Steve P
Contributor
We just returned from our first trip to Bonaire. My wife and I chose Bonaire to introduce our twin-teenagers to diving. It seemed like an ideal location given the diving freedom it provides & we werent disappointed. Being able to select when & where we wanted to dive, creating our own profiles and the ease of diving all made Bonaire the perfect destination for us.
Basics: We stayed at Den Laman and used Bonaire Dive Adventure. I highly recommend both. We booked a 2-bedroom, ocean front condo. It was modern, very large and had a nice lanai overlooking Bari reef. It was a perfect choice for our family of 4. BDA is a fine dive op. and they went out of their way to facilitate us. Our kids did their check out dives with Dianna the first 2 days and, based on what our kids told us, she made sure they were proficient with basic skills (emergency ascents, clearing masks, out of air scenarios, etc.). The convenience of our room, the dive locker and dock made dives on Bari reef incredibly easy and it seemed that some of the guests (DL &/or Sand Dollar) made all of their dives there. We did almost half of our dives on Bari. While they lock Nitrox tank supply at 4:30 and air tanks / gear storage between 9:30 p.m. & 8:30 a.m., we placed tanks in our truck or storage bins located between the gear storage & dock and brought our gear to our lanai for evening / early morning dives. While the kids did their refresher dives, my wife & dived several sites our favorites being Hilma Hooker and the double reef dive at Angel City.
Diving with Kids: This was a unique experience. Incredibly rewarding to share what has been my lifes greatest passion with our kids. Its impossible to describe unless youve been there. At the same time, I had to dial down my typical dive trip expectations. Teenagers can move slowly in the morning and early dives sometimes started at 8, 9 or even 10 A.M. We made it to Karpata at 7:00 one morning, only to skip the dive after my daughter was intimidated by the conditions as she was used to the flat entries at the south side sites. Rather than making the 4 dives/day that I enjoy, we settled on 3. My son & I did a few dives alone, including Oil Slick Leap (he loved the giant stride entry) and we both ended up with 15 dives through 5 days of diving. The girls settled on 12 dives and were fine with that. The other issue of diving with newly certified kids is the constant monitoring of their depth, air, buoyancy, etc. I felt most comfortable staying slightly below them and on the ocean side of the reef. Overall they did great. I was quite impressed with their buoyancy skills and air consumption improved during the week. They absolutely loved the experience and hopefully they will make this a lifetime hobby.
Diving in General: You are often reminded that Bonaire has 8 of the top 10 reefs (in terms of diversity) in the Caribbean. However, what really impressed me was the abundance of fish. The only thing cooler than being in the middle of a huge school fish darting past you is the squadron of jacks flying in pursuit. What Bonaire lacks in terms of big animal action is replaced by a healthy, vibrant, diverse reef that will constantly amaze.
Diving with a Naturalist: We took Jerry Ligdons half day course (hes at BDA) and I highly recommend it. While Im adequate in identifying fish & invertebrates, Jerry probably spent more time describing fish behavior than ID and this is the truly fascinating part. Ill never look at Spotlight Parrots, Damsels or Trumpetfish the same way again.
Restaurants: As widely reported food is expensive. We shopped & made our own breakfasts, lunches and one dinner. For dinner we ate at Sunset, Pasa Bon Pizza, Lions Den, Will's Tropical Grill, Mona Lisa and, our favorite, Unbelievable. Pasa Bon Pizza is a good value, but we werent as impressed with the pizza as others that have posted on SB.
Crime: Yes, theft is a problem. As has been widely reported on SB, you cant leave anything of value in your truck while diving in Bonaire. We were ok until our last day diving. During a dive at Witches Hut, my wife accidentally left a dive light in the truck. When we returned it was gone, as were her shorts (nothing in the pockets) and 2 pairs of sunglasses. That said, I felt very secure at Den Laman. Room key is needed to enter the stairs to upper floor condos, theres a security guard after hours and a safe in the room. We ran into Larry (Wildside Diving) and chatted for a while. He noted that the crime is something the Dutch will have to address as they make Bonaire a special municipality in the near future.
Conclusion: This was a very special trip for us and one we will remember fondly. Only regret I have is not having more time to spend there. If youre considering a trip with kids or newer divers, I highly recommend it.
Basics: We stayed at Den Laman and used Bonaire Dive Adventure. I highly recommend both. We booked a 2-bedroom, ocean front condo. It was modern, very large and had a nice lanai overlooking Bari reef. It was a perfect choice for our family of 4. BDA is a fine dive op. and they went out of their way to facilitate us. Our kids did their check out dives with Dianna the first 2 days and, based on what our kids told us, she made sure they were proficient with basic skills (emergency ascents, clearing masks, out of air scenarios, etc.). The convenience of our room, the dive locker and dock made dives on Bari reef incredibly easy and it seemed that some of the guests (DL &/or Sand Dollar) made all of their dives there. We did almost half of our dives on Bari. While they lock Nitrox tank supply at 4:30 and air tanks / gear storage between 9:30 p.m. & 8:30 a.m., we placed tanks in our truck or storage bins located between the gear storage & dock and brought our gear to our lanai for evening / early morning dives. While the kids did their refresher dives, my wife & dived several sites our favorites being Hilma Hooker and the double reef dive at Angel City.
Diving with Kids: This was a unique experience. Incredibly rewarding to share what has been my lifes greatest passion with our kids. Its impossible to describe unless youve been there. At the same time, I had to dial down my typical dive trip expectations. Teenagers can move slowly in the morning and early dives sometimes started at 8, 9 or even 10 A.M. We made it to Karpata at 7:00 one morning, only to skip the dive after my daughter was intimidated by the conditions as she was used to the flat entries at the south side sites. Rather than making the 4 dives/day that I enjoy, we settled on 3. My son & I did a few dives alone, including Oil Slick Leap (he loved the giant stride entry) and we both ended up with 15 dives through 5 days of diving. The girls settled on 12 dives and were fine with that. The other issue of diving with newly certified kids is the constant monitoring of their depth, air, buoyancy, etc. I felt most comfortable staying slightly below them and on the ocean side of the reef. Overall they did great. I was quite impressed with their buoyancy skills and air consumption improved during the week. They absolutely loved the experience and hopefully they will make this a lifetime hobby.
Diving in General: You are often reminded that Bonaire has 8 of the top 10 reefs (in terms of diversity) in the Caribbean. However, what really impressed me was the abundance of fish. The only thing cooler than being in the middle of a huge school fish darting past you is the squadron of jacks flying in pursuit. What Bonaire lacks in terms of big animal action is replaced by a healthy, vibrant, diverse reef that will constantly amaze.
Diving with a Naturalist: We took Jerry Ligdons half day course (hes at BDA) and I highly recommend it. While Im adequate in identifying fish & invertebrates, Jerry probably spent more time describing fish behavior than ID and this is the truly fascinating part. Ill never look at Spotlight Parrots, Damsels or Trumpetfish the same way again.
Restaurants: As widely reported food is expensive. We shopped & made our own breakfasts, lunches and one dinner. For dinner we ate at Sunset, Pasa Bon Pizza, Lions Den, Will's Tropical Grill, Mona Lisa and, our favorite, Unbelievable. Pasa Bon Pizza is a good value, but we werent as impressed with the pizza as others that have posted on SB.
Crime: Yes, theft is a problem. As has been widely reported on SB, you cant leave anything of value in your truck while diving in Bonaire. We were ok until our last day diving. During a dive at Witches Hut, my wife accidentally left a dive light in the truck. When we returned it was gone, as were her shorts (nothing in the pockets) and 2 pairs of sunglasses. That said, I felt very secure at Den Laman. Room key is needed to enter the stairs to upper floor condos, theres a security guard after hours and a safe in the room. We ran into Larry (Wildside Diving) and chatted for a while. He noted that the crime is something the Dutch will have to address as they make Bonaire a special municipality in the near future.
Conclusion: This was a very special trip for us and one we will remember fondly. Only regret I have is not having more time to spend there. If youre considering a trip with kids or newer divers, I highly recommend it.
Your kids are lucky, indeed. Wished I discovered when I was a teenager.
