Brains, Bodies, Bcd's and Bonaire

[Natasha]

Well, It seems to be "Beach Week" here on the scuba board.
Everyone is either going away, or just came back.
Dee to Roatan, Got4boyz from Cozumel, Mattiedread with Riviera Maya, and Submariner was it Micronesia? I'm joining the list with Bonaire in 6 days.
Let's make this a Bonaire thread. Please add all your restaurant suggestions, favorite dive spots, and any other 2 or 3 cents you care to spare.
Thanks and hope you're traveling somewhere warm and exotic soon!
:sunny:

 

[herman]

Hi Natasha,

Wish I was going with you...oh well, got a trip planned for July...I understand from the Bonaire board that they have recently published a restaurant guide for the island that is susposed to be pretty good. Not sure where you get one but it should be pretty easy to find. Den Laman beside Sand Dollar (ex manager of the Green Parrot) is good and Amadio (sp?) on the waterfrount is also quite good. Beefeaters has some good food, has a lovely tree covered courtyard to sit in and believe it or not my vegaterian friends love it. My favorite dives are Helma Hooker, Pink Beach and Windsock. The trees at Windsock make it a nice place to hang out on the beach after the dive and be in some shade. By all means , dive both ends of the island, the uw life is a good bit different at each end, north end has more hard corals and the southern end has more soft corals. That's my 2 guilders. Have fun!

 

[Natasha]

We're back from Bonaire.
The diving was spectacular. 78 degree water, and 150 feet visability.Top side weather was perfect with 80's all day.
We dove the Hilma Hooker ( indeed the best hooker in town I'm told) Pink Sand Beach, ( the sand turns pink when you rub it in your hands) And 1000 steps. Several other dives were also full of sea life and soft corals. The shore diving was easy and abundant.
Very good food. Probably the best I have seen in the Caribbean. "It's Raining Fishes" was probably one of the group's favorites as well as mine. And Blue Moon had a live guitar player, playing, Neil Young, Cat Stevens, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon. I was in 70's heaven!
Back to the diving.
Very easy for beginners. Kinda like jumping into a bath tub with lots of little fishes! We saw Brussel worms, shrimps, angels, squirrels, rainbows, tube corals, and one dive even showed an octopus.
A " Diver's Paradise" as the license plates claim, is indeed true.
:sunny:

 

[Dee]

Sounds like you had a great time! Next trip for us is Pompano Beach, Florida in July.

 

[Divebaby]

Natasha is right!

I am a totally newbie to scuba. I only had 5 dives(include certification) before my bonaire trip w/ Natasha. It was totally awesome. And I met some of the greatest divers/friends. And Natasha did a great job of organizing the whole trip. I didn't feel being pressure or left out at all. And my diving skills has improved a lot also.

Excellent Dive Shop with everything prepared for you on the boat (no need to carry your tank at all!!!). They were always there to help..

The diving in Bonaire was absolutly great, little or close to no current at all. Perfect water conditions, many different species of corals and marine life. Visibility is the best I have ever seen (compare to Hawaii). On the Wreck dive , I saw a huge Clam (well, no exactly huge,but about 10inches diameter) purple color. Very cool! Excellent Night dive , saw spotted eel, Shrimp,sea horse,queen angel,etc...Really enjoyed my diving experience there. And now, I feel totally comfortable of taking up the Advance class.

"Raining Fish" was the best restaurant on the island for Sure. Got to try their "Waho"..

Looking forward to see you guys there in Sept....

DiveBaby

 

[joewr]

Natasha,

Whilst thou wert gone, I had heard that there were all sorts of crime problems on Bonaire. I was told that when one parked a car to do a shore dive (one of the main attractions on Bonaire), one had to leave the car unlocked (including the trunk) or risk broken windows, etc. This was putting a damper on our plans to go to Bonaire this year. Several Board members assured me that this was not so--but that you would have more up-to-date info.

Seems like you guys demonstrated that Bonaire is like the name says, "good air" and good diving. Sounds like it was a great trip.

Joewr

 

[Divebaby]

here is my 2cents...

You know what ! I was worry about the same thing at first. But then I realized there is practically no Crime in the island. And everybody is so friendly. Me and my friend (2 hot Asian female) were walking from Downtown back to the Plaza resort at 1:00am , was totally Safe. I understand where you coming from. Of course you have to take precaution anytime/anywhere you travel. But if you don't bring anything Valuable(flashy stuff). Nobody will brother you at all, you can walk around town totally safe.

Not like Negril, we were harassed by a lot of people....

 

[scywin]

I was on Natasha's trip too. It was excellent. Great diving.

The dining guide is available anyplace you see tourist information, brochures, etc. As far as I know, none of our group rented a car, but a bunch did rent scooters, which are adequate for getting all over the island. I don't think any one in our group suffered any sort of bad experience, e.g. the crime query early in this thread. In fact, people were very friendly and accomodating.

I would recommend Bonaire to anyone looking for a Caribbean dive vacation.

 

[joewr]

Did you guys do any shore dives? I have read and heard that the shore dives are fantastic there--in fact, one dive shop, Buddy's, offers a drive-thru tank "fill" for shore divers. I have also heard that Klein Bonaire is a short boat ride and is also a great place to dive. Did you do that?

Joewr

 

[Natasha]

Joe,
Yep, we did shore dives, and we dove Klein Bonaire. And yes, it's a very short boat ride.
Part of the group got into this "sunrise" shore dive mode. They got up and dove early to see the fish "changing shifts".
Me well, I'm not known to be a "morning person" so I slept in and listened to their stories at breakfast. They saw tons of life in those early hours. I did afternoon shore dives and boat dives. Everything exceeded my expectations.
My husband and I did rent a jeep one day. The island seemed safe, and friendly enough to me.
I hope you decide to go. So many people told me they would go back in a heart beat!
:sunny: