Caymans vs. Bonaire vs. Turk/Caicos

[rmh84]

just stayed at Buddy Dive in Bonaire, we booked in November for a Feb. Trip. A year is pretty far ahead for us. They are a great resort for beginners, very service oriented. Our package came with 1 boat dive per person, per day.

Not sure where you're located - but for the best flexibility on flight scedules fly into Miami on a regular US carrier, then you can go with Insel Air from FL - Bonaire (via Curacao) reasonably.

 

[TXreefer]

I went to Bonaire last summer and am going again this summer. Buddy Dive both times. We had a great time and are going back with some friends that are newly certified. The shore diving is the ultimate in flexibility, especially with the free truck rental and unlimited tanks. Single tank boat dives on Klein Bonaire were good- seahorses and all!!

 

[BDSC]

Hey Ben,

I don't think you will go wrong with any of the three places you are interested in. All three offer excellent diving but if I were to do the T&C I'd do it from a liveaboard. But I will tell you Little Cayman is hard to beat. The diving is excellent and perhaps the best the Caribbean has to offer. It's also not advanced diving by any means. You would have no problem.

We have a group of friends going later this fall and if you are looking for a trip later in the year we would love to have you join us. Below is a link to the details. We have the trip priced below what you could on by yourself or even through a dive shop because we take the free spots that we earn and spread the cost of everyone's trip so we all save and go at a lower price. The food, resort, staff, and diving are all excellent!

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/tr...-little-cayman-below-normal-pricing-fall.html

 

[kevmiami]

Bonaire is the bomb for "new divers" !!!! I have had my OW certification for years, but probably had less than a total of 15 dives under my belt (including a couple of night dives) and only 5 recent dives. Just back from Bonaire and wow, wow, wow! You will most not likely see large animals, but everything else is perfect for the newer diver with a streak of adventure. We could only spend three days diving, with two 1/2 days for travel and one day for off-gas. We stayed at Buddy Dives (BDs) and the package is just a total blast:

• We dove 13 times (4/5/4 including 3 night dives) in three days. Could have done more, but was nice to enjoy the rest of life too. Be sure to get nitrox certified before you go; really helps with not getting sooooo over tired.
• The "apartment" was spartan, but nice: Cold air in the room and very hot water in the shower.
• The new supermarket on the island has everything you need to eat snacks/sandwiches for lunch and cook dinner in the apartment and the prices were reasonable.
• Ala cart dinners at the bar were expensive (but nice when we got in late), but they appear to offer a more reasonable $20/person buffet every night.
• Definitely go for the breakfast buffet; was a great way to fuel up for the day.
• The house reef is sooo easy and is a very safe and fun night dive (the VW size Tarpon swimming back & forth in your dive light is a trip).
• The mosquitoes were moderately intense, so bring repellent or something to keep them away if you want to eat dinner outside.
• FYI - my AT&T iPhone did function with the appropriate international features turned on (never used it).
• Don't pass up a couple of boat dives, the change of pace is great and the dive profiles are a little different. BDs boats only go places you can't shore dive, so that issue is no worry.
• Check your bill, the were a couple of minor mistakes which they gladly fixed before we left. Make sure you inspect your rental truck carefully, they inspect it carefully when you return it, but also didn't hassle us either.
• The dive staff was excellent, the rinse tanks were always clean and air/nitrox was available 24hrs/day (they let you keep 2 tanks per person in the truck all the time).
• The pickup truck "only" had 67,000 km on it, but drove like it had 367,000km on it. But I also never had so much fun driving in my life (i.e. a rental is the only true off-road vehicle). It was very easy to get around the island, fuel was very reasonable and the cruise ship traffic was not cumbersome. Do watch for Donkeys standing on the side of the road at night; the locals give them a wide berth when they drive by.
• I would highly recommend Bonaire for someone who is really working on early skill sets. The typical profile is a relatively short swim out and then a 30-50 degree slope. We would usually head down to about 90' for a little while (although the floor is probably at/near rec limits), bounce back to 65', make the return pass at 45' and then putz around on the shoulder around 30-25' and spend the rest of our air at safety stop depth. My first four dives a month ago, using an 80 was only lasting 30+ minutes. By the end of our trip, I was getting 50+ minutes from a tank. Very low stress diving, so gives you a chance to work on technique and still be wowed by everything around you.
• It was a very easy place to really work on my buoyancy control and start to take a few pictures. It's also a great place to start practicing navigation, as the incredible reefs start to look a lot alike if you are not careful; but it is also totally easy to pop up after your safety stop if you are a little confused.
• We didn't encounter any really current on any of our dives. We didn't have a bad dive - they were all wonderful in their own way. Tons and Tons of coral, sponges, macro life, eels and typical tropicals. A couple of lobsters (one monster) and turtles.
• FYI - 1000 steps is a great dive, but it's only 67 steps. Don't know if it is totally in my head, but I brought up two sets of gear up, while breathing nitrox from the regulator. Looked a little goofy, but the extra O2 sure felt like it made it a lot easier
• Shore entry was not as hard as we had imagined, this seemed to work pretty well for us:
  • Assess entry before you gear up; fully gear up on the back of the PU truck and walk into walter
  • Use fins with the springs, they pop off and on instantly
  • Rig a clip to your BCD with plastic snaps and put half the snap on the fin strap. This allows you to walk into the water with both hands free and put one fin on at a time without the other floating away - worked really well. I did the same thing with my compact camera/strobe.
  • Put a little air in your BC, pick a cut/path (every site seemed to have a little area that was easier to enter).
  • Get in the water to knee or lower-thigh deep, put on your fins and surface swim face down out the cut.
  • Reverse for leaving.
• Be sure to buy the hard-soled boots everyone recommends, they are comfortable and rugged. However, they are slippery on boat decks and painted cement.
• DO NOT leave the island without driving the long-route through the national park. It was as much fun as the diving. It felt like we driving in the outback and was absolutely the most fun I've had in a car in years!
• DO NOT leave the island without doing the guided salt-pier night dive (you submerge at dusk and come up pitch black (no lights in area). Visibility was awesome on every dive, but this one (a little worse, but not bad), but we did see somethings we hadn't seen elsewhere - including blood worms, so you can "feed" the brain coral with your flashlight - so cool. But the most magical moment of the whole trip was to pop up after the dive and find the entire sky is filled with stars from horizon to horizon - it was the most zen moment you could imagine.
• We adhered to the nothing in the truck rule for the first half of the trip and then got a little lazy and started leaving a few things in the back seat of the truck (unlocked and windows partially opened). We didn't have any issues and didn't hear of anyone with issues, but your mileage may be different.
• Definitely bring a plastic portable shower, was wonderful to rinse off after each dive.
• The water was in the mid to upper 70s, so a light hood and 3.5 felt very comfortable considering how much time you spend in the water.
• BDs dive shop had house copies of the common fish/coral/creature books if want to look something up, but didn't want to carry.
• Our flight from Miami stopped in both directions in Curacao, so we were limited on luggage weight, but didn't pay anything extra (they do weigh everything), all luggage arrived on time in and in perfect condition:
  • One checked bag limited to 20kg
  • One "bonus" scuba bag limited to 10kg
  • One carry on bag (within international limits) limited to 10kg. If a suite case, it will be check at plane side for the hop to/from Bonaire.
  • One personal item. In Miami, the Insel agent at security would not let my large day-backpack count as a personal item, but my companion's feminine large "travel purse/bag" was allowed (even larger). On return flight I used a "shopping bag" with no problem.
  • I carried the camera gear/computer and the regulators were in the carry on bag which did get checked at plane side.
• Unfortunately airfare is expensive for this destination, but we do look forward to going back and staying at BDs again.
• If possible, bring somebody you love - it was very romantic and sharing Bonaire with her was the best part of the trip. It was an adventure of a life time and I highly recommend it!! Cheers, Kevin.

 

[rmh84]

You must have arrived just before/after we left Kevin, we were there from the 5th to the 14th. If we overlapped I was the lady diving with my left hand in a very conspicous splint.

You've made very good points.

The only thing I would add is if you haver the chance to boat dive the Hilma Hooker, it's well worth it - shore diving that does not leave you nearly enough time on the wreck IMO.

About the rental trucks - Yes, they are cheap POSes. And you need to know how to drive stickshift. The good thing about them is that unless you actually hit something, you can't possibly make the truck worse then it already is!

And we also got eaten alive by the bugs. Bring the repellant.

Salt pier dive is a must, and if you can find a dive operator that will let you do Kralendjik town pier even better (Habitat and Dive Friends can still do these last time I heard, but we didn't do it this year).

If you have time the Kayak tour of the mangroves is really cool, and very educational.

 

[kevmiami]

rmh - YES, I do remember you - I thought, now there is a diver!!! We totally have a soft spot for our beat up truck - it was our stead to adventure. You just couldn't leave it in neutral when it was warm (would almost always die - always re-started though Technically, we did make ours worse - heheheheh: We were driving out for the salt pier night dive the tailgate bounced open. Our wonderful guide got out and closed it good - never again did it open, I mean ever, no matter what I did to try and open it )))))) Cheers, Kevin.

 

[robint]

I am interested in big creatures, colorful reefs and fish, great food and diving for someone who is beginner/intermediate. Completed my OW certification and adventure diver certs in December and want a fun trip.

Big creatures.... you aren't going to see any of them in Bonaire. There are tarpon on day and night dives, but that is the biggest thing you are sure to see.

Colorful reefs and fish.... all 3 have that.

Great food.......... all have that but none of the three are cheap. Most people who go to Bonaire get rooms with kitchens so they can make meals to same money. Also, restaurants in Bonaire are slow. Best bet is to go to grocery store downtown and buy sandwich stuff for lunches and some dinners.

Best for newbies.... I would go to Grand Cayman as the ratio of other newbies is higher, so the dive ops are used to working with them and won't be dropping you on an advanced site.
Bonaire is good for newbies also IF you have a buddy and are self-sufficient enough to use your navigation skills, dive without a dive guide, and not freak out. We saw a group of newbies there last year and after talking to them we realized they were afraid of diving anywhere but the shore dive at the resort. It is a great shore dive, for sure, but why go to Bonaire if you are not taking advantage of the 50+ dive sites.

robin

 

[kevmiami]

Best for newbies....Bonaire is good for newbies also IF you have a buddy and are self-sufficient enough to use your navigation skills, dive without a dive guide, and not freak out. We saw a group of newbies there last year and after talking to them we realized they were afraid of diving anywhere but the shore dive at the resort. It is a great shore dive, for sure, but why go to Bonaire if you are not taking advantage of the 50+ dive sites.

robin

Great, great point - my Dive Buddy has over 300 dives under her weight belt, so I had no fear under her supervision and I enjoyed practicing the various exercises she would assign me for each dive - even simple fish identification. Cheers, Kevin.

 

[seamason]

When and if you decide on Grand Cayman I have a one bedroom oceanfront condo on the East end of the island available for rent. This is the quieter side of the island and has the best diving. shoot me an E-mail if you are interested, seamason1@msn.com.

 

[parrotman]

I always find it interesting to read the different opinions on places to dive. For my 2 cents worth, I would not waste my money on T&C the reefs are not in good shape, the fish life is poor. There are a few small reef sharks which you will not see on Bonaire and most likely not at the Caymans. Also T&C is very expensive and finding decent food will be a challenge. I am not a fan of the Caymans. Very expensive, again poor in regards to sea life. Poor in regards to coral. Bonaire, I like. I have been there 6 times. If you dive the right sites you can see lots of fish. No big stuff. Coral not so great. But really easy diving for any skill level. I personally do not think that Bonaire is all that expensive. If you stay away from the big resorts which are always a rip off and stay in one of the smaller places you can do Bonaire for a very reasonable price. Food is really not all that expensive,even at the better restaurants but then again I suppose it depends on what you are used to at home. I would say go for Bonaire. Actually I would say go for Anilao Philippines, amazing diving, spectacular reefs, the abundance of sea life is incredible and the price is cheaper than almost anywhere in the Carib. and believe it or not, the airfare is probably not that much more than going to T&C or Caymans or Bonaire. Depending on where you are flying from.