Curacao or Bonaire?

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Bonaire - diver's paradise!!! Stay at a dive resort or rent a private home/condo very inexpensively. Rent a beater pickup truck and throw your stuff in the back and pack a picnic lunch and just dive all day and night - doesn't get any better than this.
 
The incredible access to awesome reefs from the entire western shore of Bonaire, plus Klein Bonaire (by boat) is unrivaled in the diving world. If you want a vacation with diving as the focus, go to Bonaire. If you want on-island activities as your primary focus and some diving thrown in, then other places might fit your needs better. If you decide on Bonaire and want an awesome source of information about the island, visit Bonaire Talk - The place to discuss everything and anything about Bonaire! Great people and some great info.
 
I'm AT All West on CUR as I write this, 6 days into a 10 day dive trip. We're having fun driving our diesel pickup all over the place and try to line up a 2nd shore dive site with a good beach cafe for lunch, something you don't usually find on BON, unless you're diving a resort's house reef.

One often does more WORK shore-diving on CUR due to many steps down to the water, similar to 1000 Steps on BON. And the swims out to the drop-off tend to be longer.

So to answer the OP, I'd say that BON has easier shore dives. But I like both places...
 
Bonaire.

BTW, FYI, FWIW...it's pronounced Bow (as in Bow and Arrow) nair. (as in air with a N in front)

A lot of ignorant Americans pronounce it Bon (rhyming with John) air. Makes them sound stupid.

<that is all...please carry on>
Most Americans have never even heard of Bonaire, let alone have an inkling of where it might be located. Proper pronunciation is even more advanced than basic geography. For instance, most Americans can't even pronounce Iran or Iraq without sounding the I as in "I" and the a as in "ran" or "ack", even though they usually know both countries are located somewhere in the middle east. Can't necessarily blame them; after all, they learned it from their parents, or from listening to the evening news or to politicians.

BTW, most Americans also make the same o error with Cozumel, incorrectly pronouncing it like "Roz" instead of like the "co" in "codependent". (Furthermore, they usually pronounce the z like the z in "Roz" instead of the softer Mexican-Spanish z that sounds more like our s, but that's even more nitpicky than the OP's plaint). So Bonaire is hardly the most commonly mispronounced dive locale, and not even close to being the worst mispronounced (Phuket probably takes that award).

Not sure what this has to do with the difference between Bonaire and Curacao, however. One could spend all day analyzing speech defects of ignorant Americans (any southern accent sounds "ignorant" to my cultured ears, for example), then turn to ignorant Canadians and start mocking them as well, eh? Heck, I bet we could even find some native Bonaireans that mangle the English language and call them ignorant too. But that wouldn't be very nice.
 
My 500psi would be for a quick ferry ride to Saba stay and Dive! It is Boat diving but really good boat diving. From what I understand there is also a rain forest to visit (I was only there long enough for 2 dives and lunch).

If you are set on Bonaire or Curacao I agree with RJP It depends if you are a vacationer looking to dive or a Diver looking to vacation. I've been to both Islands and will go back to both just more frequently to Bonaire (even thougth I'm probably in the ignorant American category and can't pronounce them correctly).
 
Most Americans have never even heard of Bonaire, let alone have an inkling of where it might be located. Proper pronunciation is even more advanced than basic geography....blah....blah....blah...

Listen, MooshMein: when we need lessons on diction, we'll give you a call, OK?
Meanwhile, just you have a Coors Light and relax.
Are we good on this now?
Me, I'm focusing on the diving...
 
Listen, MooshMein: when we need lessons on diction,
Apparently you need lessons on how to read posts as well. I was responding to the original diction educator.

Cute way you mangled my name, though. Haven't suffered that sort of thing since 5th grade or so. Don't your parents filter your internet use and keep you off the big boy's boards?
 
So Bonaire is hardly the most commonly mispronounced dive locale, and not even close to being the worst mispronounced (Phuket probably takes that award).
Yes, but when you mispronounce Phuket you get corrected pretty quickly.:D You can mispronounce Bonaire for years without anybody helping you out. Thanks, jepuskar--I'll get it right on my next (5th) visit.:wink:
 
5 day trip, go to Bone-Air.
Longer trip, go to Cure-uh-sow.
Say-bah is awesome, but you won't get as much diving in there, as you would in Bonaire.
Maybe Stay-sh-uh as a compromise?
 
Well with all the comments placed I must say Bonaire is indeed easier diving than Curacao. On Bonaire all the sites clearly are marked. Rent a truck and visit a site. They're all closer to each other.

On Curacao they are marked on the some of the roadmaps. And they're less close to each other as Bonaire. Some of the dive spots on Curacao you need to swim out for 10 minutes to reach the drop-off and some of the dive-spots are within a resort.

So Bonaire is easy shorediving and on Curacao it's a bit of an adventure.

Or you can go with a dive guide and they'll know a lot of spots to enter.

If you want to know more on dive sites or whatever just send me a mail or PM.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/swift/

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