Bonaire - the questions not asked or thought about?

[Ready4Launch]

Never been to Bonaire, but very interested to go. Easy things to know straight away ... great diving, easy access, lots of accommodation options, out of the hurricane belt (typically), Dutch. I think I got most of them.

However, if you think back to going there, what is something that you learned after having been there? Something more related to planning, logistics, cost, time management, etc. What is the question not asked that maybe should have been before going?

I am looking to go myself after having seen Buddy Bonaire prices of $1800 all-in (airfare included from LAX) at SCUBA Show this past weekend.

 

[knives]

Lots of divers take the resorts and all boat dives. Don't overlook the shore dives... they are very different from the boat dives. Of course it depends on if you rent a truck or have a buddy.... just a thought.
I have been going since 2007 .... love it!

 

[Lorenzoid]

My first trip was a dive-and-drive package with Buddy Dive, and what I "learned" was that it all really was THAT easy. I can't think of anything that has NOT been discussed all over these threads that I would have liked to have asked before that trip (or any other trip since). That said, after your first trip, based on how you felt about your "time management," etc., you may decide you would like to do things a little differently next time, but you can't know that before having experienced it the first time. Those are little personal preferences that differ among all who have been there.

 

[_Ralph]

After a day of 6+hrs in water, I need a half day of rest for the ears.


I found 5-6hrs was about right....


That and booties that have a little more ankle support than this sides water shoes, and heavier duty soles would have been nicer ...

Utilize the boat dives to get to further away spots, like the North (Karpata) and the cliff entries, save the easy acces shore dive sites for shore diving


_R

 

[arew+4]

After every visit i relearn that i should never go home, and i swear my next visit will be my last "visit".

 

[gbf]

"Is one week long enough?"

and the answer is "no".

Just go ahead and suck it up now and book two weeks, instead of looking up on Friday and saying 'wait, what? It's over already? I'm just getting dialed in!!"

2-3 weeks, if you can work the time off and $s, gives you time to slow down and get the hang of diving freedom.

 

[tkaelin]

Traveling solo and your first time, a place like buddys on a package hopefully including boat diving is a great choice. Do you solo dive and are you planning on solo diving at all?

 

[Ministryofgiraffes]

I strongly advise that everyone goes the last 2 weeks of August.....because I will be there with the wife and kids and I’m happy to dive with buddies.

 

[Soloist]

Don’t miss out on shore diving as @knives said. However, if you surface swim to and from the reef you will certainly miss out on one of the more interesting aspects of diving in Bonaire. Get your fins on and drop down to find small patches of reef with hundreds of juvenile fish, garden eels popping up from the sand, flounder cruising the bottom and possibly eagle rays feeding in the sand to name a few. Here are some pictures from last week of a pair of eagle rays at Invisibles and a bait ball just 60 feet from shore at Tori’s Reef. Enjoy your trip!

 

[decompression]

My wife and I just booked for October.............sadly its $6000 Cdn for us but excited to read all the posts.