New Diver's Bonaire Question

[blawler1]

While the diving may not quite match Bonaire, the nightlife and the above the water activities offer everything that a young single guy could want Plus like the other ABCs and unlike Cozumel, the water is safe to drink and unlike the other ABCs, Aruba uses the same voltage as US, so you can take your electronic toys with you without needing any converters.

There are a number of really good shore dives that you can do with a rental car, some of which are very close to Bonaire standards, just maybe 60' to 80' vis instead of 80' to 100' that prevails in Bonaire.

The island attracts a good mix of European and American visitors and boasts some of the best beaches in the ABCs. The casinos, nightclubs and bars are always lively. The hotels in winter are usually really expensive, especially on Palm Beach, but you can find apartments just off the water for very reasonable prices which have full kitchens so you can keep the frig full of cold Polars and Heineken. Also, the apartments are popular with the European students. My wife and I stayed at Aruba Blue Village on a layover to Bonaire in January 04 and the place was full of Dutch coeds.

 

[Jetwrench]

haha hey someone caught that! Actually, I'm in PA. After thinking about the "Vacation to do some diving" vs "dive vacation" I came up with something sort of like this:

When I go on a vacation to ski, I go fully expecting to make first tracks in the morning and not stop untill the night-skiing ends. Most people would consider this a "Ski-Vacation" and call it a night after a long day on the slopes. But for me, after a day of skiing I hit the shower and I hit the bar/club scene untill close, and I get up the next day to do it all over again. My body keeps up fine - in fact better than when I get too much sleep; The only reason I sleep is to build stamina for the next day. Other than that, it's really a giant waste of time for me. If I spend more than 5 or 6 hours a day in a bed or laying around on a vacation I'm wasting my time. Some have said save the partying for home. Personally, I would rather save the sleep for home.

I expect the same type of activity out of a good Scuba vacation, except that unfortunately you can't Scuba straight through the day... you need to take breaks.

Am I the only one that is disturbed with this response?

jquest1, you(IMO) are comparing apples and oranges if you want to treat a dive vacation as if it is a ski vacation. The physics of diving and your need to "go, go, go" might have disasterous consiquences for you. Consider the effects of fatigue, dehydration and alchohol consumption and how they relate to diving. They do not mix well! You may want to rethink what your intended goal is for this trip. If it is diving, then there are few better places to go than Bonaire. But for any "dive vacation" I don't think mixing it up with the night life to the level I percieve you intend is a smart idea to entertain. It contradicts any diver training that I know of. I suggest you pick one over the other. If it's the night life you really want, do a couple dives in Coz and enjoy! If you choose to follow your present course, you may be in for a very nasty lesson. FWIW

Jet

 

[CLEAR BLUE]

I am a beginner diver and just got back from Bonaire. After doing 3 dives a day i was exhausted. And I will say that there were alot of single people there diving. But diving was their priority. I think it would be pretty easy to meet people through the dive shops, on boat dives, and at the hotel bars. Bonaire was awesome. If you say you want to fall in love with SCUBA this is the place to go.

 

[jquest1]

hmm Aruba sounds nice from blawler's description, but I've also heard from a close friend that the island is too windy and they didn't have such a great time. My friend said it's one of the places she would not go again, so I'm somewhat turned off about it being a primary vacation destination, although the previous poster's recount does sound fitting for what I'm looking for.

It sounds like Curacao and/or Aruba would fit the bill more appropriately than Bonaire for what I want, and still offer some of the better diving found around the world. Is it possible to grab a boat ride to either of these places from Bonaire for a day or two? That's probably a stupid question, but they do look close enough than there may be a boat service running between them.

I definately do not want to end up on vacation anywhere I need to worry about the drinking water or foods... ever. I've heard some horror stories, and although I do want to come back with stories I don't want them to be bad haha. But that's just me.

Clear Blue and mow2000's account of Bonaire is encouraging. Clearblue says there was allot of singles, and if that's the case I bet in January there will be even more singles/december college grads for people my age to meet.

As far as the effects of fatigue, dehydration and alchohol consumption and how they relate to diving, let me worry about that. I can be an idiot and I love to have a fun time and live it up out on the town, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. Like I said, my body keeps up fine. But if for some reason it decides not to for a morning or a day, that doesn't mean I'm going to go ahead do something dangerous and end up hurting or killing myself. It's just not appealing

 

[Damselfish]

no, there's no boat service between them. They're not that close.

the tradewinds on all 3 islands are considered a "feature" by most people - keeps things cooler and the bugs away.

 

[Jetwrench]

As far as the effects of fatigue, dehydration and alchohol consumption and how they relate to diving, let me worry about that. I can be an idiot and I love to have a fun time and live it up out on the town, but that doesn't mean I'm stupid. Like I said, my body keeps up fine. But if for some reason it decides not to for a morning or a day, that doesn't mean I'm going to go ahead do something dangerous and end up hurting or killing myself. It's just not appealing

My impression is we will never dive together. Dive Safe!

 

[jquest1]

My impression is we will never dive together. Dive Safe!

Well, I'ld never really dive with someone who I met randomly over the internet myself, either. Then again, a dive buddy is nowhere near what I was looking for. The intent of this thread was, and still is to find out if the vacation trip to Bonaire will be worthwhile to me and my lifestyle, and if not - where would be a good destination with comparable diving that is similarly priced and does offer more of what I'm looking for.

Some of the previous posters have been extremely helpful, and thanks to them it sounds like Bonaire will be a good trip, but will definately not offer the fun and excitement outside of diving that I'm looking for in a vacation. Perhaps Aruba, or Curacao is a better destination for me.

At the same time, an opportunity may have just presented itself for me to go to Looe Key Santuary (and camp in Sugarloaf Key) in Florida around New Year's. I created a different post about this in the US Forums, but it hasn't generated any replies. This sounds almost the exact opposite of Bonaire from what I've been reading so far. In Florida and on Duval Street I know there will be plenty of nightlife - but what about the diving? Is it any good, and how about for a first timer? While I want a good nightlife and the price is about a grand or more less than Bonaire and I won't have to worry about a passport, I don't want to go on a vacation to dive and find out that the diving is mediocre.

 

[mow2000]

During my first trip to Bonaire I took the "dive freedom" slogan to the limit and did a lot of solo diving - both day and night. The most extreme thing I did was a solo night deep decompression dive. Obviously if you've been around divers long enough you know that this is no way to win a popularity contest. In fact I got a lot of, I thought, unfair criticism from some of my diving friends - to the point that they were afraid to dive with me (and vocal about it). But when we did go on a trip they found that i was competent and a very attentive and safety-conscious buddy. In fact, I was diving a quarry with one of these vocal critics when she paniced in the semi-darkness at 60ft and over-inflated her bc to ascend. I dumped the air from mine (luckily I always dove over-weighted) and grabbed on to her to slow her ascent.

There are divers that don't know their limits and exceed them, divers that know their limits and stay within them, divers that know their limits but push the envelope and risk their lives, etc. All kinds of divers. I try not to judge.

 

[WarmWaterDiver]

Most of the 20-somethings we met on Curacao were taking a whole year off to bum around there after finishing university studies. Finding someone to split up a place to live, get a job waiting tables or bartending, etc. to pay the bills while on-island. Curacao's economy will evidently support quite a bit of this.

I think the ABC islands may be close enough for a ferry service, but none run there. The ferry between St. Maarten and Statia at the other end of the Dutch Caribbean we understand offers free beer - and always has plenty on hand due to the typical rolling waves. The day trip we took to Klein Curacao on the Mermaid made me thankful the boat was plenty big in the swells.

 

[blawler1]

A few years ago there was a ferry that offered round trips twice daily between Bonaire and Curacao, but I heard it was repossessed. It was a rocky two hour trip and sea sickness bags and dramamine were provided freely, but the beer was about 2 bucks a throw.

There are usually airlines offering island hops, but as they go out of business so often, I can't guarantee that they are still running. Usually its easier, cheaper and quicker to get to Curacao than Aruba. The down side is that you have to limit your dives prior to the flight.

I have met individuals on Bonaire who will charter their boats over to Curacao and back, but this is the expensive route and based upon my experience on the ferry, not for the faint of heart.

Despite popular belief, there is nightlife on Bonaire. Karel's and City Cafe both offer live entertainment and dancing for 20 somethings. The bonus at Karel's is the when the big KLM DC-10s arrive from Holland, the flight crews often go there to party. A dozen young, tall and blonde flight attendents always adds to the ambiance.