Hello Bonaire Divers

[Sue Sue]

My DH, Michael and I are on our way to Bonaire in August. We are very excited to try something new as we have been solid Cozumel divers for the past several years. However, Cozumel is not history, we do plan on continuing to dive there as well, but, we came across a diving plan that worked out well for us and we decided to take the plunge. What is so special is that we will be celebrating our 31 st wedding anniversary on this trip.

Anyway, if anyone has advice, suggestions or ideas please pass the info on. I have been reading all the posts here for the past few weeks so I do have some idea of the in's and out's. However, any extra info is always great to have.

Sue

 

[Warmwater Wank]

SS--Take your time, make it fun-- you will be on no one's schedule but your own. Any dive site can be great if you just keep an eye out for small critters and enjoy the healthy fish populations. This is best done by going slooow. Plenty of advice has been posted over the years here but until you dive Bonaire it isn't obvious why so many folks keep wanting to go back. (The enthusiasm starts about the time of your first dive!)

It's incredibly freeing to be riding around w/ a bunch of full tanks in the back of your truck, knowing you can stop almost anywhere and be in dive heaven. No real traffic, not much driving really, just plenty of diving opportunity. (And if you smile at the locals, they smile back--try it!) Guess that's my advice--experience Bonaire with a good attitude and you'll have a great time. // ww

 

[DiverVince]

Firstly Sue, congratulations on your anniversary. We had our honeymoon there almost 25 years ago and notwithstanding traveling the Caribe for more than 30 years we always seemed to return to Bonaire. Why? There are many great reasons too numerous to go into here, but you'll discover when you get there. Bonaire has a habit of growing on you & has a high rate of repeat visitors.

For one is the shore diving which is done on your own schedule (although I do recommend doing a couple of boat dives over at Klein). Additionally there are many great dining opportunities on the island. The quality of the food has improved substantially from when we first went there.

Also recommend you pick up a copy of Bonaire shore diving made easy by Susan Porter.
Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy, BSDME, Author Susan Porter

Outside of that, take your time underwater (no 3 knot current like on Coz) and pick up a pair of good hard soled boots. And the water tastes great. Enjoy!

 

[Drewpy]

Sue,
Congratulations on the anniversary!
Having been to Coz prior to Bon..I'll just say this,I have not been back to Coz ( I loved it BTW) but have returned to Bon twice since the first visit! It is so nice to be on your own schedule and not dive with a group following a DM around..very freeing and it instills a sense of adventure and exploration!

The island is very arrid but pretty in its own way! The locals are wonderful and as previously stated the restos and food are fantastic! Be sure to stop in at the Rose Inn in Rincon for some fabulous goat stew. The mix of carribean and dutch culture is very cool! Washington Park is worth a visit on the offgas day as well.

Have a great trip..I'm sure you will return.

Post a report..I'd be curious to see how you compare it to Coz?

Cheers,
Drew

 

[SCUBA WOLF]

Congrats on 31 years!!! My wife and I celebrated our 40th this year. Her wish was an anniversary trip to Italy. We had a fabulous time in Italy, hence no diving this year.

Bonaire is wonderful. If you like reef diving, you will love Bonaire. Diving is so easy! You will be spoiled.

One tip. While the restaurant, It Rains Fishes, for some reason, does not get much press on this board, it, in my opinion, is the best restaurant on the island. It is downtown. Try it. I think you will like it!!

Have a great trip!!!! Maybe next year for us.

 

[BonaireDan]

Congrats on your anniversary. As stated above - relax on the island. The freedom of shore diving is fantastic. No schedules compared to boats on Coz. Coz has its place for drift diving. Otherwise I think Bonaire is far superior. Took a buddy last year to BON for this first trip. He is a OCD on Cozumel diving and life. It seems he likes the boats, no effort to enter the water, and the night life is much more on Coz. For my taste BON is best. Shore diving on your own schedule is perfect. Most entries are really not a problem. Night life is good - always something going on until late into the evening, but not the zoo that COZ is.

Enjoy BON. I think you will find reasons to return.

 

[robint]

Bonaire diving is awesome and much better than Cozumel. We love being able to dive at any time, where we want, depth we want, length of time we want, not having to follow a DM or a group of other divers getting in our way. Most dive sites you won't even see another diver the whole time in the water.

If you haven't gotten the booklet "Bonaire shore diving made easy", get it now! Read about the sites, check out dive reports on here and on Bonaire Talk: Community Chat and mark in the booklet which sites you want to visit. It makes it easy to plan that way. Also, the descriptons of entries, which are easy and which are rougher, helps, too. We made our list ahead of time and got to do most of them. I would never just drive around the island and see a yellow marker and stop to dive there without knowing something about the dive site. Some people do it that way, but I never would.

robin

 

[darook]

SS, I would like to echo the congrats on your anniversary! My lovely wife and I will be returning to BON in Oct. just a few days after our 18th anniversary. Other than the fact that our girls look more like full grown women than "kids" I can't believe it isn't our 5th! Our first Bonaire experience was just a few weeks ago and obviously it was positive if we are returning just 4 months later. All of the advice you received above is sage. I would suggest bringing whatever you need from a pharmacy perspective with you. If you may need an decongestant (I know that is against the diving rules!) it would be nice to have in your toilet kit vs. hunting around for it. Also, whoever bottles beer there must wear magnifying glasses because when you get them they are really small, like 8 oz.

Every dive will be memorable so don't worry about the location as much as having a great attitude starting it. Definitely go slow while diving, there is lots of little stuff to see. While we did some deep diving, there is really not much reason to do so. You will see a ton of stuff within 60 feet of the surface.

I wish you a great trip and am confident you will have one. I am counting the days until my return!

 

[helimvee]

Congrats on the 31 years.

You will have a great time. Once you get there you will understand.

There is no need to bring a lot of cash with you as there are ATMs in town.

There are many good restaurants from takeout (take away) to fine dining. As mentioned above, Rains Fishes is very nice. Our favourite is Cactus Blue.

For diving follow the simple rules of leaving the truck unlocked with the windows open and do not not leaving anything in it while you are in the water. Unless you are diving the far northern sites you are only 10 - 15 minutes from your hotel.

Have a great trip

 

[darook]

Ditto on Cactus Blue. Ate there twice last trip and will visit shortly after our next arrival.