skinfish
Registered
First time to Bonaire & it wont be my last! Great island and spectacular diving. Would not recommend the Plaza for various reasons and would never stay there again. We dove a few times with Toucan Diving and they were great. Very safety conscious group & highly recommended!
We met up with a local DM by the name of Bas Tol. Bas took us to a site on the east side (see Cai below) as well as others on the west side. He is very safety conscious, great briefings, and knows this island like the back of his hand. Bas has over 2000 dives & dives another 450 + yearly on Bonaire. He knew where to find what were looking for. Frogfish, seahorses, tarpon, eagle rays, or turtles, he knows the best spots to find them. On our last dive, we were treated to a Whitenose Pipefish, which is neither common nor easy to find in Bonaire. I would highly recommend booking a trip or two with Bas. Do so at least a few months in advance as his schedule is pretty booked. Bass contact info is (599) 717-8830, cell (599) 786-4917, & email: loonybin@bonairelive.com.
Observations: The reefs are the healthiest most beautiful reefs I have ever seen. The soft corals are so abundant, it is amazing. Islanders were pleasant and helpful. Coming from the US, you need to slow it down & enjoy the slower, island pace.
For new divers to Bonaire, make sure to dive a few times with someone that knows the reefs, otherwise you will definitely miss some cool marine life that is right under your nose. Unless you know where the seahorses are, chances are you will not find them on your own.
Harbor Village always had a terribly strong dead fish smell as you drove by, which I did about 3-4 times a day. It was always putrid smelling. It looks like a nice place but I couldn't get past the odor.
The dining:
Richards Very good food and the setting is great, get there early for the sunset. Had the seafood soup - fantastic. Main course was Wahoo, very popular fish on this island, and was very good.
Bobbejans BBQ Had lunch here and it was very good as well. Had the chicken in a peanut butter sauce and the spare ribs. Both were excellent.
Antriol Catering One of the best meals we had. It is a local place only open until 6:00 pm. I had the catch of the day, which was Barracuda and it was outstanding! They give you a lot of food with your meal. I would highly recommend this place, especially if the Barracuda is on the menu.
Maiky Snack Another local place, a lot like Antriol, as it is open air dining. Had the catch of the day, which again turned out to be Wahoo and was good. The Governors from 5 islands (Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Martinique, & St, Lucia) were there for a final meeting that will bring some big changes to the islands. It was pretty cool.
Watta Burger Read good things about this place but not sure why. Fries were good but the burger was the most disgusting thing I have ever started eating. I almost lost my stomach and only had a few bites. Stay away from this place at all costs, it is horrible!
Pasa Bon Pizza Being from Chicago, I enjoy good pizza and this was excellent pizza!
Wils Tropical Grill Went for appetizers one night, which were very good, and back the next because the chef, Wil, told us he was getting in fresh sea scallops from Miami. The scallops were by far the best I have ever had! The desserts are great, the appetizers are very good and the main course was excellent. Wil is a nice guy who sat us ½ hour after they normally stop serving and accommodated us as best he could. Did not find this kind of service on the island anywhere else. Highly recommended!!!
The diving:
Rappel Nice reef with lots of fish, including a large group of Black Durgon. Saw a large black seahorse on my 1st dive! One member of our group said he watched as a moray tore up and ate a small octopus.
Angel City A nice double reef but I found entry & exit a bit rough, the terrain & surf added to the difficulty. Saw a bunch of Flamingo Tongues, a Golden Moray, French Angels, Brittle Stars, & a clear tube jellyfish type creature.
Bellefonte House Reef Nice reef, saw a nice size Cero and the largest Puffer fish I have ever seen! It was huge, swimming the edge of the reef. Saw a few Sand Divers and a nice size Barracuda under the exit dock.
1000 Steps Nice dive & easy entry once you get down the stairway. There was a Spotted Drum, Trunkfish, Honeycomb Cowfish, another good size Puffer, 4 Eye Butterfly fish, Rock Beauty, a large Midnight Parrotfish and some cool anemones. A Clown Wrasse swam up to my mask and spit out an O ring! I caught it and actually used it later in the week.
Oil Slick Leap Great dive with tons of fish, moray, Scorpionfish, French Angels, etc. Fun entry by leaping 4 feet into the water from a cliff ledge. Easy exit by ladder to a platform.
18 Palms (night) Night dive, saw about ½ dozen morays, all sorts of crabs, beautiful anemones, & different corals at night. Saw some cool things that I do not know what they were but were very interesting. There was a bright red clam(?) looking creature with whiskers and a big octopus.
Something Special Really liked this dive, as it was very diverse in marine life. Saw a green moray (about 3), a few spotted eels, Arrow crabs, Scorionfish, my 1st Frogfish (pink), and a Hawksbill turtle came over to swim amongst our group. There was also an eel garden a bit deeper.
Buddys Reef Good dive and nice reef. Saw Spotted Moray, Scorpionfish, my 1st Tarpon, a large Snapper, pufferfish, Sand Divers, Rock Beauty, Peacock Flounder, among others.
Salt Pier Although my dive buddies did not care much for this dive, I really enjoyed it. After diving reef after reef, it is nice to have different structure to look at and dive. The structure is very cool, with the sun peeking through the pilons, which are covered with sponges and look like nests. Most have fish sitting in them. Some nice size schools of fish hanging around, Barracuda, Tarpon, octopus, ½ dozen or more Scorpionfish incl a juvenile, a few Spotted Drums, Queen & French Angels, Spotted & Chain Morays. The Chain Moray is something I had never seen and the coolest looking Moray I had ever seen. Also saw a red/orange Frogfish, a few spotted eels, and another Peacock Flounder in the shallows.
Cai (east side) Absolutely the best dive of the trip, incredible! An advanced dive we could not have done w/o Bas Tol to lead us. We did a shore dive & entry was easy. To start, there are large schools of fish, including some very large snapper. Rode a rip current seaward, over a ridge to a sand channel. Saw the largest Parrotfish (3-4 feet) I have ever seen! There were 2 Spotted Eagle Rays swimming above us. On this sand channel, we moved very slowly on our bellies through a school of about 30-40 Tarpon surrounding us. It was surreal, what an experience! They were so close and everywhere we looked around us, the water was filled with Tarpon. We passed by an opening in a wall and there lay the largest Green Moray I have ever seen (6 feet), in full view! There was another nearby just as big. Saw a Spanish Grunt, Purple Mouth Moray being cleaned by a shrimp, and found the carcass of a dead Hawksbill turtle. We passed over a large field of swaying sea fans and into the surge that would bring us to our exit point. Amazing dive!!! Did this dive again the next day and saw 40 + Tarpon in the same area, 6 Spotted Eagle Rays, 2 Hawksbill & 1 Green turtle, the huge Morays, a very large Dog Snapper with the Green Moray, an octopus right near a free swimming 4 Green moray, and more.
La Danias Leap to Karpata Great dive, started with seeing a squid & a stingray right after entering the water. There was a large Green moray, maybe 4-5, sitting under a coral head. We spotted a Spanish Lobster in a coral head, which was very cool.
Town Pier (night) Found out what a complete cluster this dive can be. There were probably 20 people diving at the same time as our group of 4 went in. Having to be careful of the sponge covered pilons and trying not to bump into fellow divers in an already narrow place was ridiculous. They need to regulate the # of people in the water here at a given time to avoid this mess. With that said, the pilons were very cool with all of the colorful sponges and the orange Cup Coral blanketing some of the structure. Saw a few sea horses, juvenile Spotted Drum, Arrow Crabs & Morays, a yellow and an orange Frogfish sitting together, Scorpionfish, Sea Cucumbers, and a Decorator Crab in the Cup Coral. There were some very cool bioluminescent jellyfish swimming around.
Candyland to Tailor Made Nice dive in terms of reef & large coral heads but light on marine life sightings (maybe I was spoiled by this time of the trip!). Did see a Hawksbill tutle right after entering the water, a large Grouper, and a living Sea Biscuit, which was very cool.
Ol Blue Really liked this dive as entry was easy, vis was very good, & lots of fish. Saw another large Grouper and while swimming to shore, in 12' of water, 3 Tarpon swam by us.
Invisibles Saw 2 Peacock Flounder swimming next to each other upon entry. Sandy bottom for a ways to the reef. Double reef with great marine life diversity. In the sand channel between the reefs were Garden Eels. A Spotted Eagle Ray swam in front of us and we followed him for a while, about 5 above & just behind him as he was hunting/feeding. As he left, there were 4 squid hanging there and 2 swam with us most of the way back. Cool dive!
Oil Slick Leap (night) Last dive & night dive. Saw 2 octopuses, one with 2 tentacles bitten off. Both were swimming and feeding. Saw 2 sea horses and our DM pointed out a Whitenose Pipefish, which I guess are not very common. Great dive to end this trip.
I know its a long trip report but I wanted to do the trip justice! I now know what PBD is really about as I have a strong case of it this week
We met up with a local DM by the name of Bas Tol. Bas took us to a site on the east side (see Cai below) as well as others on the west side. He is very safety conscious, great briefings, and knows this island like the back of his hand. Bas has over 2000 dives & dives another 450 + yearly on Bonaire. He knew where to find what were looking for. Frogfish, seahorses, tarpon, eagle rays, or turtles, he knows the best spots to find them. On our last dive, we were treated to a Whitenose Pipefish, which is neither common nor easy to find in Bonaire. I would highly recommend booking a trip or two with Bas. Do so at least a few months in advance as his schedule is pretty booked. Bass contact info is (599) 717-8830, cell (599) 786-4917, & email: loonybin@bonairelive.com.
Observations: The reefs are the healthiest most beautiful reefs I have ever seen. The soft corals are so abundant, it is amazing. Islanders were pleasant and helpful. Coming from the US, you need to slow it down & enjoy the slower, island pace.
For new divers to Bonaire, make sure to dive a few times with someone that knows the reefs, otherwise you will definitely miss some cool marine life that is right under your nose. Unless you know where the seahorses are, chances are you will not find them on your own.
Harbor Village always had a terribly strong dead fish smell as you drove by, which I did about 3-4 times a day. It was always putrid smelling. It looks like a nice place but I couldn't get past the odor.
The dining:
Richards Very good food and the setting is great, get there early for the sunset. Had the seafood soup - fantastic. Main course was Wahoo, very popular fish on this island, and was very good.
Bobbejans BBQ Had lunch here and it was very good as well. Had the chicken in a peanut butter sauce and the spare ribs. Both were excellent.
Antriol Catering One of the best meals we had. It is a local place only open until 6:00 pm. I had the catch of the day, which was Barracuda and it was outstanding! They give you a lot of food with your meal. I would highly recommend this place, especially if the Barracuda is on the menu.
Maiky Snack Another local place, a lot like Antriol, as it is open air dining. Had the catch of the day, which again turned out to be Wahoo and was good. The Governors from 5 islands (Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Martinique, & St, Lucia) were there for a final meeting that will bring some big changes to the islands. It was pretty cool.
Watta Burger Read good things about this place but not sure why. Fries were good but the burger was the most disgusting thing I have ever started eating. I almost lost my stomach and only had a few bites. Stay away from this place at all costs, it is horrible!
Pasa Bon Pizza Being from Chicago, I enjoy good pizza and this was excellent pizza!
Wils Tropical Grill Went for appetizers one night, which were very good, and back the next because the chef, Wil, told us he was getting in fresh sea scallops from Miami. The scallops were by far the best I have ever had! The desserts are great, the appetizers are very good and the main course was excellent. Wil is a nice guy who sat us ½ hour after they normally stop serving and accommodated us as best he could. Did not find this kind of service on the island anywhere else. Highly recommended!!!
The diving:
Rappel Nice reef with lots of fish, including a large group of Black Durgon. Saw a large black seahorse on my 1st dive! One member of our group said he watched as a moray tore up and ate a small octopus.
Angel City A nice double reef but I found entry & exit a bit rough, the terrain & surf added to the difficulty. Saw a bunch of Flamingo Tongues, a Golden Moray, French Angels, Brittle Stars, & a clear tube jellyfish type creature.
Bellefonte House Reef Nice reef, saw a nice size Cero and the largest Puffer fish I have ever seen! It was huge, swimming the edge of the reef. Saw a few Sand Divers and a nice size Barracuda under the exit dock.
1000 Steps Nice dive & easy entry once you get down the stairway. There was a Spotted Drum, Trunkfish, Honeycomb Cowfish, another good size Puffer, 4 Eye Butterfly fish, Rock Beauty, a large Midnight Parrotfish and some cool anemones. A Clown Wrasse swam up to my mask and spit out an O ring! I caught it and actually used it later in the week.
Oil Slick Leap Great dive with tons of fish, moray, Scorpionfish, French Angels, etc. Fun entry by leaping 4 feet into the water from a cliff ledge. Easy exit by ladder to a platform.
18 Palms (night) Night dive, saw about ½ dozen morays, all sorts of crabs, beautiful anemones, & different corals at night. Saw some cool things that I do not know what they were but were very interesting. There was a bright red clam(?) looking creature with whiskers and a big octopus.
Something Special Really liked this dive, as it was very diverse in marine life. Saw a green moray (about 3), a few spotted eels, Arrow crabs, Scorionfish, my 1st Frogfish (pink), and a Hawksbill turtle came over to swim amongst our group. There was also an eel garden a bit deeper.
Buddys Reef Good dive and nice reef. Saw Spotted Moray, Scorpionfish, my 1st Tarpon, a large Snapper, pufferfish, Sand Divers, Rock Beauty, Peacock Flounder, among others.
Salt Pier Although my dive buddies did not care much for this dive, I really enjoyed it. After diving reef after reef, it is nice to have different structure to look at and dive. The structure is very cool, with the sun peeking through the pilons, which are covered with sponges and look like nests. Most have fish sitting in them. Some nice size schools of fish hanging around, Barracuda, Tarpon, octopus, ½ dozen or more Scorpionfish incl a juvenile, a few Spotted Drums, Queen & French Angels, Spotted & Chain Morays. The Chain Moray is something I had never seen and the coolest looking Moray I had ever seen. Also saw a red/orange Frogfish, a few spotted eels, and another Peacock Flounder in the shallows.
Cai (east side) Absolutely the best dive of the trip, incredible! An advanced dive we could not have done w/o Bas Tol to lead us. We did a shore dive & entry was easy. To start, there are large schools of fish, including some very large snapper. Rode a rip current seaward, over a ridge to a sand channel. Saw the largest Parrotfish (3-4 feet) I have ever seen! There were 2 Spotted Eagle Rays swimming above us. On this sand channel, we moved very slowly on our bellies through a school of about 30-40 Tarpon surrounding us. It was surreal, what an experience! They were so close and everywhere we looked around us, the water was filled with Tarpon. We passed by an opening in a wall and there lay the largest Green Moray I have ever seen (6 feet), in full view! There was another nearby just as big. Saw a Spanish Grunt, Purple Mouth Moray being cleaned by a shrimp, and found the carcass of a dead Hawksbill turtle. We passed over a large field of swaying sea fans and into the surge that would bring us to our exit point. Amazing dive!!! Did this dive again the next day and saw 40 + Tarpon in the same area, 6 Spotted Eagle Rays, 2 Hawksbill & 1 Green turtle, the huge Morays, a very large Dog Snapper with the Green Moray, an octopus right near a free swimming 4 Green moray, and more.
La Danias Leap to Karpata Great dive, started with seeing a squid & a stingray right after entering the water. There was a large Green moray, maybe 4-5, sitting under a coral head. We spotted a Spanish Lobster in a coral head, which was very cool.
Town Pier (night) Found out what a complete cluster this dive can be. There were probably 20 people diving at the same time as our group of 4 went in. Having to be careful of the sponge covered pilons and trying not to bump into fellow divers in an already narrow place was ridiculous. They need to regulate the # of people in the water here at a given time to avoid this mess. With that said, the pilons were very cool with all of the colorful sponges and the orange Cup Coral blanketing some of the structure. Saw a few sea horses, juvenile Spotted Drum, Arrow Crabs & Morays, a yellow and an orange Frogfish sitting together, Scorpionfish, Sea Cucumbers, and a Decorator Crab in the Cup Coral. There were some very cool bioluminescent jellyfish swimming around.
Candyland to Tailor Made Nice dive in terms of reef & large coral heads but light on marine life sightings (maybe I was spoiled by this time of the trip!). Did see a Hawksbill tutle right after entering the water, a large Grouper, and a living Sea Biscuit, which was very cool.
Ol Blue Really liked this dive as entry was easy, vis was very good, & lots of fish. Saw another large Grouper and while swimming to shore, in 12' of water, 3 Tarpon swam by us.
Invisibles Saw 2 Peacock Flounder swimming next to each other upon entry. Sandy bottom for a ways to the reef. Double reef with great marine life diversity. In the sand channel between the reefs were Garden Eels. A Spotted Eagle Ray swam in front of us and we followed him for a while, about 5 above & just behind him as he was hunting/feeding. As he left, there were 4 squid hanging there and 2 swam with us most of the way back. Cool dive!
Oil Slick Leap (night) Last dive & night dive. Saw 2 octopuses, one with 2 tentacles bitten off. Both were swimming and feeding. Saw 2 sea horses and our DM pointed out a Whitenose Pipefish, which I guess are not very common. Great dive to end this trip.
I know its a long trip report but I wanted to do the trip justice! I now know what PBD is really about as I have a strong case of it this week
Too bad you didn't find a nurse shark over at Cia. One hangs out there near the drop off quite often. And there's nothing like a surge ride to take you back to shore. Lets see if I can show everyone Bas and his little hitch hiker pic.
