Okay, easier to answer when not on a phone. My research notes are more detailed, but in a nutshell:
1.) What I call 'fishbowl diving' - warm, high-viz., usually minimal current diving with sort of an underwater flower garden (coral reef) setting and decent numbers of pretty tropical fish.
2.) You may see tarpon, some barracuda, the occasional green moray eel or sea turtle and maybe a cubera snapper, but not a lot of 'big stuff.' There are small grouper like coneys and graysbys, and once in awhile I've seen tiger grouper (skittish), but I don't see black, Nassau or yellow-fin grouper there. Have seen the occasional eagle or southern sting ray. Once in a blue moon someone posts about seeing dolphins or a manta, but don't go expecting that. Never saw a shark in 9 trips.
3.) Shore diving lets you dive when, there, and how (within reason) you wish, without being restricted to a dive boat's schedule. You can conduct your own dive, and if you stick to mainstream west coast sites, and are in decent physical health, you should be able to handle the simple navigation and get yourself back out without too much hassle (disclaimer: I can't turn up well off my entry, and surface fin back). I still recommend carrying an SMB when you dive large water bodies.
4.) Buddy Dive Resort has housing, a good breakfast buffet, pier ladder entry to a nice house reef, a couple of onsite restaurants, a dive shop, they transport you from and to the airport, you rent your truck onsite. Years ago when I stayed with them, the parking could get a bit crowded.
5.) Buddy supports tech. diving if that's of interest.
6.) Sandy beaches sloping into the sea for wading are not a common fixture in Bonaire, and BDR doesn't have one.
7.) Location close enough to town it's not hard to get to. Up the road is the little Zhung Kong Supermarket, really handy and without the hassle of driving around town. Just south a bit is a little shopping complex with the popular Between 2 Buns cafe.
8.) Truck rentals in Bonaire default to manual transmission. If you want auto., tell them way in advance and expect to pay an uncharge, but it can be done.
If Bonaire didn't have shore diving, I'd probably lean toward Little Cayman (did some via live-aboard) or the outer atolls of Belize (ditto) for general diving, or maybe Key Largo for sheer fishiness (lower viz, but on a 20-dive trip, fishier and fish averaged bigger, plus option for deep wrecks).
TLDR: Bonaire rocks, but it's not the best in every way.
Richard.
