First trip to Bonaire

[Costa Reefing]

I cant wait for my trip to the island! Ive searched up and down the forum and other sources for tips and suggestions but wanted to open this thread in order to get up to date answers on some things and to post pics later on.

Il be staying at Caribbean Club with a buddy for 11 days at the end of December.
( Anybody with recent experience? I tried booking at Buddy originally but it is High season and everything seems full)


As for diving, the house reef is Oil Slick which has been having ladder issues from what I can see but don't think it will be a big deal jumping a step or 2.

Town Pier has been closed for some time now and Salt Pier is Ok to dive as long as no boats are present if im correct (I'll ask Cargill in either case once on the island)

Also I read about a food truck called Cactus Blue which sees amazing but its been MIA for a bit, anybody seen it?

How bad are the jellyfish? Is there a specific season they come out, are they always there? Ive been stung before by fire coral and juvenile jellys and it would be nice to avoid an encounter with a box jelly.

Sorry for my post jumping here and there, Ive been cramming a bunch of info in my head the past couple weeks in order to prepare as much as possible. Any tips and/or suggestions are very much welcomed by this soon to be Bonaire new timer

 

[darook]

I stayed at CCB last year over the holidays and enjoyed it immensely. While the house reef is Oil Slick and it has ladder issues apparently I would bet it is fixed before the Christmas rush. Getting in is easy without the ladder. I am not sure how hard it is to get out right now. Really easy sites that are very near by are Andrea I and Andrea II. They are down inside a neighborhood and have very easy entry. Not far away is 1000 Steps which is a true beach entry and a wonderful dive.

Town Pier hasn't been open for along time. The Salt Pier is dived all of the time if there is not a ship in. I have not seen one there in my 4 trips. CCB and Buddy like to tell you need guide but that is bunk. If you ask a Cargill personto dive they probably won't know why you are asking, people dive all over the place all of the time.People dive it all of the time without. Regardless the sites on both sides of it are great. If you keep going south to Atlantis at lunch time you should see the Cactus Blue truck there.

I have only seen one jelly fish in my trips there and I was not in the water at the time. It looked like a Bonaire Box Jelly and was about 2 inches long and next to Buddy's dock.

If you are not Nitrox certified I would suggest getting it before you get there to take advantage of the unlimited Nitrox. Most locations don't offer it and it definitely improves your experience.

Go see the donkeys on your off gas afternoon. I will be on island a couple of weeks before you and will try some sites I have not been to yet. I will likely have a review of them up before you go.

 

[Roatan Joe]

Never saw Cactus Blue while I was there a few months ago. I'm sure like everywhere, the jellyfish and other things can be more or less abundant depending on the day. Dive as many locations as possible. They all seem to have their own set of neat things about them. Just as an FYI, my favorite dive was jumping into the water at La Dania's Leap and drifting down to Karpata. Information is available online to help you plan that dive, ie. how to find LaDania's leap, where to look for an anchor at a certain depth so that you know where to angle into the shore to find the Karpata exit point. It was BIG time fun!

 

[drrich2]

Here's a link to a thread I started after getting nailed by sea wasps in Bonaire. They go into it, if memory serves, but in a nutshell, they're not an all the time thing, they're more a 'certain period after the full moon, at night, drawn to lights' thing. I've seen a few moon jelly fish but nowhere near what I saw on a Key Largo trip.

Richard.

 

[gypsyjim]

Never saw Cactus Blue while I was there a few months ago. I'm sure like everywhere, the jellyfish and other things can be more or less abundant depending on the day. Dive as many locations as possible. They all seem to have their own set of neat things about them. Just as an FYI, my favorite dive was jumping into the water at La Dania's Leap and drifting down to Karpata. Information is available online to help you plan that dive, ie. how to find LaDania's leap, where to look for an anchor at a certain depth so that you know where to angle into the shore to find the Karpata exit point. It was BIG time fun!

I would suggest that before you do the drift down to Karpata, check out the conditions at Karpata. That is one sight that can make for a rough exit if conditions are off.

It's suggested to avoid Karpata if the waves are breaking over the large cement block there.

Otherwise I love that site! No bad dives on Bonaire! If you use your head, of course.

 

[Ashley1101]

Cactus Blue has a FB page. He usually keeps it (somewhat) up-to-date and you can check his hours/locations: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cactus-Blue-on-the-Beach/648625748562160?fref=nf

Also - I was there that time of year (stayed at BD) almost 2 years ago now and didn't experience any jellies. Granted, that's no guarantee.

 

[diversteve]

You've probably figured it out but since CC is a Buddy's affiliated property you can also exchange tanks at the Buddy drive-thru 8am-5pm. CC Divers can also schedule you on the Buddy's boats if you're doing any boat dives.

Ask them if you can exchange tanks at BelMar in the south also - the other Buddy-affiliated facility - IDK if they have the availability. That would really be handy for you since it's 2mins. from the Hooker and all the south dives past the airport.

IIRC the Oil Slick platform itself is slightly south of CC also - and significantly downhill. It's not the carry down that's the issue...lol.

Down around Salt Pier expect to run into fire coral. Once we even saw it growing up a rope from the bottom. At least it looked like it, didn't want to touch it to check. It's also on the Salt Pier pilings in at least one tighter area that I saw.

If you want to positively know there's no ship inbound - (599)-717- 8151 is the harbormaster. He controls pier access. One time we went by there and a section of the pier was marked closed as they were working on the conveyor belt above it. Judging by the metal pieces growing on the reef it's apparent they occasionally do drop something. There were still divers there elsewhere under the pier.

 

[DeputyDan]

My wife likes the Caribbean Club better than Buddy Dive.
We have stayed at both.
To us the only significant down side to the CC is you can't walk down to the dock and dive.

 

[wwguy]

To us the only significant down side to the CC is you can't walk down to the dock and dive.

I agree, which is why I raise my eyebrows anytime I hear someone referring to Oil Slick as CC's "house reef". It's certainly the closest site, but it's public, there are no facilities, and it requires a short drive to get there and back. Those are all deal-breakers for the commonly accepted meaning of "house reef" on Bonaire.

 

[diversteve]

The right camera angle with telephoto foreshortening is everything...

I'd walk this:

Spoiler

But not this:

Spoiler