Bonaire

[Bernie]

We are heading to Bonaire next april and need as much info as anyone can give. Planning to stay at Capt Dons.

Not sure if we need to do 6 days of two tank dives or 3 days of two tank dives and do a lot of shore diving.

also heard food was very high???

any info will be greatly appreciated

Bernie

 

[Epinephelus]

Personally I'd pretty much skip the boat dives. While there are very nice sites that require a boat to get there, there are also more nice sites than you can cover in a week that don't. I've been to Bonaire eight times - I may do one or two boat dives in a week of diving there, and 20 or more shore dives.
E.

 

[SubMariner]

doing a search in this section?

Bonaire is the topic of discussion on more occasions than I can count.

By doing a search you can get a lot of great info with no work!

 

[GratefulDiver]

I stayed at Captain Don's a few years ago and had a wonderful time. I was with a group however and boat dives and food were included so I can't comment on the food costs.

If I went again on my own I would opt to rent a truck and do mostly shore diving. They leave tanks out 24/7, so all you need to do is grab them and take off. You drive around the island and dive sites are marked by big yellow rocks. You pull over, gear up and jump in.

You might want to do a few boat dives to get out to Klein Bonaire. It would be a long swim otherwise. Some people complain that the diving on Bonaire gets boring. There is now an outfit that will take you to the windward side of the island for some more advanced diving. I don't recall their name though.

The house reef at Captain Don's is also very nice and makes an easy night dive. The tarpon that hang out by the resort will dive bomb you and use your light to hunt. They are a lot of fun.

We also did some diving in the buff, which the resort seemed to have no problem with.

Enjoy!

 

[blawler1]

Save your money and go for the 6 days unlimited tanks and weights option that all the operators offer. If you still feel compelled to jump off a boat, do one or two single tank trips over to Klein. They're pretty cheap (typically $20 to $30 a piece).

 

[herman]

I have to agree with all the rest. Unless you just love boat diving, drop them and save yourself $100 or so. You can always add them back if you like once you get there.
The food at Capt Don's is a little pricey but not that bad. I would suggest that you NOT get any kind of meal plan with the possible exception of a breakfast only. There are loads of places on the island to eat. We rarely eat at the same place twice. Don't pass up the smaller local places called "snacks", their version of fast food joints, lots of good food at them for a fairly good price. Another way to curb your food cost is to hit the local food store. We typically eat a big breakfast (which is in the package we get ...the "Drive and Dive at Buddy Dive) , eat PBJ for most lunches and then a good evening meal.

While on the island, you will need a vehicle of some sort so be sure to plan for one.

If you have not already, drop over to the Bonaire board, loads of good people there and you can find out anything you need to know about Bonaire. www.bonairetalk.com