Bonaire

[richhagelin]

Looking to dive Bonaire this fall. Two experienced divers looking for large sealife. Done most of our diving in Cozumel and love that so comparisons to Cozumel appreciated. Shore diving or boat diving? Any liveaboard options? Dive operations and accommodations?

thanks

richhagelin

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

I'd say that Bonaire is not your best bet for large sea life. But still.....if you have never been there then you should go check it out. Best bet for bigger stuff is the East Side.....East Coast Divers.

We're leaving for Bon in 4 days and 4 hours for a 10 day stay.....but who's counting!

We go the Bon strictly for the shore diving and NO SCHEDULE! There are plenty of YouTube videos showing what you will basically see there. Here's a couple of mine.

 

[drrich2]

Perhaps some of this may help -

My Research Notes for Bonaire - My Research Note For Bonaire

8 Day Trip Report: Sand Dollar, Dive Friends

2022 Trip Report Bonaire Trip Report - V.I.P. Divers/Aqua Viva Suites

And if you want to go cheap, another option - Bonaire at Dive Hut 2012 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonaire/432576-solo-diver-dive-hut.html

Bonaire doesn't have drift diving (usually), I'd say the viz. is good but not quite Cozumel good, most reefs are sloping wall - nothing I saw was quite like the Palancar region of Cozumel, I didn't see sharks in Bonaire (saw black-tips and nurse sharks in Coz.), I only saw 1 black grouper in 10 trips to Bonaire (more big grouper variety in Coz.), and shore diving is much more of a 'thing' in Bonaire. A number of boat trips in Bonaire are single tankers, which would irritate me if I went there for that. V.I.P. Diving has 100-cf steel tanks; I don't know of any 120-cf steels like you can get in Coz. at Aldora, Living Underwater or at least one other provider.

No liveaboard option in Bonaire. Liveaboards are popular in places where the best diving entails a long boat ride, or many would wish to cover a really large region. In Bonaire, it's not a compelling option.

 

[drrich2]

Oh, SCTLD is now on Bonaire and spreading, and there are recommended restrictions in place. Better read a thread or two on that situation, since if may add a little burden to your day. Or...maybe now's the time to see the reefs before SCTLD wrecks them?

If you want big stuff (other than tarpon, green morays, tiger grouper, cubera snapper, barracuda and the occasional southern stingray or eagle ray), Bonaire isn't the #1 place in the greater Florida/Bahamas/Caribbean region.

1.) Reef Sharks - Bahamas and Turks & Caicos.
Turks & Caicos Research Notes - Turks & Caicos Research Notes

2.) Sand Tiger Sharks - North Carolina. Morehead City, NC August 2015 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/no...us-dive-center-aug-9-13-2015-trip-report.html

3.) Lemon Sharks - winter aggregation out of Jupiter, FL, or a broader range of dates if you're cool with shark feed diving. Emerald Charters Trip Report 2017 - Trip Report - Emerald Dive Charters Trip Report

4.) Tiger Sharks - seasonal out of Jupiter, FL, and you can hit Tiger Beach in the Bahamas (but too many too big - too rich for my blood).

5.) I've read of diving with oceanic white-tips near Cat Island in the Bahamas, but don't see it reported on ScubaBoard, and it sounded too nerve-wracking for me.

6.) Great Hammerheads - seasonal out of Jupiter, FL; available in Bimini in the Bahamas.

7.) Goliath Grouper - seasonal aggregation out of Jupiter, FL. Jupiter 2014 - http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/florida-diving/491927-jupiter-trip-report-9-7-14-9-11-14-a.html

8.) Giant Sea Bass, California Sea Lions, Harbor Seals - California. My Notes For Researching My California Dive Trip - My Notes for Researching My California Dive Trip (Note: a LOT has changed since my trip, after which the Conception disaster occurred, but this might give you some idea).

P.S.: I'm a Bonaire diehard, but be aware Curacao offers some similar benefits in diving, and a larger, more elaborate topside.

Curacao Trip Research Notes

Curacao Trip Report with SB Surge Jan. 2019

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

There is boat diving, but that is not the focus on Bonaire. IIRC, Buddy dive package included only 6 single tank dives for the week and keys to a tiny truck ( with a stick shift!!!) Your schedule is yours to decide. The boat dives were good for seeing some sites off of Klein. Most everything else was big boy diving - plan it, get tanks, drive to, wade in, gauge current movement, do your dive, navigate back to your entry point - just you and your partner or self complied group. Suppose you could hire a local DM as a guide if you wanted to.

I would like to go back, but as a mostly single diver, it's difficult. Much has been said about the "seeking buddy" board at Buddy Dive, but my name was the only one on the board that week, and no contacts came from it (one had been previously arranged through SB, but didn't end up working out.)