Dive site depth advice

[cachow6]

Hey everyone,

I’m going to be going to Bonaire for the first time in July and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve been reading a lot about it and I’m really looking forward to the all-you-can-dive freedom feeling. My wife and I will be there for 6 days and while I want to keep our opjtions flexible, I also don’t know when we’ll be able to go back so there are cerain sites I want to see for sure. My main question is how to plan dives such that the depth makes sense in order to make at least 3-4 dives per day. We’ll be diving nitrox and we’ll be there for 6 days. From what I can tell most of the sites have stuff to see anywhere from 30-100 feet. My experience thus far has always been to do the depest dive of the day first and shallower dives as the day goes on. I’m wondering which sites I should take advantage of first thing in the day, and thus can spend more time in the 100 ft range, vs which sites I should reserve for the 3rd or 4th dive of the day. For example, it seems like Salt Pier would be an ideal afternoon dive given the shallow depth, while the Hilma is best experienced in the 90 ft range.

For reference, some of the sites I’m hoping to hit for sure are:
Karpata
Ol’ Blue
1000 Steps
Andrea I/II
Cliff
Bari Reef
Something Special
The Lake
Hilma Hooker
Angel City
Alice in Wonderland
Salt Pier
Invisibles
Margate Bay

I don’t want to plan out too much but I do want to make sure I’m picking sites in an order that makes some sense. Thanks for any advice or considerations! Also please let me know if this is something that I just shouldnn’t be worrying about too much.

 

[Paul - Bonscuba]

Don.t worry too much. Hilma of course, 90 feet, maybe Tolo and Karpata, and Invisibles and Margate bay as well relatively deep, because of the steeper reefs in north and beautiful landscape and formations in the south.

For the rest, 50 feet max. will do for the mentioned locations. If you want to know more, please send me a pm.

 

[uncfnp]

Your concern has never been a planning factor for me in Bonaire. Part of that may be that the dive depths, with the exception of the two extremes you named, are fairly uniform. Second, there are more significant factors to consider, north or south sites, sites in close proximity, weather/wind/wave conditions. And of course the one way road on the northern most sites. We also plan sites based on where we want to be for lunch.

And for the Hooker, the reason to do it first dive of the day is that you want to beat everyone else there!

 

[AdivingBel]

You control the schedule and the dive plan. Dive deep, dive shallow, dive long, dive short, long SI, grab lunch, etc. etc.. Don't worry, just do. Pay attention to your computer. Gotta luv "dive freedom." Have fun.

 

[chiggins]

The sites mentioned in the earlier post are the the deeper ones to consider for first dives, but don't worry about having a set schedule before your trip. I usually planned sites (or even a general area) right before bed based on lunch plans and tank exchange. I liked to drive out to farthest site first then work back towards town. I think most of the shops close around 5 or 6pm, but if you are at one of the resorts, some have 24x7 tank exchange lockers. Since I was at a rental, the end of the day was always a rush before the shop closed to exchange tanks for night or early morning use. We had no problems taking 3-4 tanks each which was pretty convenient.

The road north of 1000 steps goes one way and you have to go around through Rincon to get back to town. I would suggest Tolo then Karpata on the same day. Farther north, I really enjoyed Nukove and would like to have seen one (or both) of the unmarked sites on the way. If you do venture this far, I recommend starting early, and dedicating the day to these sites. I started at Tolo, then Nukove and by the time I got back to Candy Land and Taylor Made the entry seemed risky with increasing surf. Will plan differently next time and save a day for the far north.

The sites from Margate Bay south I also recommend early. Windsurfers tending to start later in the morning is mentioned in at least one of the guide books. I did not find the entry here difficult as long as you can somewhat see where the ledge and any other hazards are located; better when the wind and surf is calmer. Sweet Dreams was one I particularly enjoyed.

I hope to be back in November for my 3rd trip. It's difficult to single out one best site here. The freedom to dive when/where/how you want is what makes Bonaire special. Know your own personal limits and let your buddy know them too. Follow your computer, and don't exceed your dive plan. Enjoy!

 

[Kharon]

A few sites I would add are Invisibles, Tori's Reef, the Fuel Pier (north end of Windsock) and certainly Red Beryl (fine soft corals, bryozoans, etc.). Tolo (Old BLue) is a site I highly recommend. I found the Hooker to be a total yawn. I've also found that 100' depths are mostly a waste of bottom time. Once you see the garden eels there's not much reason to head that deep. I've found 30'-40' to be the sweetspot. Lots of fish, eels, turtles, hard & soft coral.

I've been to Bonaire for a total of 8 weeks and I head for the southern sites early, before the wind picks up. Here's a site where you can check the wind forecast: WindGURU: United States - Maui (north shore)

I never went there at the time you are going so I don't have any idea what conditions you will experience. Most of my trips were October to early January. My last trip was in early March and the conditions were awful. Hope you have better luck.

 

[dmaziuk]

I agree that going down to the sand @ 100' is not that rewarding: there's garden eels in the shallows too (albeit smaller), there's rays in the sand but we ran into an eagle ray grazing in the sand at red beach in something like 15', and another one sailing around the salt pier columns at 30-40' depths... (Red beach is probably the easiest shore entry outside of barri/buddy.) Groupers and tarpons tend to hide deeper, but with tarpons you just go for a night dive and watch them come to you and hunt in your light.

 

[Trailboss123]

You are going to have a great time and unless there is some very compelling reason that you personally want to do your deepest dive first and then shallow out-- I wouldn't worry about it. There is absolutely no evidence that suggests that doing so reduces risk for DCS to the point of being concerned about it. Lots of people have been erroneously taught otherwise. Biggest concern is staying within your No Decompression Limits and training.

I would follow the advice of @uncfnp and others- there are lots of other more important considerations in terms of your dive planning on Bonaire. I like your dive site list-- Very solid for a first time trip-- Something Special makes for a better night dive than day dive, in my humble opinion. It wouldn't make my Top 10-15 list for daytime, but it does make for a nice night dive.
Not on your list, but an excellent dive to consider down south is Pink Beach. I prefer doing it heading south on the reef and it is one of the easier entries and exits.

Here is just one reference to reverse dive profiles-- There are many others: Should Scuba Divers Make Their Deepest Dive First? Not Necessarily

 

[arew+4]

aside from the hooker, early to beat traffic, and maximize bottom time, i would base it on ease of entry/exit, by the fourth dive the 60 or 70 steps at 1k might actually feel like it.

another to consider is oil slick leap.

 

[Trailboss123]

aside from the hooker, early to beat traffic, and maximize bottom time, i would base it on ease of entry/exit, by the fourth dive the 60 or 70 steps at 1k might actually feel like it.

another to consider is oil slick leap.

Very much concur on Oil Slick Leap-- Can't believe I overlooked that in my last post. One of my favorite dive sites- very easy entry and exit. Prefer diving it going south on the drop off and lots to see and explore in the shallows on the safety stop.