"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