First trip to bonaire need plenty of advise...

[katydiver]

I am planning a trip to Bonaire with the family. My wife and I are both AOW divers with about 70 dives mainly from boats though. My oldest son is 18 and has about 40 dives mostly from boat. We are introducing our youngest son ( 10 years old) to the under water sea and hear Bonaire is a great place. We are planning on renting a villa and hooking up with one of the local dive shops. Here are my questions:

1. Which dive shop do you recommend?

2. Grocery stores?

3. best dive sites for the 10 year old to realy get him hooked on diving?

4. dive sites with the best potential to see some big stuff ( turtles, lobster, eels, sharks)

5. best night diving spots.

6. website that gives some descriptions of the sites and what to expect

7. Is the diving really 24/7

8. what is the protical for the shore diving

9. If the shore diving is so good, is it worth it to do boat dives at all.

 

[GeneV]

Hi Katydiver
You can do a search here on Scubaboard, there's a lot of information on Bonaire.
I'll try to answer some of your questions. Please keep in mind I've only been to Bonaire once, 2 weeks ago.

1. Which dive shop do you recommend?
You mentioned renting condo, I'd try to find someone close by. I used Buddy Dive, but also stayed there. They're north of the city and have a drive through tank station.

2. Grocery stores?
I know of 2, one by the airport, but I never use them, seems a fair size place. We had one just north of Buddy Dive, north of town. Not bad. Just keep in mind that their not what you find in Texas. Everyting is shippped in so variety isn't the greatest.

3. best dive sites for the 10 year old to realy get him hooked on diving?
Any site would do, the only thing you need to remember, some of the entry/exits can be rough. Some of the site with easier entry are Bachelor's Reef and Winsock, both close to the airport. Nice sandy entry, not too rocky.

4. dive sites with the best potential to see some big stuff ( turtles, lobster, eels, sharks)
Big stuff!! Yes, you will see turtles, lots of eels, but things like sharks, are very rare. Bonaire is not famous for big pelagics. But there is a lot of othere marine life.

5. best night diving spots.
This one is really up to you. If you hook up with a dive shop that offers boat diving, you can do the "Salt Pier" night dive, but you need to be guided by a local DM.

6. website that gives some descriptions of the sites and what to expect
Google Bonaire, there's a lot of info out there. You can check the following, a little dated but still a good reference.
Destination of the Month: Bonaire | Scuba Diving Magazine

7. Is the diving really 24/7
If you want it to be, you're running your own show, the only limiting thing is hours of operation of the dive shop, so if you want to dive in the middle of the night, chances are you'll need to pick up your tanks before 5:00PM, closing time.

8. what is the protical for the shore diving
As far as protical, you're on your own. Never lock your vehicle, leave the windows open and don't take anything of value that will be left in the vehicle.

9. If the shore diving is so good, is it worth it to do boat dives at all.[/QUOTE]
As I mentioned above, if you wnat to dothe Salt Pier night dive you need to go by boat. Also Klein Bonaire, a small island just next to Bonaire is only accessible by boat.


Hope I helped.

 

[vondo]

I am planning a trip to Bonaire with the family. My wife and I are both AOW divers with about 70 dives mainly from boats though. My oldest son is 18 and has about 40 dives mostly from boat. We are introducing our youngest son ( 10 years old) to the under water sea and hear Bonaire is a great place. We are planning on renting a villa and hooking up with one of the local dive shops. Here are my questions:

1. Which dive shop do you recommend?

2. Grocery stores?

3. best dive sites for the 10 year old to realy get him hooked on diving?

4. dive sites with the best potential to see some big stuff ( turtles, lobster, eels, sharks)

5. best night diving spots.

6. website that gives some descriptions of the sites and what to expect

7. Is the diving really 24/7

8. what is the protical for the shore diving

9. If the shore diving is so good, is it worth it to do boat dives at all.

Some of my answers. Regulars will know more.

1. Had a great time with Buddy Dive's Belmar resort. You have tanks at the resort and can stop in at Buddy Dive too if you are up on that part of the island. Smaller resort with 10-20 rooms probably.

4. Saw eels almost everywhere last year. Never saw a shark, including nurse sharks. Did see two rays.

5. Salt pier for sure and then your house reef most likely.

6. Bonaire Dive Guide | diving | bonaire | guide | shore | shorediving | boat | boatdiving | fishes | fish | coral

7. Sure, why not?

8. Pull up, park, put your gear on, wade into the water, swim to a down line, descend. Swim against any current for 1/2 your dive time, turn around, come up when you run low on air.

9. I never felt the need to go on a boat dive. I did 30 dives in 7 days and never got bored.

 

[vondo]

As I mentioned above, if you wnat to dothe Salt Pier night dive you need to go by boat. Also Klein Bonaire, a small island just next to Bonaire is only accessible by boat.


Hope I helped.

Salt Pier is done as a shore dive as far as I know. At least we and many other groups did it that way in November. It is DM led for a small fee ($35 maybe), but no need to be on a boat.

 

[RonFrank]

Bonaire is on my list, but i have never been there. I DO have friends that have done multiple trips there.

Two things I have heard...

Forget the boat. Granted for a kid learning to dive the boat is not a bad idea, but most folks I know that dive Bonaire never bother with a boat, the shore diving is that good.

Don't leave valuables in the car.

You will likely get some better advise from others. I would concentrate mostly on the kid aspect as that is something that most know little about. You may want to dive off the boat with a child, but I guess it depends on the child to a large extent. If they swim like a fish, and don't tire easily shore diving is likely good.

 

[GeneV]

Salt Pier is done as a shore dive as far as I know. At least we and many other groups did it that way in November. It is DM led for a small fee ($35 maybe), but no need to be on a boat.[/QUOTE]

Thanks Vondo, I never did the dive, but Buddy Dive offered it as a boat dive, so I assumed! (a dangerous thing)

 

[tardmaster]

I echo everything that has been said up to this point. You and your family are going to love it. There is a better chance of seeing the larger critters on the north side dives sites or with Larry's Wild Side. However, I WOULD NOT recommend either of those choices for new divers, especially a 10 year old.

Have fun and check back in with a trip report.

 

[drrich2]

One supermarket is called Cultimara; I think the other is Warehouse Bonaire? There's an Asian supermarket with a smaller selection that's well-liked and mentioned in one of the recent threads.

Wannadive is another reputable dive op.

I second Windsock as a good dive site for rather easy entry & exit.

I've been to Bonaire 3 times & have yet to set foot on a boat. If I do, it'll probably be to dive around the little island, Klein Bonaire.

Richard.

 

[Herk_Man]

If you go to Bonaire Talk - The place to discuss everything and anything about Bonaire! and find the Trip Reports forum, get in the archives and there is an 18 page trip report that was done in MS Word format. It has a huge amount of info provided by someone that just completed their first trip to Bonaire. A lot of good information.

bonairetalk just added a FAQ section to their forums too that is starting to build a database of great first-timer info. It's a little raw right now and they just started it but there is still some good stuff there.

 

[gbf]

"I am planning a trip to Bonaire with the family. My wife and I are both AOW divers with about 70 dives mainly from boats though. My oldest son is 18 and has about 40 dives mostly from boat. We are introducing our youngest son ( 10 years old) to the under water sea and hear Bonaire is a great place. We are planning on renting a villa and hooking up with one of the local dive shops. Here are my questions:

First, your kids will love it. Mine did, and are constantly badgering us to take them back (they're grown and in college. You'd think they could manage it on their own)

1. Which dive shop do you recommend?

The one associated with your lodging if they have one. I've never done it any other way.

2. Grocery stores?

We've always shopped at Cultimara. Mostly everything we want, always plenty of beer. I've never compared prices with other places.

3. best dive sites for the 10 year old to realy get him hooked on diving?

I took my girls when they were 11 and 13 (I think). Shore dives all over the island, no problems anywhere. Most of the resorts have really easy entry/exit. Witch's Hut (north) is a great dive, easy in/out, and sorta away from the resorts. Gives the kids a sense of adventure.

4. dive sites with the best potential to see some big stuff ( turtles, lobster, eels, sharks)

Plenty of turtles, lobsters, eels. Only one shark ever, and that was in the distance while snorkeling in Lac Bay

5. best night diving spots.

Just hop in somewhere. The resorts are extra easy because most have some sort of lighting. We liked Oil Slick, Small Wall (if you're staying at Black Durgon), Plaza. I also did HH at night (sans girls) and it was fabulous, but may not be appropriate for you guys.

6. website that gives some descriptions of the sites and what to expect

Buy "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy" by Susan Porter. You can get it off the internet or in nearly any dive shop on BON.

7. Is the diving really 24/7

If you want it to be. As noted before, you'll probably need to get tanks before quitting time.

8. what is the protical for the shore diving

I don't think there are any rules beyond STINAPA regulations, but common sense would dictate that you not go thru somebody's yard to get to the water.

If you haven't heard it before, don't leave anything you want in the truck. Don't lock the truck. Leave the windows down.

There are a few places that forbid or discourage diving from their docks: Black Durgon restricts access to customers. I think BDA discourages non-customers. I think Habitat charges a nominal fee. We always check in with the dive shop and ask before hopping in. In any case, we never use the facilities (chairs/showers, etc.) when we dive at a resort where we are not staying.

Specific questions?

9. If the shore diving is so good, is it worth it to do boat dives at all.

7 trips, never done a boat dive