First time in Bonaire - Advise/Recommendations Appreciated

[aconerly2788]

and who is marketing the east side? surely not Bas.

I am not sure if you are serious or being facetious, but I think Bas is almost exclusively marketing the east side as he provides guide services for the east side. I think you are taking what RJP said out of context. I do not think he is encouraging someone to take on the east side without a guide or even implying that he did it himself without a guide. It just sounds to me like when he was there on his first trip, he was able to dive the east and was glad he did.

 

[RJP]

and who is marketing the east side?

Not so much anymore, but the guy who coined the term "wildside" on Bonaire

Been there. Done that. Bought the tee-shirt.

 

[Recneps]

Just got back from Bonaire on Sunday June 28. Was our first trip to Bonaire as well. My thoughts......

We rented a pickup truck from Budget. It was a stick shift. Luckily my wife and I grew up with stick shift vehicles so just be aware.

With two teen age boys and a 9 year old in tow, we ate most meals in. Grocery store we frequented is Van den Tweel. It's very much an American type grocery store. Would say 80% of the products are Dutch and imported from Holland and 20% are the international version of US products. Bring a quarter to unlock the shopping cart which you get back when you return the cart. Bring your own grocery bags or buy a bag(s) for I think 50 cents. If you have any specific food issues, requirements, or restrictions it would be helpful to learn the Dutch word for it as most labels are in Dutch. Beer, wine and some liquor is sold in the grocery store. Cans/bottles of beer are sold individually.

Do drive the road around the southern end of the island to see the salt flats and over to the east side and up to Lac Bay. Can go windsurfing at Lac Bay. Rentals and lessons are available.

Visit Washington Slagbaai National Park. We were not too thrilled with the snorkeling there but next time will bring tanks and hit some of the dive sites there. Bring water and lunch and make a day of it. Bring the receipt which you get when you buy your marine park tag which will get you into the park. Also they will ask to see an ID along with the receipt. It takes 1.5 to 2.5 hours just to drive thru the park. Driving thru the park reminded me at times of driving thru Saguaro National Park with the cactus and desert scenery.

Gio's in Kralendijk has excellent ice cream.

Dive Friends Bronare is a very good operation. They have a new retail store with a good selection of equipment if you need anything while you are there. I ended up needing a new mask which I bought there and they even cleaned the lens with toothpaste for me.

West side diving is great and relatively easy though some entries/exits can be more difficult due to iron shore and surf. I would highly recommend hard soled booties due to the iron shore and coral rubble you need to walk on at the dive sites. We used these booties and they worked very well. Leaving extra tanks in the truck is fine and will not be bothered with but make sure you can live without anything else you leave in the truck. Bought cheap $10 sunglasses at Walmart and kept them in BC pocket and didn't care if they got scratched. After we went thru security at the airport in the States we each bought a sport squeeze bottle of water which we refilled (tap water tastes excellent...as in no taste) and used all week and brought to the dive sites with us. I also used this little case to put some cash, credit card, drivers license and truck key in when we dove. Small and fit right in BC pocket.

Hope this helps.

 

[aconerly2788]

Interesting article that came across my Facebook news feed a few minutes ago. Funny it appears when the topic comes up on this thread! Wild Side Diving in Caribbean Islands | Scuba Diving

 

[TinFins]

Don't forget to go snorkeling with the upsidown jellyfish in the mangroves!!!
One of the most memorable experiences for me. Just don't kick too much or you'll soon wish you were wearing a full wetsuit...

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk

 

[Doctorfish]

I thought I'd add my 2 cents. Boat diving on the east side of Bonaire is not dangerous or difficult as long as you can handle a back roll entry, some surge, a drift and a safety stop out in open water. I've seen relative newbies and elderly folks out on Larry's boat and with the guys who took over the operation. The boat has a deflatable section on the side so that you can climb in or be hauled in at surface level.

The east side has the potential for big animals and pelagics which are rarely seen on the west. The dive at White Hole usually has 20-40 tarpon, a few green morays +/- turtles and rays. Bruce Bowker sometimes goes east if the conditions are favorable, as well.

I do a 2 tank east side boat dive every chance I get. Well worth doing. Shore diving east, as mentioned, is safer with a guide but still is not easy diving like most of the west side.

In my opinion, it was Larry that was wild, not the east side of the island.

 

[scubadada]

I dived with Larry's Wildside back in the day and then with East Coast Diving more recently Bonaire East Coast Diving - Unforgettable Scuba Dive Vacation Adventure. The boat diving is not particularly challenging. I find the diving complementary to the West side shore and boat diving. I try to get in a day of the East on each visit, enjoy

 

[Thumby615]

I've gone twice. Absolutely loved it both times—and both times had some significant differences.

Captain Don's: Great shore diving to the left or right of the pier. We really enjoyed the accommodations and the food and drinks, and the staff went completely out of their way to make us (a very large group) feel special.

Divi Flamingo: Fantastic dive staff and dive shop. The resort was under construction while we were there and a lot of the promised amenities did not come through. If you stay here, do yourself a favor and stay in one of the villas near the pool area near the dive shop—they are much nicer. The waterfront rooms were terrible and we requested a move. The food was good and the little side restaurants actually did a pretty good job with burgers, sandwiches, salads and so on. The locker set up is wonderfully convenient for doing shore dives—and they offer large-sized Nitrox or air tanks. It makes a difference. Shore diving is quite nice, and you're in for a treat at night—LOTS of glowy stuff. Be aware there are lots of jellyfish around this area, especially the dock. One of the best features of the resort is the proximity to town. You leave the north entrance and in 5 minutes you're in the middle of the action.

Non-diving: The pool area is great, it's a nice, compact resort, and the rooms were quite nice. It's a bit of a hike to go to town, so you really need to take a taxi or bike, etc. There's a good market just up the road to the left of the complex if you need anything that you've forgotten, liquor, food, etc.

Town: Great food up and down the strip (Capriccio, Patagonia are standouts). The gelato place (Gio's) is worth the hike and the sometimes-bitchy service. There's a little cafe with open air seating under a long roof that had some of the best fish-and-no-chips I've ever eaten. Great drinks. A Mexican restaurant with a white front and an arched door was really good as well, I think it's called Reef. When there are ships at port, there will be a lot of tourists milling about and the market area will be crowded with vendors. More interesting stuff is in the little malls if you're looking for a souvenir.

Wifi is spotty but you can find it. Their water is not a problem at all, and I believe electric is like ours (if slightly lower in power).

The water quality everywhere was excellent. We dove in dive shorts and a rash guard on the first trip and never needed suits. The second trip I was very sensitive to the slightly colder water and used a suit. The wildlife was quite different each time, but we saw plenty. Totally worth the time, effort and money to get there.