Can anyone help some planning for Venezuela and Bonaire

[SafetyStopBait]

I'm trying to plan a trip with a non-diver to Venezuela and possibly Bonaire as well. Although she's a non-diver, she wants to try diving and she does like snorkeling. So i have a couple questions,

Does anyone know of ways to get from Caracas to Bonaire? Surely there is a puddle jumper but how about by boat? Can you ballpark costs?

Is there any good diving in Venezuela? On Los Roques or Isla de Margarita (i probably messed up the spelling)


Thanks all,

Mike

 

[drbill]

Mike, I haven't been there but I've had instructor friends work in Venezuela. They enjoyed the diving on Isla de Margarita and I've heard it is good on Los Roques. When I asked the question about boats between Venezuela and Bonaire a year or so ago, I was told they were none. I hope that changes.

 

[ronbeau]

I'm trying to plan a trip with a non-diver to Venezuela and possibly Bonaire as well. Although she's a non-diver, she wants to try diving and she does like snorkeling. So i have a couple questions,

Does anyone know of ways to get from Caracas to Bonaire? Surely there is a puddle jumper but how about by boat? Can you ballpark costs?

Is there any good diving in Venezuela? On Los Roques or Isla de Margarita (i probably messed up the spelling)


Thanks all,

Mike

If you are going with a non-diver you might want to consider Curacao. There will be much more for the non-diver to do when he/she is not snorkeling.

I believe I saw flights between Curacao and Venezuela last year when I was in Curacao.

Last year my wife was a non-diver which factored into our decision for go to Curacao instead of Bonaire.

This summer we will be spending a week on each island.

 

[Arturo]

Hi Mike:

You can not get from Caracas to Bonaire by boat, unless you hire the full boat. The best way is to fly to Curazao and, from there, take a small (6 passengers) commuter plane to Bonaire which takes 20minutes and cost aound US$ 100, return.

There also exists a small airline that flies three times a week directly to Bonaire from the city of Valencia. Valencia is a two hour drive from Caracas.

There is some decent diving in Venezuela but Margarita is not one of those places. The best place is, no doubt, Los Roques. An archipelago and Natiional Park, north of Venezuela, served by several small airlines. The flight takes about 35 minutes and costs around US$ 120, return. Lots of very nice snorkelling in Los Roques for your friend.

If I can be of further assistance drop me an e-mail.

Arturo.

 

[dvrliz1]

Arturo is correct. DAE flies from Valencia to Curacao then over to Bonaire. I don't know about Venezuela, but Bonaire does have a "resort" course your girlfriend can take to see if she likes diving. My son did it and he got hooked! There is also gambling, wonderful restaurants, shopping, pools, beaches, sunset cruises, guilded snorkeling, mangrove kayaking, cave snorkeling GOLF....yes I said GOLF...9 holes and very rugged, but you can rent clubs and give it a try....

 

[enomisdivemaster]

I live on Margarita Island and have found that it does have some nice diving at locations such as Los Frailes, Farallon and Cubagua. It is all boat diving, no beach diving. Viz can be spotty at times. You also can go to Los Roques by puddle jumper from the airport here, great diving there. Margarita would be good for your non diver as it has large beautiful malls for shopping, casinos to lose money at, a world class wind surfing and kite surfing beach, nice beaches, great restaurants, and best of all it is a very affordable island, much cheaper than the ABC islands. Send me an email if you are interested and have more questions. I am the PADI divemaster of a dive shop here on Margarita Island

 

[drbill]

Thank you Arturo and enomisdivemaster for your local insights. Wish there was a way to easily do Bonaire and Los Roques since Bonaire does not count as a South American dive site (go figure).

 

[Arturo]

drbill:

Given the currrent chedules of airlines, If you really want to dive Bonaire and Los Roques in a combo, I think one option would be to use Caracas airport as a pivotal point in an itinerary such as this:

1. Fly AA from Miami to CCS, arriving around noon (3 hrs. flight)
2. Without leaving the airport (just moving to the domestic terminal), take an afternoon flight to Los Roques (35 minutes).
3. Dive in Los Roques.
4. Return to Caracas airport on a day in which DRAE airline flyes to Bonaire (I believe they fly three days a week).
5. Dive in Bonaire.
6. Return to Caracas airport on DRAE and catch an AA afternoon flight to Miami.
7. Tell us how did it turn out.

In case you need some additional assistance, don't hesitate in writing me a private mail.

Arturo.