Curacao and Bonaire Question

[AGUINNES]

I will be traveling to Bonaire flying through Curacao later this year. As my flight arrives in CUR at 3 P.M. I could just jump on a flight right away to Bonaire. I am thinking I want to spend at least one night in Curacao to check out Willemstad.

My real question is do I want to get in a day of diving in Curacao the next morning thus extending my stay to 2 nights? Or I could jump on an early morning flight to Bonaire and get in a day of diving there? A couple of dive buddies told me the diving in Bonaire is much better than Curacao...any opinions on that?

I should also say that as a single guy I like a bit of nightlife, and it seems Curacao may have a bit more of that...thus making 2 nights there not a bad choice.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

 

[dmoore19]

Probably not an issue but I would check. Is the flight from Curacao to Bonaire after a day of diving going to be an issue?

 

[AGUINNES]

Probably not an issue but I would check. Is the flight from Curacao to Bonaire after a day of diving going to be an issue?

Assuming I finished a 2 tank morning dive by 1:00 I would have 18 hours in by 7:00 a.m. the next day. I would think that would be fine for a 23 minute puddle jumper ride...but if others think that is reckless let me know.

"After scuba diving, current PADI Flying After Diving guidelines say that you
should not go to altitude (fly) within 12 hours of completing a single dive or
18 hours when doing multiple dives (where possible wait 24 hours)."

 

[jd950]

I would guess the flight is of insufficient altitude to be an issue at all even if you fly well before 18 hours. I am not sure you need to wait much at all to fly. You can see Bonaire from a couple places on Curacao.

Maybe the airline can tell you the max altitude?

 

[TheWizard]

"After scuba diving, current PADI Flying After Diving guidelines say that you
should not go to altitude (fly) within 12 hours of completing a single dive or
18 hours when doing multiple dives (where possible wait 24 hours)."

Puddle jumpers that don't go above a pressurized equivalent altitude of 2000 feet are not included in the above rule.
Try another search on this...

 

[TheWizard]

I should also say that as a single guy I like a bit of nightlife, and it seems Curacao may have a bit more of that...thus making 2 nights there not a bad choice.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Just so you know, there are HOOKERS in Willemstad, so be alert...

 

[Docc]

Just so you know, there are HOOKERS in Willemstad, so be alert...

There's a Hooker in Bonaire too.......Hilma the Hooker......

 

[AGUINNES]

Just so you know, there are HOOKERS in Willemstad, so be alert...

Thanks for the warning!:shocked2:

Back to the original question...is it worth diving both Curacao and Bonaire, or should I just get to Bonaire as soon as possible?

 

[diversteve]

I'd do both since you're flying through there.

Both islands are on the same reef but we saw somewhat different things both places. Playa Kalki/Alice in Wonderland in Westpunt was probably the best shoredive I've ever done in either location. Some of the other sites weren't so great. It's a 45 min. drive out to Westpunt from town and nightlife is basically non-existent out there. So your plan to stay in Willemstad is a good one.

Ocean Encounters West is on-site at PK/AIW and they also do trips twice a week to Watamula, probably the best boat dive on the island.

You could also do escorted shore diving with the Dive Bus. They're located in east Willemstad but pickup and shore dive all over the island. The Dive Bus - HOME

I don't have a lot of experience diving near Willemstad (Tugboat/Dolphin Dive only) but we spent all week diving west - including while staying in the Piscadera Bay (West Willemstad) area. The diving seemed to be better out West - conversely the Marine Reserve is east of town.

Depending on how you define "nightlife" - it's all found pretty much in Willemstad. About 1/2 dozen casinos at the bigger resorts - most have beach bars onsite or nearby. If you're looking for clubs check out Club Zen/K-Oz bar or Club Facade. Both are in the Salinja district area - I wouldn't want to stay there though - find a hotel downtown on the Punda side - the classic Curacao waterfront seen in all the pictures is on that side.

Or east along the beach near Breezes/the SeaAquarium tourist area. It's a few minutes drive/cab ride north to Salinja from there.

The Dive Bus hut is next to Breezes. And if you wanted to do the dolphin dive at SeaAquarium/Ocean Encounters (the other OE) it's done only (afaik) Friday morning just offshore in about 40-60'.

Who are you flying to Bonaire with? I think Divi's planes are too small to be pressurized. DAE and Insel use small commercial jetliners so it's likely they do.

 

[TheWizard]

I've done split dive trips before (Grand Turk/Provo, Bonaire/Aruba, Curacao/Jamaica) but they've been 10-12 day trips with at least 3 days diving in each place.
Next time to Curacao, I'm getting a vehicle and going shore-diving...