived, a turn signal in New Jersey identifies you as the wounded antelope of the herd)?

Driving on Bonaire is no problem at all.

 

[Stacyt38]

I went to Bonaire as a non-diver around New Years 2009 and cannot wait to return as a diver! It is an awesome place my family and I had a great time exploring.