Bonaire: Plaza Resort Sept. 8 - 18th (2021)

[TJ65]

Hi,

My name is TJ and I am in the process of getting my PADI Open Water Certification. My wife & I are going to Bonaire from Sept 8th to the 18th. Looking see if anyone out there might be there at the same time. My wife doesn't dive, so I am looking for friends to dive with and help with any pointers. I've gone scuba diving before in Jamaica, but this will be my first time as a certified diver (as long as I pass my class). Please leave me a note if you'll be in Bonaire at the same time. We are staying at the Plaza Beach and Dive Resort.

Thanks & Safe Diving,

TJ

 

[Kimela]

We'll be there a month later. I'll be looking forward to your trip report to learn more about the Plaza. Good luck in your class and keep us posted.

 

[TJ65]

Well, I passed my class. I am now an official certified PADI diver. Just over a week and I'll be doing my first official dive in Bonaire. Only taken 1/2 day vacation this year. So looking forward to this trip and time away from work.

 

[drrich2]

My Research Notes for Bonaire - My Research Note For Bonaire

This may help you get oriented a bit. The Plaza is farther south than anywhere I've stayed, but Bonaire is small enough that divers staying most anywhere on the west coast can dive up and down the full range of mainstream west coast dive sites. How convenient it is to hit southern vs. northern sites may vary a bit.

Can you drive a manual transmission truck? Unless you arranged an automatic well in advance, you'll probably have a manual transmission rental truck. Expect to see feral donkeys and goats about. The road signs will be quite strange to you; I suspect most people 'wing it' a bit, but I think my research notes can help you get some idea. Some of them are somewhat intuitive. Speedometers and limits in kilometers (1 km = 0.6 miles).

Richard.

 

[Outbound]

I think I may have responded to one of your previous posts about the Plaza. I'll be arriving there the day you leave. If you haven't done so, I suggest doing some boat dives from the in-house dive op, Toucan Diving. That way you will be sure to do some diving. On the boat you'll likely find other people who want to go shore diving with. You'll also get to dive off of Klein Bonaire, which has some really great dives. The house reef is 18th Palm and it's pretty good. They used to keep plenty of air tanks by the pool for those who wanted to shore dive from the beach, but they've just renovated their pool so I don't know if the tanks are in the same exact spot. Probably nearby if not exactly the same. You can also grab a tank and a cart from the dive shop and head off to wherever you want to jump in - there is an old concrete pier and some steps at the far south end (by the restaurant, but I've heard that they have renovated that as well so maybe the restaurant has moved) that you can enter from as well. The drop-off from the house reef is pretty gentle, so you can dive anywhere from about 25' all the way down to 120' or so if you want. But don't go down that deep as a new OWD! Just pick a direction - north or south - and dive along the reef. Turn around and come back the same amount of time and you'll be back by the beach.

As Rich said, you can rent a truck and go shore diving, but this is really a better option for someone who already has a dive partner. Since you don't, sign up for some boat dives and you'll meet folks there. Most people go to Bonaire to crank out as many dives as possible, so I'm sure you'll find people who will want to do more than just the two morning boat dives. If not, you can always sign up for some afternoon boat dives as well. I think the minimum is three divers before they'll go out, but it might be four. If you're lucky, you'll meet someone who rented a truck and can go out diving with them.

If you get a chance, dive Salt Pier. Lots of great sponges to see, and it's cool to dive through and around the pilings with the beams of sunlight shining down the water column.

Enjoy your trip!