New diver to Bonaire looking for advise

[joel.boswell]

First off I was in Belize in feb 2012 and was bitten by the scuba bug. I have set up a trip to Bonaire with a buddy for next month. I have read many and many and many of the posts on here about Bonaire. I have booked a dive/drive package through The Divehut and Wannadive. I am also signed up for an enriched air course for my 1st morning there. From reading other threads I am planning on one boat trip to Klein Bonaire. Any advice on some eaiser sites to try out first? Also any advice on something I must bring with me such as o-rings that I may not be aware of being a new diver? Anything that is an absolute must see/do or must avoid? Just looking for people who have been two cents and help. All opinions welcome.
Thanks

 

[darook]

You probably saw it mentioned but don't leave anything in your vehicle ever. It is a good idea to throw an extra tank in the truck so if you have short fill or bad O ring you can just swap the tank. As far as easy entry you have that at most of the southern sites. 1000 Steps is actually are a really easy entry, you just have the 60-70 steps to deal with which is not a biggie. My favorite sites are down around the Salt Pier but there are no bad ones. It is worth picking up some dive lights if you plan to do some night dives (and you should). Definitely want open heel fins so you can wear booties for the entrances. Bonaire is the only place I use besides cold water diving but they are critical. You don't want to do the entrances bare foot.

 

[herbdb]

Alice in Wonderland, Windsock and Invisibles are very easy entry. Get a guide to the dive sites. You can also get a good idea from this site. Bonaire / Dive Sites

Difficulty on Bonaire for most sites is really about the entry. You can select your depth and going deeper is not always better.

 

[diversteve]

Alice in Wonderland, Windsock and Invisibles are very easy entry.

Agreed. Angel City - although it's in the same area isn't - there's holes in the reef just offshore - easy to twist an ankle.

North of town - Front Porch at Eden Beach - the other Wannadive location is another easy entry either off the beach or EB's dock. We got in pretty easy at Witches Hut as well.

You can also dive the resorts initially, most are free as long as you check in at the diveshop. A few require you to be a customer so rent a tank - saves lugging them from the parking lot anyway. You can access both the Cliff dive site and LaMachaca (small) wreck from Habitat's dock - cost us $5 but includes use of the lockers/showers etc.

Rent a tank from Bonaire Dive/Adventure and dive Bari Reef - between Den Laman and Sand Dollar condos - it's an easy dock entry and one of the best - not so much for the reef structure but because it has the most counted species of fish in the Caribbean. BD&A has a naturalist on-site and they used to (maybe still) do official REEF fishcounts there - you can participate in one if interested.

The reef generally parallels the shore so navigation is usually simple. At most sites you'll see the mooring ball or rope a long way away when returning - the water is that clear. Entries over the ironshore are tricky so use your buddy for support. Bring treaded boots as it's also slippery when just off-shore. And there's coral rubble in the surf line often. Many of the sites will have small piles of coral rubble indicating a good entry point. At others look for sand channel breaks going out to deeper water in the ironshore.

South of town we often used the truck to mark the entry point - you can pull up to within 20' or so of the water at many of them. Makes it easier to spot the break in the ironshore when you're at water level. The north is hillier and parking lots are generally removed from the water - and from view - hence the leave nothing in the truck warning.

Anything south of White Slave (except Margate Bay) is considered an Advanced dive - mostly due to currents. So is just about everything in Slagbaai Park - which is also a slow, rough drive to get to. Some of this is older info but site descriptions/pictures of the entries for many sites can be found here: Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

Except for the resorts there are no facilities at any of the dive sites so bring water etc. with you. But nothing you want to lose as you'll be told to leave the windows down/doors open on the vehicle.

Donna/Giorgio's is a reasonably priced place in town to eat. City Cafe is also. Service is really slow and you're welcome to stay as long as you want - in fact you'll probably have to ask for the check more than once. Bobbe-Jan's takeout downtown is another reasonable option on days they're open.

 

[joel.boswell]

Thanks for the info. I just finished up my cert here in Texas so I have hard soled booties with open fins. It was in 60 degree 5' visibility of Lake Travis. Really looking foward to warm clear water. Booties and leaving vehicles open seems to be a common thing.

 

[Skookumchuck]

I brought a collapsible insulated lunch bag to keep fruit and sandwich cool for between dives and a solar shower to rinse off the salt.

 

[jghflash]

A lot of the entries depend on the water condition when you are here. If you have two foot rollers coming in a sandy beach can be a challenge. if it's pretty flat like today, you can walk in anywhere with little difficulty. Hard soled booties and a little common sense.......you'll be fine! Get a narrow beam flash light for during the day. There is an amazing amount of little stuff hiding in crevices and underneath the overhangs that you will miss without a light. You will quickly learn to read the entries on Bonaire. If it doesn't look right, pick a different spot. Virtually all the dives are good and it's never worth getting injured. Good luck!

 

[drrich2]

There are so many dive sites, picking can be hard. I'll lay out what I consider 'signature' sites, that would be good to hit and reasonable in one trip.

1.) Karpata - fairly easy entry/exit, more lush reef than some other sites, one of the favorites of a number of folks.

2.) Ol' Blue/Tolo - fairly easy entry/exit, & a nice reef.

3.) 1,000 Steps - the stair case is scenic, the dive entry/exit easy, and the reef is good. That said, my legs burn coming up those steps.

4.) Oil Slick Leap - maybe a 6 foot or so (guessing) giant stride in, exit by ladder, good reef, and I've seen a number of neat things there. The giant stride entry is one of those 'things to have done' on Bonaire.

5.) Andrea I or II - Andrea II's viz. was worse when I was there in December. The Andreas have pretty good entry/exit access.

6.) The Cliff - basically a fairly shallow roughly vertical wall dive, distinctive for Bonaire's west coast. Figuring out where the entry is from the main road can be hard, though; it's a bit north of Buddy Dive & Captain Don's. Some one else can give a better explanation.

7.) Windsock (not Windsock Resort, although it's good, too, and WannaDive services it so maybe you could use it - ladder entry & exit, pretty nice) - entry & exit are amongst the easiest, and there's a big wooden pier that's useful as a guide for entering & exiting in the same place (this is one of my favorite Bonaire night dives for that reason).

8.) Hilma Hooker - definitely one of the most famous sites. Figure on getting around 80 - 90 feet deep swinging around the wreck, with a few tarpon hanging out on the far side of it.

Those 8 are the ones I'd especially aim to hit if I were new. There are other popular sites; Alice in Wonderland, Angel City, The Invisibles, etc... Aquarius had a nice entry & exit, if you could navigate back to the rather narrow clear channel. If your sea sick wife insists on exiting NOW and taking you with her, you can be crawling over rough rocks to get out...

Speaking of diving a site, here's an option for you. It's common to enter the site, we'll say Oil Slick Leap, notice which way the (usually subtle) current is flowing and swim into it (or just pick a direction, north or south), swim along parallel to the reef/shore, hit a time or PSI you're comfortable with, then turn & come back (perhaps shallower, to off-gas & make your air last longer). You could make each site a 2-tanker; head north on your first dive, south on your second.

Richard.

 

[boat sju]

Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands

 

[herman]

Since everyone is giving you great advise and spots, thought I would give you a warning, it may save you from having to clean your wetsuit out. If you do a night dive, it is very common for you to be joined, sometimes very closely and silently by 1 or more 6 to 8 ft tarpon. They are harmless and use your light to hunt but if you are not expecting them, having a 8 ft fish pass you from behind at arms length can cause wetsuit soiling. We once had a pair of unsuspecting night divers almost walk on water when a large tarpon swam between them at a fairly high rate to get to a fish....we thought it was uber funny, they on the other hand had to clean out their wet suits. I love to see them and I suspect you will too, just be aware that on a night dive, the odds are very good you will get buzzed by them.

Your first dive will likely be at the Wannadives Eden beach site. This is a very easy site but my least favorite for underwater beauty. The next site I would recommend is Windsock (not the resort although you can dive there as well). Likely the easiest site on the island and a great place to start. IF it happens to rain, do not sit under the trees. The rain washes off a irritant similar to poision oak that causes a rash. Normally it's not a probem as it rarely rains but something to be aware of. If it's not raining, the trees are fine to sit under.