Bonaire Questions

[11HGrunt]

I am a pretty new diver (40 dives, spread over 4 years) and am heading to Bonaire in September. I have been reading as many of the posts pertaining to Bonaire as I can find. We are not traveling with our shop, rather this is a 4 person trip.

I know as new divers we have to do a check out dive, however I get conflicting explanations as to what the dive entails, or who do we see to do that dive. We are staying at a resort that does not have an on site dive center (Bellafonte Chateau de la Mer)

Some posts on here have made references to some of the resorts requiring payment or being less than friendly towards divers from other resorts. I can't recall the name of the book I read last year, but it basically said to go talk to each resort where you want to dive and that most places are very friendly and accommodating. I would love some opinions from divers who have "Been there and done that."

Once you get your pass, do any of the sites require a DM accompany you?

If anyone has any other hints, I welcome all input!!

Thanks in advance for any help!!

 

[driftwood]

First, when you choose a dive shop, there will be a quick talk about the general rules for diving in the park and you pay for your tag. Your check out dive is mostly to make sure you have about the right amount of weight. If you can get a tank with around 5-600 psi for your weight check.

I know that the Black Durgon (Small Wall) isn't that friendly to divers from other resorts. Buddy's is friendly and you can unload close to their dock but they ask you to park further away (you will understand when you see the setup).

DM's are required for Town Pier and Salt Pier because they are international piers (thank you 9-11).

Think hard about what you really need on a dive and plan to gear up off your tailgate. Don't leave anything in your vehicle you don't mind losing.

Shopping for groceries will probably involve stopping a a couple of stores. Figure a couple hours.

Gas is expensive on Bonaire. Past 1000 Steps the coastal road is one way and you have to return through Rincon.

 

[herman]

First, when you choose a dive shop, there will be a quick talk about the general rules for diving in the park and you pay for your tag. Your check out dive is mostly to make sure you have about the right amount of weight. If you can get a tank with around 5-600 psi for your weight check.

I know that the Black Durgon (Small Wall) isn't that friendly to divers from other resorts. Buddy's is friendly and you can unload close to their dock but they ask you to park further away (you will understand when you see the setup).

DM's are required for Town Pier and Salt Pier because they are international piers (thank you 9-11).

Think hard about what you really need on a dive and plan to gear up off your tailgate. Don't leave anything in your vehicle you don't mind losing.

Shopping for groceries will probably involve stopping a a couple of stores. Figure a couple hours.

Gas is expensive on Bonaire. Past 1000 Steps the coastal road is one way and you have to return through Rincon.

The DM requirement is outdated. You can no longer dive Town Pier-it is off limits, Salt Pier on the other hand you can dive anytime AS LONG AS no boat is docked at it (as of this July).
The other 2 unfriendly dive ops that I am aware of (at least to non-customers) is Capt Dons and Bonaire Dive and Adventure (at Den Laman)

I checked the Bellafonte website and it says they are parternered with 2 dive ops, Dive Friends and Wannadive. If Bellafonte is where I think it is, Wannadive has a site very close by (at Windsock Apts) so odds are they would be the best op for you. Great folks and dive op so no issues there. Reguardless, it us usually best if you work with a dive shop that is partnered with your resort, you don't have to but it usually works best so if it were me, I would used one of those 2.

 

[diversteve]

The DM requirement is outdated. You can no longer dive Town Pier-it is off limits, Salt Pier on the other hand you can dive anytime AS LONG AS no boat is docked at it (as of this July).
The other 2 unfriendly dive ops that I am aware of (at least to non-customers) is Capt Dons and Bonaire Dive and Adventure (at Den Laman)

Only if you don't pay them....lol. Although Habitat charges a usage fee even if you bring tanks on-site. Never tried that at BD&A.

I checked the Bellafonte website and it says they are partnered with 2 dive ops, Dive Friends and Wannadive. If Bellafonte is where I think it is,

It is - in north Belnem.

Wannadive has a site very close by (at Windsock Apts) so odds are they would be the best op for you. Great folks and dive op so no issues there. Regardless, it us usually best if you work with a dive shop that is partnered with your resort, you don't have to but it usually works best so if it were me, I would used one of those 2.

Dive Friends has a site at Port Bonaire nearby also. One reason I'd choose them over Wannadive is that tanks are easier to get to at several of their locations - at two they're literally feet from the parking area.

Dive Friends does boat dives from Port Bonaire as well as their Yellow Sub location on the north side. Wannadive only does boat dives from Eden Beach on the north side of town since you can't get a boat in at Windsock. Dive Friends also has 4 boats. Not as big an issue if you only plan to shore dive but you'll miss any of the Klein Bonaire sites doing that. Also Rappel would be rather difficult from shore. Dive Friends also makes an effort to only dive boat dive sites not also shore accessible.

If you're arriving at an odd time, Dive Friends will do the BMP orientation/dive from any of their dive facilities at any time during business hours with slight advance notice. Most shops schedule it around 9AM since that's a typical time for guests arriving the night before or on the redeye thru Houston. Also afaik, the BMP Orientation from Wannadive is at their Eden Beach site on the north side - not at Windsock since it's just a "service point". herman may've had a different experience since their group booked all of Windsock that week. Also herman possibly has been there more than once this year so his old one was still good.

Port Bonaire is just off the end of the airport for reference. A 2min drive from Bellefonte.

Also:

Since Dive Friends Bonaire has five locations on the island, your shore diving is even more convenient. You can pick up and exchange tanks at all five Dive Friends locations, so no matter where you are on the island, there's a Dive Friends location nearby.

WannaDive has 4 but two of them are not useful - their Dive Hut site exchange is for Dive Hut guests only and their Sorobon site isn't convenient to anything as Sorobon is near Lac Bay on the East Side. Lac Bay is the windsurfing bay.

Bellefonte is also close to BelMar Condos, the other Buddy Dive operation is there. They send a boat down 2-3x per week and you also get use of the Buddy Dive drive-thru on the north side if you buy a dive package thru them. So it's a third option. Neither Wannadive at Windsock or Buddy Dive at BelMar are optimal for non-guests due to tank availability - at both your room key gets you into the tank storage areas 24/7.

Three of Dive Friends locations are 8-5. At Hamlet and Sand Dollar it's 8:30-4:30. Hamlet is off the Cliff dive site and Sand Dollar is at Bari Reef - the other way to access Bari. There's also a parking area south of Den Laman for free access but it's a slightly rougher entry.

If your group was interested, you can rent a Naturalist at Bonaire Dive & Adventure and do a REEF fishcount there also - it's the site in the Caribbean with the most counted species of fish. My buddy did it - he counted 185 species - the naturalist carries a waterproof fish card and points them out. If the book you mentioned is Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, Dive Friends can set up a guided shore dive with the author - Susan Porter for an additional fee.

My .02 - I'd go with Dive Friends for the unlimited package and ala carte some of the other dives - including boat dives. Many people dive within the limits of the best all-inclusive deal, I prefer to pay when convenient. I don't think we paid more than $15 to dive 2 tanks at any of the north side resort dives - saved hauling ours from the parking lot. Or at Habitat also down/up the hill.

I rarely disagree with herman but I think it makes more sense to go with Dive Friends over Wannadive in your situation.

 

[Kharon]

The check out dive is for you to check out your equipment and make sure everything is perfect and for you to get your weighting. They don't go with you to check your skills.

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.

Also I agree on using Dive Friends for unlimited air and adding boat dives as desired. The shore diving spoiled me - no schedule, dive as long & deep or shallow as I want, dive the same site multiple times, etc. This trip I will probably take the UV night dive. Other than that I didn't see anything on Klein (last trip) that was much different from the shore dives I was doing.

 

[gypsyjim]

We have rented condos several times when visiting Bonaire. Even when we stayed south of airport I chose to use Buddy Dive's shore package for air and nitrox. I simply prefer their easy drive threw set up, and with an island as small as Bonaire I don't mind driving to BD to load up tanks once or twice a day.

I have never used Dive Friends, so I can't say much about their set up. We did use Wanna Dive this year when we stayed at Windsock (Hi Herman!) and they also had a pretty decent set up at Eden Beach, but that is in the same general area as BD.

I would still rather use BD, if I am not staying at a resort with an OP of their own. I just like the 24/7 access to ample supplies of gas I find at Buddy's.

As for food, there are now two good choices of stores just off of the circle north of the airport.

 

[boat sju]

Keep in mind that Buddy Dive and Caribbean Club are partners, so you have access to tanks at CC up at Oil Slick also.

 

[drrich2]

If I recall correctly, at least in the past Bonaire Dive & Adventure (which has a location at Sand Dollar) didn't want people using (at least for free) their pier to access Bari Reef.

Which is a non-issue. Past Sand Dollar there's a circular roundabout, and there's a road off that with a yellow rock telling you 'Bari Reef,' and you can go shore dive it there.

The large majority of shore dives are not 'owned' by a restrictive resort that you'll have to deal with. The main sites I can think of off the top of my head are Bari's Reef, Buddy's Reef, Eden's Rubble (not much coral but has a modest wreck, of the Bakanal) and the adjacent Front Porch, and the Cliff (where I've never had to check in with, or been bothered by, anybody).

Richard.

 

[KeithG]

The resort issue is common to most resorts. The resort spends money to maintain their dock and they get real annoyed if someone walks in off the street, grabs a free tank pf air and jumps in the water (at least that is how the divi explained it a few years ago...)

The divi even started to require onsite divers report to the shop every time they dove a tank. That idea did not last very long.

There is public shore access to the divi site (calabas) just north of the resort. Only potential issue is that if a cruise ship is docked at town pier they do not want divers north of the divi dock. I am not sure what the implications are for shore access at that time.

 

[gypsyjim]

Using the dock or shore of a resort is one thing. Taking a tank of gas you did not pay for is theft.

If some AH simply walks in and just helps themselves to your tanks I would start policing who was on the property too. I have never seen anyone do that, but I suppose there are always going to be those who see themselves as entitled to take advantage of others.

Buddy Dive has never given us any problem diving there, even when we are not guests, but we would never dream of being bad visitors. I expect that if they find people helping themselves to their tanks, they will become far less welcoming in the future.