Captain Don's Habitat Bonaire for beginner diver and non diver

[Andria Coe]

Hi there!
I'm wanting to plan a trip to Bonaire (first time there) with a group of friends. We are a mix of divers (advanced and open water divers with a recently certified OWD) and one non diver. I was looking at Divi Flamingo or Captain Don's. I read Divi does not have a sandy beach which our non diver prefers. I have already warned her dive resorts tend to be quiet, more basic/rustic and not a lot to do other than diving which she is ok with...just wants a sandy beach. Does Captain Don's have a sandy swim-able beach area? Through my research I am really leaning towards Captain Don's..so any advice or comments are welcome!
I was considering Honduras or Grand Cayman..just really want to chose a place with best chances of calm water for our beginner to give her a great experience and find a place the rest of us haven't been (Bonaire).
Other questions I have...I read about people renting "trucks" in Bonaire...is this just if you want to dive other locations than where the resort takes you by boat? Do you recommend this?
Any non diving activities anyone recommends on the island?

 

[Trailboss123]

This would probably be better if posted in the Bonaire forum- It will elicit many more responses. Most people go to Bonaire specifically for the abundance of shore diving up and down the leeward side of the island. All of which requires a rental truck for getting around and accessing the 60+ dive sites. There is nothing stopping anyone from picking one location to settle in and shore dive from for the week or even shore dive and boat dive from for the week, but it is not what the average Bonaire dive traveler does. How many people in your group?

Bonaire is one of my favorite destinations, but isn't known for its sandy beaches. There are a few, but that being said, Divi is definitely not one of them and neither is Captain Don's.

Based on what you have stated so far, it appears to me that you are looking for a place that can accommodate a group of people (size of group undetermined) that has access to easy on-site shore diving, on site boat diving and a sandy beach area for lounging and swimming for the non-diver in the group. Is that accurate?

 

[GrafCanuck]

Hi
My wife and I stayed at Divi last April. First time in Bonaire. The previous 3 years we had travelled to Curacao. Beach at Divi is small, more of an entrance point to the water. The resort rooms were average - meaning no issues. Dive shop was ok. Always had available tanks and generally pleasant in the dive shop. Diving at the house reef was ok. We enjoyed the proximity into town - say a 10-15 minute walk. Downside was the closeness to the cruise ships. We are going back to Bonaire this April and staying at Captain Dons. We wanted to be north of the town but within walking distance. We have heard that the house reef at Captain Dons, Buddy Dive, etc. is nicer than the Divi version.

Note - I would not go to Bonaire if you are a beach lover. My wife is a non-diver and enjoyed hanging around the Divi dive shop watching for my bubbles. She liked snorkelling at the resort. Her favourite activity was walking into town each day, in particular going to Gios for a gelato. Bonaire is compact, friendly and a diver's island. My non-diver wife is looking forward to going back. In her words, she felt at ease and comfortable in Bonaire. Note that we have been to 70% of the Caribbean islands. Bonaire is at or near the top. Hope this helps.

 

[Bob DBF]

If you, the OP, wants to move this thread to the Bonaire forum, just click on report at the bottom of your post and ask the moderators to move it.


Bob

 

[tkaelin]

Bon and Capt Don's great for beginners. No beach. You can swim and snorkel. Bon not known for its beaches.

 

[diversteve]

As others have said, not a lot of beaches on Bonaire. There's a tiny strip of sand at Sand Dollar condos just south of Don's Past that is Den Laman condos then the Coco Beach Club for a beach for the non-diver. Eden Beach resort past that but their beach is terraced to keep it in place - there's a curb near the waterline you have to step over. South of that is Harbor Village - probably the priciest resort there - they have a beach but an average shore dive. They also have several larger house rentals which may work for your group better.

You might look at the Plaza Resort - it's a few minutes drive south of town. They have several beaches, are on the 18th Palms dive site and Toucan Dive is on-site. Both rooms and villas for your group and it can be bought as all-inclusive.
Sort of a long walk to downtown and about 5mins drive south to the start of the southern shore dive sites - there's about 20 of them back to back.

Non-dive things - the Donkey Farm, the Flamingos at Gotomeer. Kitesurfing is the other big activity - both at Lac Bay on the east side and at a couple of west sites. Downtown is small with a few good restaurants and it's a minor cruise stop. There's also Slagbaai Park which is sort of a rustic area - your Bonaire Marine Park tag gets you in there also.

You might want to look at Curacao instead. Easier/cheaper to get to, more for the non-diver and about 25 of the beaches are also easy entry shore dives. Most of the non-resort entries on Bonaire are over ironshore - it's sharp and slick. Not a problem if you mostly boat dive but it's often a waste since the boats dive a lot of the shore dives also.

 

[diversteve]

moved to Bonaire

 

[jimw]

Bonaire does have some nice beaches, just not at a resort. Captain Don's has a beach that they jokingly call "7 Body Beach" referring to 7 Mile Beach on Grand Cayman. We have stayed there about 30 times over the years and still love the shore dive out front. We also do boat dives with them and find it soooo easy. OP, if you have any specific questions about Captain Don's Habitat; please ask.

 

[AdivingBel]

Bonaire, Capt. Dons & Buddy Dive are great for new divers. Easy entry, very little current, warm water, good viz. Plenty of shallow, sandy area to get your buoyancy & bearings before you hit the reef. Good staff if you want a bit of additional training or a refresher (Dive Friends does a good job of this as well). Mostly convenient access to lots & lots of diving. Once you're past the "new" stage, the shore diving ("dive freedom" with little trucks ) is unique. A bit of something for all divers. Have fun.

 

[-JD-]

Hi there!
I'm wanting to plan a trip to Bonaire (first time there) with a group of friends. We are a mix of divers (advanced and open water divers with a recently certified OWD) and one non diver. I was looking at Divi Flamingo or Captain Don's. I read Divi does not have a sandy beach which our non diver prefers. I have already warned her dive resorts tend to be quiet, more basic/rustic and not a lot to do other than diving which she is ok with...just wants a sandy beach. Does Captain Don's have a sandy swim-able beach area? Through my research I am really leaning towards Captain Don's..so any advice or comments are welcome!
I was considering Honduras or Grand Cayman..just really want to chose a place with best chances of calm water for our beginner to give her a great experience and find a place the rest of us haven't been (Bonaire).
Other questions I have...I read about people renting "trucks" in Bonaire...is this just if you want to dive other locations than where the resort takes you by boat? Do you recommend this?
Any non diving activities anyone recommends on the island?

Sorry, no info on Bonaire.

re: Grand Cayman:
- It had very calm water the 2 times we were there. I did DSD on a reef there and then my son & I did our open-water check outs on the next trip.
Pros:
- Tons of diving spots and and operators - boat and shore.
- Tons of sandy beach!
- Very safe (unless you are driving and can't get used to doing it on the "wrong" side.) Nobody is hustling you ... My wife was happy to head off on her own for the day while we dove.
- 1st world amenities with some "island charm."
- Lots to do on the surface ...
- The Queen Elizabeth II Botanic Park was really nice.
- Easy snorkeling from the shore or boat excursions - the Bio-Luminescent Bay trip is awesome IMO if you are there at the right time of the lunar cycle.
- Grab your snorkel gear and make a tour of the Island over a day or two.
- Dinner at one of the Camana Bay restaurants with gelato after then poke around the docks looking at the sweet boats tied up there.
- Sunset drinks and dinner at Macabuco is simple, but NOT TO BE MISSED!
- My instructor runs trips there and they always do Taste of Cayman and the Rum distillery.
Cons:
- It is pricey. Not insane, but pricey.
- It is a pretty busy place at times/locations