Getting a bit bored with Bonaire.....

[diversteve]

Thanks Steve,
I looked there but it is pretty thin for most places. This looks like a great idea that is sufferning from a lack of diver support to upload data. Perhaps they should migrate to Scubaboard. I have always felt there should be a shore diving sub-forum.

It's pretty thin because (besides not being updated often) that's pretty much it. Those are the only places with a sizable concentration of shore diving opportunities. At others the reef is too far out or there are just a couple of locations (i.e. Roatan) where it's an option. I've been to about a dozen Caribbean destinations and the four I suggested are about the best of it. Unless you enjoy repeating the same site(s). That brings others into play like Utila, St. Thomas, Cozumel, Grand Turk etc.

Since you've been to Bonaire, both Curacao and Aruba are similar, I'd focus on Grand Cayman or St. Croix. I know people that only shore dive on Cayman, there's an easy dozen or so accessible dives - most on the west side. Some will have on-site operators, there's also a couple of places to rent tanks for the others. Most ops won't let you remove tanks from the premises there. Downside of Cayman is that everything is pricey, food, boat diving, accommodations etc. You really won't find anything under $100+/nt. unless you share condos. Boat dives are 2/$100 all over, they compete on service, not price. The CI$ is fixed at .80 to the US$ so anything you buy is expensive.

On St Croix you've got Cane Bay wall on the north and the Frederickstad Pier. Never been there but an acquaintance owns a condo on the north side and said it's a short swim out to the wall.

I have always felt there should be a shore diving sub-forum.

It's been suggested before but it's not really possible to break out the geo component separately in our regional structure - we'd have to have a shorediving forum for every area. Or else we'd have a lot of duplicate posts/redundancy. And the act of shorediving doesn't really need it's own forum - it's just diving.

 

[tkaelin]

How many times and dives in Bonaire? Just curious. I have been to Bonaire 3 times/about 75 dives. Grand Cayman as suggested above might be a good option. Last year we dove both. We did a mix of shore and boat diving. Stayed in a condo on the beach at discovery point and shore dove at Eden Rock, Lighthouse Pt, Turle Reef and right where we were staying. The set up and diving at Eden Rock, Lighthouse PT and Turtle reef is easy, they are all run by a dive op, you show up, rent a tank and your off. The there was at least one dive shop on the island that lets you rent tanks and take them where you want and we rented there and it worked well. Cayman can be more expensive generally but it does not have to be. It depends on how you plan it. If you get a condo with kitchen and eat in most meals you can economize. We fly Cayman Air that allows two bags free of charge and one bag is a full of food and a cooler. We were on the north end of seven mile beach, right on a beautiful sand beach a little further away from town and the crowds. We shore dove near cemetary beach, near our condo. The shore diving was nice and I would do it again. Cayman is pretty and it is nice staying on a long stretch of beach. The trip was a nice break from Bonaire but it is not Bonaire.

On our trips to Bonaire, we mostly shore dive, but we always do some boat dives, especially to Klein. If you have been diving Bonaire but not getting out to Klein you are missing out. Also on our last trip we did one day with East Coast diving which is completely different and unique experience and a multi tank boat trip up norh to dive sites you can't get to by shore. The terrain, topography and marine life was different and worth the trip as well. Good Luck

 

[diversteve]

Forgot to mention the two places I know of to rent tanks for off-site are Eden Rock downtown and Divers Supply in West Bay.

 

[Grajan]

We have talked about live-aboards but it is a bit out of reach financially this year and, after a two year layoff and some health issues we sort of want a more mixed vacation. We have not done an LB apart from chartering our own cat in the BVI's, which was awesome, but we plan to try it some time, probably somewhere otherwise difficult to access like the Galapagos.

I assume you mean "day boats" when you refer to boat diving.

Have you considered a live aboard? They are very different from day boats. Maybe a live aboard will give you something different?

---------- Post added February 2nd, 2013 at 03:27 PM ----------

Four or five times now and about 100 dives, pretty much all over the island. Our favorite areas are the southern tip Red Hut and beyond and north of the oil storage. The salt pier used to be a great site until it was made so difficult to access. We have dived Klien a few times to check it it out but did not find it alluring enough to compensate for the cattle truck. If we are going to boat dive we will go to Cozumel or similar.

Thanks for all the good info on Cayman.

Graham

How many times and dives in Bonaire? Just curious. I have been to Bonaire 3 times/about 75 dives. Grand Cayman as suggested above might be a good option. Last year we dove both. We did a mix of shore and boat diving. Stayed in a condo on the beach at discovery point and shore dove at Eden Rock, Lighthouse Pt, Turle Reef and right where we were staying. The set up and diving at Eden Rock, Lighthouse PT and Turtle reef is easy, they are all run by a dive op, you show up, rent a tank and your off. The there was at least one dive shop on the island that lets you rent tanks and take them where you want and we rented there and it worked well. Cayman can be more expensive generally but it does not have to be. It depends on how you plan it. If you get a condo with kitchen and eat in most meals you can economize. We fly Cayman Air that allows two bags free of charge and one bag is a full of food and a cooler. We were on the north end of seven mile beach, right on a beautiful sand beach a little further away from town and the crowds. We shore dove near cemetary beach, near our condo. The shore diving was nice and I would do it again. Cayman is pretty and it is nice staying on a long stretch of beach. The trip was a nice break from Bonaire but it is not Bonaire.

On our trips to Bonaire, we mostly shore dive, but we always do some boat dives, especially to Klein. If you have been diving Bonaire but not getting out to Klein you are missing out. Also on our last trip we did one day with East Coast diving which is completely different and unique experience and a multi tank boat trip up norh to dive sites you can't get to by shore. The terrain, topography and marine life was different and worth the trip as well. Good Luck

---------- Post added February 2nd, 2013 at 03:38 PM ----------

Thanks Richard,
We stayed at Cocoview once - never again (unless it is under completely new management).

We have had a number of enjoyable trips to Cozumel but you really do need to boat dive there.

Caymen looks like it is winning right now....

Graham

 

[Jersey]

Add another vote for Grand Cayman. Shorter commute than Bonaire, more frequent flight options, less expensive aire fare. From NH, should be a quick USAir to Charlotte and then 2 hrs to GC. Yes, WAY more expensive for lodging, food and everything else, but we 'economize' by trading for a timeshare unit with a complete kitchen with a short walk to beach, bring in lots of food and forgoing shopping/dining out kind of stuff. There are private condo's - VRBO options as well. West Side is relatively shallow shore (or boat) diving and North wall boat diving is nothing like Bonaire! A few of the shore sites have bathroom/rinse facilities/bar and restaurants attached which really makes it convenient to 'freshen up' (female with really long hair here!) or enjoy a snack between or post diving. They also provide a site map of the dive area to help you navigate. Swim to reef varies, Northern sites had a shorter swim, the further south, the longer swim. Add real beaches and the excitement of driving on the left. My only neg w/ GC is lack of and/or expense to get Nitrox. Not willing to pay an extra $15 per tank.

 

[scubadada]

I don't think any destination in the Caribbean can complete with Bonaire for shore diving. I've only been there 3 times but find it hard to imagine I would tire of the dives. I've been to Curacao only once, the shore diving was very good, particularly our house reef at Playa Kalki. I would imagine there is much potential there. I have spent much time on Grand Cayman, including my share of shore dives. Turtle Reef, Lighthouse Point, and Cobalt Coast can all be spectacular, the latter two are great when doing a package at Cobalt Coast. The Georgetown sites at Sunset House and Eden Rock are mediocre in my personal opinon. Come on , Grand Cayman has some of the most amazing boat dives in the region, some off the West, most off the North and East. Sorry, I have to dive nitrox regardless of $15 a pop. I hear St Croix is good, I'd like to go there someday. Other good destinations in the Caribbean like Cozumel and Turks and Caicos just don't have the 1st class shore diving present off Bonaire. To each their own.

Good diving, Craig

 

[drrich2]

Here's a thread with a trip report on Little Cayman & Cayman Brac. Some highlights from the thread:

CAYMAN BRAC:
- We stayed at CaribSands Resort. New building. Very clean, great (somewhat noisy) central A/C, good kitchen. We cooked in most meals.
- Resort location is great - only a short drive to Reef Divers. Nice dock. Good snorkeling off the dock. Neat place to watch tarpon, have cocktails, talk to others.
- We did three 2-tank boat dives with Reef Divers and 10 shore dives.
- Shore diving is great on Brac. Not as easy to find the spots as Bonaire, but definitely a nice option for those that want to explore.
- Tanks are $10 for air and $15 for nitrox. A bit pricey, but of course, only a fraction of boat-diving costs.

SHORE DIVING ON BRAC:

- We dove the following sites:

NORTH SIDE
>Greenhouse - fairly easy entry, even with higher winds and swells
>Radar Reef - dove this 3 times - once to do Radar, twice to do Atlantis (we couldn't find Atlantis the first try!). Very easy navigation and pretty dive. Entry isn't too bad, even with some swell.
>Sylvia's Cut - nice entry via cut in the rocks. Very pretty dive site.
>M/V Keith Tibbetts wreck. Long swim from shore, and we had big waves, wind. Nice wreck, friendly grouper, saw sting rays, and turtle.
SOUTH SIDE
>Bluff Boat Ramp - lots of algae until about 40' depth. Not our favorite, but decent entry
>Kings Point - local shark patrols the sand flats between shore and the wall. He seems large to me, but hung at the edge of visibility from us. Wall is spectacular! Entry is a bit tricky if it's windy on the South Side. We were going to dive it again, but there were 6' swells breaking into the entry point.
>Wilderness - incredibly friendly groupers - they kept pointing out lionfish for us in hopes that we'd provide them a free lunch! Barracuda, wall is also spectacular!

I'm sure I forgot a few sites.

They have red painted rocks pointing out most or all shore dives. Some have cuts into the iron shore with ladders to make exiting easier.

Does that sound appealing?

Richard.

 

[CheddarChick]

"Does that sound appealing?

Richard."

Man it does to me.....
Currently 12* and another 3-5" of snow by morning, for the 5th day in a row.....Gotta love Wisconsin.....

 

[Grajan]

"Does that sound appealing?

Richard."

Man it does to me.....
Currently 12* and another 3-5" of snow by morning, for the 5th day in a row.....Gotta love Wisconsin.....

I have snow envy! We are having one of those snow-thaw-freeze years so it is bitterly cold with not a trace of the white stuff. The exercise bike is not the same as skiing.....

Graham

 

[BUDMANOK]

when we are on GC we stay at the Shangri La B&B in Westbay. very reasonable $$ with very good breakfast included. Taking everything into consideration our trips to GC are about equal in price to our trips to Curacao.