Honeymooners in Bonaire

[thakroz]

My wife and I are travelling to Bonaire for our first time as the second leg of our honeymoon (first is a week in Aruba; not sure if we are diving there yet). I am a PADI MSDT and my wife will have her AOW by the time we arrive (which is 8/3/13). We are staying for a week at the Divi Flamingo and will be renting a car/pickup, and we plan to drive to various dive sites for our shore diving excursions.

I am looking for some recommendations for a) what shore dive sites should we visit that will be awesome this time of year, and b) are there any good hole-in-the-wall restaurants that we should visit? We are kind of travelling on a shoestring and don't want to spend extravagantly. We have lunches included with our hotel package, but would like to explore at night. Everytime we go to Mexico we always hit up the taco stands and food carts on the street, and each time these are our favorite joints.

Also, I'm a bit apprehensive about driving on the island. Is there anything I should worry about while navigating to/from the hotel?

Also, any other recommendations are appreciated.

 

[drrich2]

Whether you dive it or not, make time to take some photos on the stair case at 1,000 Steps. Scenic. Plan to hit Washington-Slagbaai Park up in the day and get photos while the lighting is good; also scenic.

Karpata (north) and Sweet Dreams (south) have lush reef. Oil Slick Leap has a nifty giant stride entry & tends to be a nice dive. Hilma Hooker is the fairly big wreck and one of the 'big name' sites on the island. As you head for Karpata, you will pass a little green sign that says Karpata, which is some sort of region or community, but when you see the little green sign, you still haven't reached the dive site.

Sites I like & would prefer to hit, roughly north to south, are Karpata, Tolo, 1,000 Steps, Oil Slick Leap, Andrea I & II, The Cliff (shallow wall diving), Invisibles (fairly long swim out), Windsock (I like for night dives, since we can enter & exit by that big wooden pier), Hilma Hooker (has a double reef system), Alice in Wonderland, Sweet Dreams. Buddy Dive has a nice house reef you can head north or south on; and of course, Bari Reef (which I don't think I've done) is famous.

There are others, but those are some that I associate with pretty consistently good diving.

Richard.

P.S.: I've only done 1 east side shore dive; supposedly Cai (at least, that's what we called ourselves doing). They aren't kidding that it's some 'challenging' diving. Easy to blow through air on that dive.

 

[uncfnp]

Congratulations on your upcoming honeymoon!

Don't bother diving Aruba. Do the beach, nightlife, sunset cruises, ATV and other land based activities there. Save your diving for Bonaire.

Here are some great past threads that I think will answer a lot of your questions

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/abc-islands/443482-general-questions-first-timer-bonaire.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/ab...e-shore-dive-site-would-insert-drum-roll.html

 

[T.C.]

I am looking for some recommendations for a) what shore dive sites should we visit that will be awesome this time of year

All of them. Next Question?

Seriously, I doubt you'll find any sites that make you think "I wish I had dove somewhere else". I've found that that most sites are called "best" based on the sealife there, so any site can be best. But my favorites were Karpata (for the entry and the anchors), 1,000 Steps, Oil Slick Leap, Hilma Hooker (only wreck there on the island for recreational divers). The southern sites are cool for the double reef system, and Klein is cool because it gets less pressure. But I think you'll love them all.

b) are there any good hole-in-the-wall restaurants that we should visit? We are kind of travelling on a shoestring and don't want to spend extravagantly.

Many of the restaurants aren't cheap... the best meal we had was at It Rains Fishes, but that was spendy. I don't know how the rooms at Divi Flamingo are, but Buddy Dive had kitchens- you may be able to cook in your room. Maybe there are some good places in Rincon?

Also, I'm a bit apprehensive about driving on the island. Is there anything I should worry about while navigating to/from the hotel?

Can you drive a manual transmission? Other than that, shouldn't be a problem. The roads are mostly well marked, paved and not very busy. Driving is on the right, like the US. The locals are slower drivers and obey the laws of common sense and Bonaire.

Also, any other recommendations are appreciated.

Bring hard-soled dive shoes for walking on the rocks. Bring your own batteries for anything you'll need replacements for.

And Congratulations; enjoy your honeymoon.

 

[boat sju]

The locals are slower drivers and obey the laws of common sense

That part might be debatable.

Try to get up to the Nukove sites. Take a tire inflater with you.

Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

 

[Lorenzoid]

I honeymooned on Bonaire. It was my first time in Bonaire (and have been back twice since then). We stayed at Buddy Dive and had a great time.

You're spoiled for choice when it comes to dive sites. Some sites are slightly better than others, but as I've said here before, the most easily reachable sites have much more in common than they have different from each other. They're all good. I can't think of a single site that I thought was a waste of time when I could have been diving a different one. You could randomly pick one off the map and be just fine. Or, it can't hurt to ask at the dive shop what sites the day's conditions might favor.

As for hole-in-the-wall restaurants (calling them "restaurants" is generous), my wife and I seek those out, too, just as we seek out the taco stands in Mexico. Maiky Snack is the only one I can think of by name--Google it for the location. There are many of these little lunch places where you can get goat stew or whatever and eat like a poor local. We like to have lunch at these places. I'm not sure many are even open for dinner or that I could find them in the dark, since they're not located in the center of town. You have to hunt for these places, and they're scattered about. After that first trip, we've been renting a condo and cooking dinners for ourselves.

 

[loveIIdive]

Go to the Yellow Submarine Dive Shop, park there, you can get a locker there to store your keys. And walk across the street and in the water. Don't keep anything valuable in the vehicle. For a great fresh water rinse, fill empty 2L plastic bottles with fresh water. Leave them in the bed of the truck. When you get back from your dive, you have a warm shower with fresh water waiting for you. Drive over to the side of the island where the wind surfers are. There's a nice beach bar there with the best beer on tap. Bonaire is nice, food is pricey but very good. There is a great place in town serving ribs. Just ask around. You can walk to restaurants from Divi. All the diving is great. Some dive sites are difficult to walk to. Some are easy. Watch for current. Have a great time! And Aruba has great diving too. Manta rays swam with us while we were diving there. Great wrecks too.

 

[KeithG]

Driving tips: no real worries, the island is too small to get seriously lost. If lost, keep going straight ahead until you see water, then turn left or right. You will eventually reach the divi. There is a section of 1 way road up the west coast that you want to be aware of if you are doing those shore dives. Check google maps and you can see all of the roads.

I believe all divi rooms have at least a fridge and coffee maker. Some have full kitchens (the northmost timeshare units). The sunshine market is 1 block away, several full grocery stores nearby since you have a vehicle. consider dumping the lunch plan if possible, food at the divi is just barely okay. We only do breakfast there and cobble together a quick lunch bite in our room.

There are lots of lunch places to explore. Hagen who used to run cactus blue has a lunch food truck just south of town. Many of the local hole in the wall spots are not open for supper, so lunch time may be a better bet for exploring.

And you are basically in town so you can walk to many restaurants for supper. Krinkyjick has a wide range of places to eat covering all price points. If you want to do 1 special evening then I suggest At Sea which is a block away from divi. It is high end, but fabulous.

 

[T.C.]

That part might be debatable.

Well maybe. I've spent three years watching Iraqis and Afghans "drive". If the residents of Bonaire can at least stay on the correct side of the road, I'm happy.

Oh, and to the OP: here's a great website to get you drooling before you go. You can find a free copy of this in the airport or probably from your resort.
Bonaire Dive Guide | diving | bonaire | guide | shore | shorediving | boat | boatdiving | fishes | fish | coral

 

[KeithG]

I forgot: Klein Bonaire dives will require a boat. Divi does 2 tank morning boat dives (I think they are restricted to only 40 minutes each) and a single tank 60 minute afternoon dive. Divi has tanks and gear lockers available 24 hours a day, but sometimes runs short of nitrox tanks after hours.

You will pay a park fee, attend an orientation session and do a checkout dive from the dock on your first day. This is normally done just after the morning boats leave.
no gloves, no hunting, and no swimming north from the divi if a cruise ship is docked.