SetheryJ
Banned
My wife and I went to Bonaire for the first time in August this year. We stayed at Buddy Dive for the week and did the normal 'drive and dive' package with a handful of boat dives. While we were down there we also managed to get our check dives done for our deep and nav specialty courses. We got lucky and were taught by Buddy Dive's tech instructor, Mr. G. We learned a lot and had a great time exploring the island and as many dive sites as we could muster. We ended the week with 22 dives. I figured I'd throw up a few things we learned along the way from a first timer's perspective.
1. Bring digital and paper copies of all covid related items. Bonaire's government website, the Flamingo Airport, and the airline all say that they accept digital copies for every document. That was not the case. The health declaration form had to be in paper form and they wanted paper copies of testing results.
2. If you are returning to the US and need your covid test TRIPLE CHECK YOUR NAME, AND CONNECTING INFO!!!!!!!!! I watched a guy and his daughter almost miss their flight because the nurse who administered the test goofed his daughter's date of birth and put the year down as 2021. The airport would not accept him and he had to run out and get another test. If we hadn't held the plane at the gate he wouldn't have made his flight. Trust me, they are not messing around. TRIPLE CHECK YOUR STUFF.
3. This is just our opinion, but when it comes to the boat dives we felt like they just got in the way. The boat diving sites are fun and seeing Klein was cool. But, overall we really liked shore diving and felt we were able to fit in more diving when we could just create our own schedule and head out for the day.
4. GO NORTH!! Don't be swayed by having to drive back around through Rincon. The drive isn't near as bad as some guide books or online posts make it out to be. One of our favorite days was heading north and hitting Karpata, 1000 steps, and Tolo (Ole Blue). The drive is beautiful and Karpata was one of my favorite dives of the week.
5. Number 4 leads me into number 5....Make best friends with the awesome gentlemen working the drive through for tanks. If you are nice and ask ahead of time you can sometimes get three tanks per person for long trips up north or down south. Being able to set out for the day with three tanks is a major convenience. They really appreciate tips and he was thrilled when we handed off the beer we had leftover at the end of our trip. Just make sure you ask ahead!!
6. Just like number 4, GO SOUTH!! Don't get zoned into the dive sites that are immediately next to your resort. Explore down south. The scenery down south is equally as beautiful as up north, but it's different. If I had to pick one, I think the drive down south was my favorite for views of the ocean, the pink salt, flamingos, et al. Some say diving the Salt Pier is overrated, but I found it to be quite a blast. I enjoyed the structure for some of the same reasons I enjoy wreck diving.
I hope you guys find some of our opinions/tips useful. Bonaire was a great trip and we hope to be back sometime soon. I will say, of all the international trips we have taken during covid, the Flamingo Airport was the most organized and streamlined process we have seen. My wife and I made some videos of our trip while we were down there. Always looking for feedback on our diving and how to be better videographers!
Cheers,
Seth
1. Bring digital and paper copies of all covid related items. Bonaire's government website, the Flamingo Airport, and the airline all say that they accept digital copies for every document. That was not the case. The health declaration form had to be in paper form and they wanted paper copies of testing results.
2. If you are returning to the US and need your covid test TRIPLE CHECK YOUR NAME, AND CONNECTING INFO!!!!!!!!! I watched a guy and his daughter almost miss their flight because the nurse who administered the test goofed his daughter's date of birth and put the year down as 2021. The airport would not accept him and he had to run out and get another test. If we hadn't held the plane at the gate he wouldn't have made his flight. Trust me, they are not messing around. TRIPLE CHECK YOUR STUFF.
3. This is just our opinion, but when it comes to the boat dives we felt like they just got in the way. The boat diving sites are fun and seeing Klein was cool. But, overall we really liked shore diving and felt we were able to fit in more diving when we could just create our own schedule and head out for the day.
4. GO NORTH!! Don't be swayed by having to drive back around through Rincon. The drive isn't near as bad as some guide books or online posts make it out to be. One of our favorite days was heading north and hitting Karpata, 1000 steps, and Tolo (Ole Blue). The drive is beautiful and Karpata was one of my favorite dives of the week.
5. Number 4 leads me into number 5....Make best friends with the awesome gentlemen working the drive through for tanks. If you are nice and ask ahead of time you can sometimes get three tanks per person for long trips up north or down south. Being able to set out for the day with three tanks is a major convenience. They really appreciate tips and he was thrilled when we handed off the beer we had leftover at the end of our trip. Just make sure you ask ahead!!
6. Just like number 4, GO SOUTH!! Don't get zoned into the dive sites that are immediately next to your resort. Explore down south. The scenery down south is equally as beautiful as up north, but it's different. If I had to pick one, I think the drive down south was my favorite for views of the ocean, the pink salt, flamingos, et al. Some say diving the Salt Pier is overrated, but I found it to be quite a blast. I enjoyed the structure for some of the same reasons I enjoy wreck diving.
I hope you guys find some of our opinions/tips useful. Bonaire was a great trip and we hope to be back sometime soon. I will say, of all the international trips we have taken during covid, the Flamingo Airport was the most organized and streamlined process we have seen. My wife and I made some videos of our trip while we were down there. Always looking for feedback on our diving and how to be better videographers!
Cheers,
Seth