CAPTAIN SINBAD
Contributor
Fellows:
If you followed my post here you would know that I was not the least bit thrilled about going to Bonaire for reasons discussed in this thread below.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonaire/494352-bonaire-site-recommendations-my-first-last-trip.html
A lot of people helped me shape my views before going and I am glad that they did. A trip report was long overdue so I thought I should finally post it.
THE GOOD:
Bonaire turned out to be exactly how I had perceived it. Thanks to scubaboard members who contributed to my earlier thread and gave me detailed information. I had so much information prior to landing that I knew where everything was the moment I got there.
We got a shift stick pickup truck which was shared between my dive buddy (Katch) and myself. It was a nice vehicle except I wished that it was a four wheel drive. A lot of dive sites in Bonaire do not have road access and are classified as “off-roading.” A four wheel drive would have helped. Still it was not a bad deal.
IMPORTANT NOTE: A lot of auto-insurance plans do not cover you for incidents that happen off road. It is advised that you buy full insurance @ 14 USD / day.
We stayed at Happy Holiday Homes which exceeded my expectation for comfort and convenience. For the price that I paid, I was expecting bunk beds and a rotating fan. This is what I got in Utila for 10 USD / night and loved every moment of it. In Bonaire the place was a fully furnished apartment with air-conditioning, kitchen appliances and a very well made sitting room. Louise is a great hostess who goes out of the way to make you feel comfortable. Her only request was that we keep our A/Cs turned off when we are out, which was not a problem.
Our dive package was booked with Dive-Friends Bonaire and they were a great lot to deal with. We were given a briefing and check out dive on the first day on which we also got our weights. We were shown where to pick up our tanks, where to analyze them for nitrox and where to bring them back. DFB had pick up locations all over the island so there was the convenience of picking up tanks in one place and leaving them somewhere else. We never saw the staff much after the first day and that is what makes Bonaire so special. You are on your own to do whatever you like.
After Utila, the diving in Bonaire was not mind blowing. There were aspects of it that were better than Utila and I plan on writing a detailed Utila VS Bonaire comparison later. In general Bonaire has more fish life while Utila has more varied terrain with steep walls, caves and drop-offs etc. My favorite dives were Salt Pier and Karpata. I love Salt Pier because as a photographer, I could dive that one site the whole week and still not be able to photograph all the action that happens under those piers. The wreck (Hilma) was another sight to behold. This is indeed one of the best wrecks I have done with giant tarpons all over the place. After these dives the rest of the dive sites are extremely similar and I do not see how choosing one would give you a dramatic difference over another.
THE BAD:
The reviews make it seem like Bonaire is a non-stop diving place where people can do unlimited diving and rack up to five dives a day. This may be true if you are diving the exact same spot. Some people I was with did 5 dives a day in their backyard, doing 29 dives a week. For those who want to experience different dive sites, that dive count may be a bit hard. You have to factor in driving time from site to site, tank pick up, snack and meal times etc. We averaged 3 dives a day simply because we were driving all over the place. If the goal is to do three dives then there are other places in the Caribbean where that can be accomplished without the hassle of lugging gear around.
Food was a problem. There were no cheap restaurants like Wendys or Burger King etc. Most restaurants were located in downtown and cater to cruise ship customers. You will spend 25 bucks a meal and the quantity will be fine-dining quantity and not Mc’Donalds quantity. I am all meat and potatoes without bells and whistles so I felt extremely undernourished. There is a Dutch grocery store there from where you can do groceries and cook at home. This further limits the time available for diving because instead of relaxing after the dives, you will be making grocery runs and cooking. Keeping all these factors into consideration, unlimited diving part is theoretical and in reality 3 dives is what was possible for me. I could have pushed for more but …
The UGLY:
There are things about Bonaire that are outright ugly! The place is known for petty crime and we experienced it on the first visit. Two out of four trucks got robbed and even though we had nothing worth stealing, things like prescription medication and clothing were taken that would not be of much worth to anyone. We filed a police report and were able to recover a lot of the items that were taken away. The police brought back some bags that contained our missing items and that way not all was lost. Yet the stolen items came back on the last day so people in our group still had to manage without them.
While returning the car I witnessed an argument between the rental company and a customer who was returning her vehicle. Her car did not have the spare tire and the rental company insisted that it was stolen from her so she should pay. The lady argued that she never opened the rear of the car and never saw a tire! Either someone opened her car and took the tire or the car rental company was shafting her. Either ways you do not want to be that person. It seems that car rental people are only bothered about their car and do not care about the customers. They will tell you to keep your windows open when you dive just so that the potential thieves can go through your stuff without breaking their car window. I am thinking if you purchase insurance then there should be no reason why you can’t lock your things in there. If the car window gets smashed then let this be the headache of the rental company. Just don’t make it easy for the thieves please!!! Bonaire mindset unfortunately does not work that way. The procedures are made to make things easy for the thieves and the car rental companies because they are local and since you are there for 7 days you are not the priority. It just leaves a very bad taste in your mouth.
CONCLUSION:
Boat diving is easier. You jump in, you get pulled out and the rest of the day is yours. Bonaire takes that easy away and gives you considerable things to worry about that you do not normally bother. Will anyone steal my truck? I have dirty dishes to do when I get back! The tank has to be replaced before 5 or I will not be able to do the night dive! These were the burdens on my mind that came with the so called “ease and freedom of 24 hour diving.” In my initial assessment I was wrong about a few things. I did not see myself going back there but now I see myself doing one more trip. Here is what I would do different:
In the end, all places have their good and the bad (though not all may have ugly.) Bonaire also has aspects to it that may suit someones style of diving more than others.
If you followed my post here you would know that I was not the least bit thrilled about going to Bonaire for reasons discussed in this thread below.
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonaire/494352-bonaire-site-recommendations-my-first-last-trip.html
A lot of people helped me shape my views before going and I am glad that they did. A trip report was long overdue so I thought I should finally post it.
THE GOOD:
Bonaire turned out to be exactly how I had perceived it. Thanks to scubaboard members who contributed to my earlier thread and gave me detailed information. I had so much information prior to landing that I knew where everything was the moment I got there.
We got a shift stick pickup truck which was shared between my dive buddy (Katch) and myself. It was a nice vehicle except I wished that it was a four wheel drive. A lot of dive sites in Bonaire do not have road access and are classified as “off-roading.” A four wheel drive would have helped. Still it was not a bad deal.
IMPORTANT NOTE: A lot of auto-insurance plans do not cover you for incidents that happen off road. It is advised that you buy full insurance @ 14 USD / day.
We stayed at Happy Holiday Homes which exceeded my expectation for comfort and convenience. For the price that I paid, I was expecting bunk beds and a rotating fan. This is what I got in Utila for 10 USD / night and loved every moment of it. In Bonaire the place was a fully furnished apartment with air-conditioning, kitchen appliances and a very well made sitting room. Louise is a great hostess who goes out of the way to make you feel comfortable. Her only request was that we keep our A/Cs turned off when we are out, which was not a problem.
Our dive package was booked with Dive-Friends Bonaire and they were a great lot to deal with. We were given a briefing and check out dive on the first day on which we also got our weights. We were shown where to pick up our tanks, where to analyze them for nitrox and where to bring them back. DFB had pick up locations all over the island so there was the convenience of picking up tanks in one place and leaving them somewhere else. We never saw the staff much after the first day and that is what makes Bonaire so special. You are on your own to do whatever you like.
After Utila, the diving in Bonaire was not mind blowing. There were aspects of it that were better than Utila and I plan on writing a detailed Utila VS Bonaire comparison later. In general Bonaire has more fish life while Utila has more varied terrain with steep walls, caves and drop-offs etc. My favorite dives were Salt Pier and Karpata. I love Salt Pier because as a photographer, I could dive that one site the whole week and still not be able to photograph all the action that happens under those piers. The wreck (Hilma) was another sight to behold. This is indeed one of the best wrecks I have done with giant tarpons all over the place. After these dives the rest of the dive sites are extremely similar and I do not see how choosing one would give you a dramatic difference over another.
THE BAD:
The reviews make it seem like Bonaire is a non-stop diving place where people can do unlimited diving and rack up to five dives a day. This may be true if you are diving the exact same spot. Some people I was with did 5 dives a day in their backyard, doing 29 dives a week. For those who want to experience different dive sites, that dive count may be a bit hard. You have to factor in driving time from site to site, tank pick up, snack and meal times etc. We averaged 3 dives a day simply because we were driving all over the place. If the goal is to do three dives then there are other places in the Caribbean where that can be accomplished without the hassle of lugging gear around.
Food was a problem. There were no cheap restaurants like Wendys or Burger King etc. Most restaurants were located in downtown and cater to cruise ship customers. You will spend 25 bucks a meal and the quantity will be fine-dining quantity and not Mc’Donalds quantity. I am all meat and potatoes without bells and whistles so I felt extremely undernourished. There is a Dutch grocery store there from where you can do groceries and cook at home. This further limits the time available for diving because instead of relaxing after the dives, you will be making grocery runs and cooking. Keeping all these factors into consideration, unlimited diving part is theoretical and in reality 3 dives is what was possible for me. I could have pushed for more but …
The UGLY:
There are things about Bonaire that are outright ugly! The place is known for petty crime and we experienced it on the first visit. Two out of four trucks got robbed and even though we had nothing worth stealing, things like prescription medication and clothing were taken that would not be of much worth to anyone. We filed a police report and were able to recover a lot of the items that were taken away. The police brought back some bags that contained our missing items and that way not all was lost. Yet the stolen items came back on the last day so people in our group still had to manage without them.
While returning the car I witnessed an argument between the rental company and a customer who was returning her vehicle. Her car did not have the spare tire and the rental company insisted that it was stolen from her so she should pay. The lady argued that she never opened the rear of the car and never saw a tire! Either someone opened her car and took the tire or the car rental company was shafting her. Either ways you do not want to be that person. It seems that car rental people are only bothered about their car and do not care about the customers. They will tell you to keep your windows open when you dive just so that the potential thieves can go through your stuff without breaking their car window. I am thinking if you purchase insurance then there should be no reason why you can’t lock your things in there. If the car window gets smashed then let this be the headache of the rental company. Just don’t make it easy for the thieves please!!! Bonaire mindset unfortunately does not work that way. The procedures are made to make things easy for the thieves and the car rental companies because they are local and since you are there for 7 days you are not the priority. It just leaves a very bad taste in your mouth.
CONCLUSION:
Boat diving is easier. You jump in, you get pulled out and the rest of the day is yours. Bonaire takes that easy away and gives you considerable things to worry about that you do not normally bother. Will anyone steal my truck? I have dirty dishes to do when I get back! The tank has to be replaced before 5 or I will not be able to do the night dive! These were the burdens on my mind that came with the so called “ease and freedom of 24 hour diving.” In my initial assessment I was wrong about a few things. I did not see myself going back there but now I see myself doing one more trip. Here is what I would do different:
- Order beef patties from the grocery store. They make them hot every morning and it would be best to order a good 10 of them to last the whole day. Buy a carton of coconut water. This would be my meal on wheels which will eliminate the need for a lunch or breakfast. There is a shawarma truck and another cheap restaurant that I found just when we were about to leave. I am not doing the cook at home thing! No way.
- I would book the boat to dive the wild-side. It is expensive but everyone who has done the wild side says that it is a different world altogether.
- I would spend more time diving the far north. Those sides are dirt road but driving there is a lot of fun.
In the end, all places have their good and the bad (though not all may have ugly.) Bonaire also has aspects to it that may suit someones style of diving more than others.
