luckydays
Contributor
Bonaire is a divers paradise, just like the license plate says.
Once I landed in Bonaire and got my luggage, I went to the exit to meet up with the transportation people for The Plaza. After arriving at the hotel around 6:00 am, I found that my room was not ready. I checked in and started to get a feel for the resort. I changed clothes because the humidity was enough to make me uncomfortable. The mosquitos were bad as well. I pulled out the spray and covered all my exposed skin before I got ate up. At 7:00 am the breakfast buffet was ready so I was able to get something to eat. At 8:00 am I checked in with the dive shop so I could get my weights and gear locker for the two week trip. The staff at Toucan Diving at The Plaza Resort was amazing. Very friendly and knowledgeable. After the briefing of Bonaire diving and a walk through of the dive shop, tank area, and dive locker, I was ready to dive but I had no dive buddies. By 10am I went to the car rental agency to get the car so I could have something to do while waiting for my room to be ready. We got an SUV that was later switched to a pick up truck (much easier to dive from).The folks at AB Car Rental were very nice and helpful. They gave me a map and directions of where the grocery was at and a general review of the island so I could get around. I went to the grocery store to get beer and a few snacks. After I got back, around noon, the room was ready and I went in.
The room far exceed my expectations. It was a 2 bedroom 2 bath villa with a full kitchen. It was very neat and orderly even if slightly dated wicker furniture. There were 2 tvs in the room and a fully stocked kitchen. The bathrooms were clean. The room had a view of a canal and the airport. The closeness to the airport was not at all an inconvenience for noise which really surprised me. Even the early morning red eye flights did not make all the much noise and rarely, if at all, bothered me. If staying at the villa's get a security tag so you can access the back gate for closer parking to the villa. I was plenty surprised when the hotel brought us 2 bottles of wine and a table book about Bonaire. I am not a wine drinker but I made sure to put the bottles in the fridge for when my trip mates arrives, along with the case of Amstel and Amstel Bright I picked up at the grocery. After getting myself unpacked and settles, I showered, changed and headed to the pool.
The Plaza Resort is a very nice place. Its definitely a resort for divers instead of a dive resort. By this I mean that is a very nice place with all the amenities of a resort instead of a hotel with a dive shop attached. Its not a Hilton or Marriott resort but since there is no Hilton or Marriott on the island, I thought it was a great place. While there is some maintenance and other repairs going on to the resort, none of it made for a loud or bad experience. Beach towels are available at the front desk. I only grabbed one from them since I had hours to kill before my room was ready and the beach seemed like a logical place to relax while I waited. There was also a security room (closet with a locked door) that I was able to keep my bags while the room was ready. There is a comfortable pool that did not get a lot of activity except for some kids and a few sunbathers. The beach area has many beach beds and beach chairs for use. There were also many palapas with chair underneath for shade if the beach bed is not your thing. Next to the beach is a bar for all your refreshments. The hotel reception area has internet access on computers as well as wifi that reaches most of the resort (but not our room) so I was able to bring the computer to the beach so I could check in with everyone at home and keep myself entertained while I waited for my other trip mates to arrive. I paid for hotel access for 12 hours at $18.
The next morning, we met up with the rest of the group on the trip for breakfast. Everybody went to their dive orientation and I went to the beach to relax. After a little bit, the group got ready and we went on to the check out dive which was on the house reef called 18th Palm. It was a very nice reef with some pretty cool coral formation and fish. I did the dive with the group and it lasted around an hour. It was so nice to get in the water and start playing around. The rest of the day was spent doing a few dives at various locations on the island.
Shore diving on Bonaire is awesome but not always easy. Some of the entries are a little challenging but for the most part, an able bodied, out of shape, overweight person can handle the entries so long as you watch where you are going and take it slow.I found that after a while, the reefs started to blend together. There was some differences between sites but it was mainly dependent upon how far apart the dives are. The only wreck to dive is the Hilma Hooker and its a nice wreck but as a diver who prefers wrecks to reefs, its not enough.
Dive Sites that I dove:
18th Palm
Invisibles
Andrea I
Oil Slick Leap
Hilma Hooker
Karpata
Jeff Davis
Punt Vierkont
White Hole
The Lake
Something Special
Yellow Submarine
Buddy Reef
Pink Beack
Webers Joy
Tolo
The Cliffs
Salt Pier
Calabas Reef
Bari Reef
Playa Bengi
Bise Morto
Keepsake
White Slave
Alice in Wonderland
There were a few dive sites that more difficult than others. There were a few that we did more often for various reasons. For the most part each dive was special in its own way. Even having a serious brush up with fire coral did not deter me from having a good time (which is healing nicely now that I am back home and can soak it in my good old Lake Michigan water). Oh and repeatedly falling on my right knee did not deter me from diving too many times but it made some of the entries even more difficult than it should have been. I ended up with 35 dives (and almost 35 hours underwater) in 2 weeks and probably had the least amount of dives in our group but I was really happy with the results. I got a lot of dives in and much practice with the camera. Lots of turtles, rays, squid, and eels. For all the dives we did, I rarely saw another diver in the water that was not part of the group I was diving with.
We followed the rules of leaving nothing in the car that we could not live without, kept the doors unlocked and the windows down and had nothing taken from the vehicle. We had no thefts in the room either and whether this was due to an obvious security presence on the resort, luck, or that we kept things locked up, I am not sure but I felt safe at every turn.
We also did a dive charter with Toucan Diving. They took us on a three tank charter to Washington Slagbaai Park and it was awesome. After a little confusion about where to go to meet the boat, we took off and headed to the Park. It took about an hour to get to the first dive sight. I had three wonderful dives. The DM Caroline was knowledgeable and friendly. Jackson, the boat captain, took us out for our last dive and he found several sea horses and frog fish for us. It was great. We had a great trip.
Alex at Toucan Diving was a great guy. Very friendly and willing to do what he could to make sure we were happy. I have no complaints and many great things to say about everyone at the shop. The tanks could probably go for a more frequent check of o rings as we had a few that were bad here and there but since all of the diving as relatively easy, having a small leak was not that big of a deal. The bathrooms were clean at the shop, the dunk tanks were emptied often enough that the water was not nasty dirty. There was a separate tank for regulators and another for cameras. The gear lockers were roomy enough for gear for two. I would suggest getting a top locker if possible. The top locker and the gear drips to the lower locker and then the lower locker gear stays damp all night.
I only ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant but it was good. The food was the same everyday and after two weeks, it got a bit old but that has nothing to do with the hotel or the restaurant. Its more of lack of variety for breakfast food as a whole in my opinion. The food was fresh and presented nicely. The hotel Bar (Coconut Crash) was nice and the happy pricing was pretty decent. It was right on the beach so it was nice to get a drink and sit on the beach and hear the waves crash in and out.
I also brought a limited number of clothes and had to do laundry. The Plaza had drop off service but I did not know it when it was time to do my clothes. I took my clothes to a local place and a day later picked up my clean clothes. It was located near the soccer stadium. I paid around $17 for a week's worth of clothes and it was ready in less than 24 hours. There was probably a slightly higher charge for the one day turn around but since I dropped my stuff off on a Friday, I did not want to wait until Monday to get it. I gladly paid the extra to get my clothes back in one day. Everything came back clean, fresh, and folded neatly.
My trip mates and I decided that since the hotel wifi did not reach our room we would get an internet card from Mike at Chat n Browse. I went in and met Mike. What a nice guy. The wifi card was $100 for 2 weeks of unlimited access. I found that for the most part, the card worked fine but it was a bit slow. If I needed to do some heavy uploading of pis, I went to the hotel lobby or the beach and used that access.
I did not eat out for dinner every night but the places I did go to, the food was good. Pasa Bon Pizza was good pizza but the owner left a little to be desired with his customer service skills. City Café was a good hangout place and fun place to be to watch the semi-finals for the world cup. The Rib Factory had a good selection of things other than Ribs. Casablanca was nice restaurant. The food was excellent. We had a large group so any inconveniences from that dinner were our own fault. Bobbyjans take out was ok. I was not impressed by the bbq chicken or the sauce. All the places I went to gave prices in Guilders and Dollars so that made understanding what you were paying for easier. Also before we ordered we asked for separate checks and each restaurant was willing to split the check for convenience.
I also took a photography class from Tim at Fish Eye Photo. I had a great time. Tim was very knowledgeable and a very good instructor. I would highly recommend Fish Eye Photo for anyone who wants to learn about underwater photography. He was patient and kind and very, very good at what he does. My trip pics are on Photoshop.com: https://www.photoshop.com/user/luckydays The pics get better as the dive # increases since I was able to use the stuff that Tim taught me in the water.
Overall, this was one of the best trips I had taken. I have vacationed in many Caribbean Islands and while Bonaire is not for those who want luxury (fancy restaurants, plush everything, spa facials, and expensive shopping) I do believe that for divers who want great diving and a bit of relaxation, Bonaire is a great place. I would not recommend it as a vacation place for non-divers and I probably would not go to Bonaire with someone who was a non-diver. I will definitely go back again, and would have no problems using any of the facilities that I used on this trip.
Once I landed in Bonaire and got my luggage, I went to the exit to meet up with the transportation people for The Plaza. After arriving at the hotel around 6:00 am, I found that my room was not ready. I checked in and started to get a feel for the resort. I changed clothes because the humidity was enough to make me uncomfortable. The mosquitos were bad as well. I pulled out the spray and covered all my exposed skin before I got ate up. At 7:00 am the breakfast buffet was ready so I was able to get something to eat. At 8:00 am I checked in with the dive shop so I could get my weights and gear locker for the two week trip. The staff at Toucan Diving at The Plaza Resort was amazing. Very friendly and knowledgeable. After the briefing of Bonaire diving and a walk through of the dive shop, tank area, and dive locker, I was ready to dive but I had no dive buddies. By 10am I went to the car rental agency to get the car so I could have something to do while waiting for my room to be ready. We got an SUV that was later switched to a pick up truck (much easier to dive from).The folks at AB Car Rental were very nice and helpful. They gave me a map and directions of where the grocery was at and a general review of the island so I could get around. I went to the grocery store to get beer and a few snacks. After I got back, around noon, the room was ready and I went in.
The room far exceed my expectations. It was a 2 bedroom 2 bath villa with a full kitchen. It was very neat and orderly even if slightly dated wicker furniture. There were 2 tvs in the room and a fully stocked kitchen. The bathrooms were clean. The room had a view of a canal and the airport. The closeness to the airport was not at all an inconvenience for noise which really surprised me. Even the early morning red eye flights did not make all the much noise and rarely, if at all, bothered me. If staying at the villa's get a security tag so you can access the back gate for closer parking to the villa. I was plenty surprised when the hotel brought us 2 bottles of wine and a table book about Bonaire. I am not a wine drinker but I made sure to put the bottles in the fridge for when my trip mates arrives, along with the case of Amstel and Amstel Bright I picked up at the grocery. After getting myself unpacked and settles, I showered, changed and headed to the pool.
The Plaza Resort is a very nice place. Its definitely a resort for divers instead of a dive resort. By this I mean that is a very nice place with all the amenities of a resort instead of a hotel with a dive shop attached. Its not a Hilton or Marriott resort but since there is no Hilton or Marriott on the island, I thought it was a great place. While there is some maintenance and other repairs going on to the resort, none of it made for a loud or bad experience. Beach towels are available at the front desk. I only grabbed one from them since I had hours to kill before my room was ready and the beach seemed like a logical place to relax while I waited. There was also a security room (closet with a locked door) that I was able to keep my bags while the room was ready. There is a comfortable pool that did not get a lot of activity except for some kids and a few sunbathers. The beach area has many beach beds and beach chairs for use. There were also many palapas with chair underneath for shade if the beach bed is not your thing. Next to the beach is a bar for all your refreshments. The hotel reception area has internet access on computers as well as wifi that reaches most of the resort (but not our room) so I was able to bring the computer to the beach so I could check in with everyone at home and keep myself entertained while I waited for my other trip mates to arrive. I paid for hotel access for 12 hours at $18.
The next morning, we met up with the rest of the group on the trip for breakfast. Everybody went to their dive orientation and I went to the beach to relax. After a little bit, the group got ready and we went on to the check out dive which was on the house reef called 18th Palm. It was a very nice reef with some pretty cool coral formation and fish. I did the dive with the group and it lasted around an hour. It was so nice to get in the water and start playing around. The rest of the day was spent doing a few dives at various locations on the island.
Shore diving on Bonaire is awesome but not always easy. Some of the entries are a little challenging but for the most part, an able bodied, out of shape, overweight person can handle the entries so long as you watch where you are going and take it slow.I found that after a while, the reefs started to blend together. There was some differences between sites but it was mainly dependent upon how far apart the dives are. The only wreck to dive is the Hilma Hooker and its a nice wreck but as a diver who prefers wrecks to reefs, its not enough.
Dive Sites that I dove:
18th Palm
Invisibles
Andrea I
Oil Slick Leap
Hilma Hooker
Karpata
Jeff Davis
Punt Vierkont
White Hole
The Lake
Something Special
Yellow Submarine
Buddy Reef
Pink Beack
Webers Joy
Tolo
The Cliffs
Salt Pier
Calabas Reef
Bari Reef
Playa Bengi
Bise Morto
Keepsake
White Slave
Alice in Wonderland
There were a few dive sites that more difficult than others. There were a few that we did more often for various reasons. For the most part each dive was special in its own way. Even having a serious brush up with fire coral did not deter me from having a good time (which is healing nicely now that I am back home and can soak it in my good old Lake Michigan water). Oh and repeatedly falling on my right knee did not deter me from diving too many times but it made some of the entries even more difficult than it should have been. I ended up with 35 dives (and almost 35 hours underwater) in 2 weeks and probably had the least amount of dives in our group but I was really happy with the results. I got a lot of dives in and much practice with the camera. Lots of turtles, rays, squid, and eels. For all the dives we did, I rarely saw another diver in the water that was not part of the group I was diving with.
We followed the rules of leaving nothing in the car that we could not live without, kept the doors unlocked and the windows down and had nothing taken from the vehicle. We had no thefts in the room either and whether this was due to an obvious security presence on the resort, luck, or that we kept things locked up, I am not sure but I felt safe at every turn.
We also did a dive charter with Toucan Diving. They took us on a three tank charter to Washington Slagbaai Park and it was awesome. After a little confusion about where to go to meet the boat, we took off and headed to the Park. It took about an hour to get to the first dive sight. I had three wonderful dives. The DM Caroline was knowledgeable and friendly. Jackson, the boat captain, took us out for our last dive and he found several sea horses and frog fish for us. It was great. We had a great trip.
Alex at Toucan Diving was a great guy. Very friendly and willing to do what he could to make sure we were happy. I have no complaints and many great things to say about everyone at the shop. The tanks could probably go for a more frequent check of o rings as we had a few that were bad here and there but since all of the diving as relatively easy, having a small leak was not that big of a deal. The bathrooms were clean at the shop, the dunk tanks were emptied often enough that the water was not nasty dirty. There was a separate tank for regulators and another for cameras. The gear lockers were roomy enough for gear for two. I would suggest getting a top locker if possible. The top locker and the gear drips to the lower locker and then the lower locker gear stays damp all night.
I only ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant but it was good. The food was the same everyday and after two weeks, it got a bit old but that has nothing to do with the hotel or the restaurant. Its more of lack of variety for breakfast food as a whole in my opinion. The food was fresh and presented nicely. The hotel Bar (Coconut Crash) was nice and the happy pricing was pretty decent. It was right on the beach so it was nice to get a drink and sit on the beach and hear the waves crash in and out.
I also brought a limited number of clothes and had to do laundry. The Plaza had drop off service but I did not know it when it was time to do my clothes. I took my clothes to a local place and a day later picked up my clean clothes. It was located near the soccer stadium. I paid around $17 for a week's worth of clothes and it was ready in less than 24 hours. There was probably a slightly higher charge for the one day turn around but since I dropped my stuff off on a Friday, I did not want to wait until Monday to get it. I gladly paid the extra to get my clothes back in one day. Everything came back clean, fresh, and folded neatly.
My trip mates and I decided that since the hotel wifi did not reach our room we would get an internet card from Mike at Chat n Browse. I went in and met Mike. What a nice guy. The wifi card was $100 for 2 weeks of unlimited access. I found that for the most part, the card worked fine but it was a bit slow. If I needed to do some heavy uploading of pis, I went to the hotel lobby or the beach and used that access.
I did not eat out for dinner every night but the places I did go to, the food was good. Pasa Bon Pizza was good pizza but the owner left a little to be desired with his customer service skills. City Café was a good hangout place and fun place to be to watch the semi-finals for the world cup. The Rib Factory had a good selection of things other than Ribs. Casablanca was nice restaurant. The food was excellent. We had a large group so any inconveniences from that dinner were our own fault. Bobbyjans take out was ok. I was not impressed by the bbq chicken or the sauce. All the places I went to gave prices in Guilders and Dollars so that made understanding what you were paying for easier. Also before we ordered we asked for separate checks and each restaurant was willing to split the check for convenience.
I also took a photography class from Tim at Fish Eye Photo. I had a great time. Tim was very knowledgeable and a very good instructor. I would highly recommend Fish Eye Photo for anyone who wants to learn about underwater photography. He was patient and kind and very, very good at what he does. My trip pics are on Photoshop.com: https://www.photoshop.com/user/luckydays The pics get better as the dive # increases since I was able to use the stuff that Tim taught me in the water.
Overall, this was one of the best trips I had taken. I have vacationed in many Caribbean Islands and while Bonaire is not for those who want luxury (fancy restaurants, plush everything, spa facials, and expensive shopping) I do believe that for divers who want great diving and a bit of relaxation, Bonaire is a great place. I would not recommend it as a vacation place for non-divers and I probably would not go to Bonaire with someone who was a non-diver. I will definitely go back again, and would have no problems using any of the facilities that I used on this trip.
