Off-the-beaten-path dive sites of Bonaire

[npgeorge]

Hey all,

So, my wife and I are going back to Bonaire again since our trip there last December. Obviously there are no shortage of dives and we had a blast doing some of the more remote dives (North shore, far south shore, etc.)

We generally used BSDME as our guide but were surprised to not be able to find a mooring buoy for La Dania's (Which made finding the leap near impossible) There was crazy surf then so maybe the mooring buoy was submerged? Anyways, we'd definately like to hit that one if anyone has suggestions on how to find it.

The other main reason for me posting was that I've heard some mention of a few unmarked dive sites between red and white slave with names for each, as well as an unmarked near-wild-side dive past the Lighthouse. But does anyone have any fun dive sites they know of that aren't clasically marked but defiantely findeable?

-Not trying to get anyone to give up *cough* their "secret" dive sites, but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

My wife and I are have ~100-150 dives most of which are shore dives in the cold waters here and the rest in Bonaire, etc.--Generally things like current, etc. don't scare us.

Cheers,

nick

 

[DiverVince]

NP George..there is no mooring buoy at La Dania's. And as you realize many of the dive sites on Bonaire are not officially marked. Many folks do the La Dania to Karpata drift dive. There used to be a "ying-yang" symbol painted on the road (wasn't up there last trip) and also a rock pile on the side of the road to identify the path down to the actual leap. Also Taylor maid & Candyland up north would be worth the excursion.
Down south we have many favorites, one of mine is "The Rock", I believe it was right after "invisibles"..

My advice would be to contact Bas Tol who could personally show you some of the out of the way sites. Bas also specializes with the east coast shore dives.
You can contact Bas Tol via his e mail at loonybin@bonairelive.com. You’ll be glad you did!

 

[TheWizard]

The green/yellow yin/yang symbols were indeed in the middle of the road last November.
I pulled over, parked, and walked down the path to the water to scout out the location.
I didn't seem to see an obvious leaping entry point, so I moved on to more conventional dive sites...

 

[vann evans]

We were there about 2 weeks ago and did this drift dive for the 4th time.--La Dania's does have a yellow and green yin/yang circle painted on the road. It occurs after you go through stone pillars that say"Karpata" (not at the dive site named Karpata).Go down the path and move north for the entry point. there is a small ledge that is about 3' above the water with deep water below-easy giant stride. actually, it is low enough that my wife handed her camera down to me as I stretched up to get it. There is a mooring buoy there also. We have done this drift almost every time we are in Bonaire-we take all of our gear down to the edge of the water and then I drive to Karpata and park there. I walk back to La Dania's in about 8 minutes.

It is easy to tell when you get to Karpata-sand channels are evident , but most importantly are the anchors and research metal tiles at 35 feet depth. Once you see these landmarks, the exit point is about 5 minutes north-it is marked by 4 large concrete blocks(3'x3') in a row from the deep toward shore and a single large staghorn coral.

Most of the time we use this a a 2 tank trip. We do the drift dive and then use our surface interval at karpata to eat lunch and rest. Then we do our second dive at Karpata and go North.
Generally to enter at Karpata, it is easiest to sit at the end of the concrete pier, put on your mask and fins and then belly flop forward as a wave comes in. We exit on the north side of the pier. Watch out if waves are breaking over the pier-it can wash away your gear and make the exit problematic.

Hope this helps.

Vann Evans
A4 Sand Dollar

Hope this helps.

 

[TheWizard]

OK then, dammit, I'm going here again on day 2 of my next Bonaire trip.
And I'm gunna get WET this time...

Now...I need to figger out when my next Bonaire trip is...

 

[DiverVince]

Thanks Vann.. I wasn't aware they had a mooring buoy there, although truth be told I don't usually get up north that much. Enjoyed briefly meeting/chatting with you and your wife (the excellent photographer which she is) at SS and on the way back said to Nina,"should have asked them over for a drink". Perhaps next time!

 

[RJP]

But does anyone have any fun dive sites they know of that aren't clasically marked but definitely findable?

Not trying to get anyone to give up *cough* their "secret" dive sites, but was just wondering if anyone had any ideas.

Do Rappel as a shore dive, because that's how - and why - the NJ guy that named it "Rappel" did it...

Rappel Story

:cool2:

 

[Drewpy]

Taylor Maid!!! Go up north past Karpata,dont turn right but head out towards BOPEK-there is a dirt road that goes up and over and back down to the water.Look for a bush that the road circles.If its your first time it might help to first snorkel out quickly and find a break in the barrier reef.
Trust me its worth it!!

Have a great trip!!

 

[Maine Diver]

I second Taylor Maid. We did it with Bas from VIP diving and it was great. If you are looking for a guide, Bas is great. We did a 3 dive guided tour with him. We also did his UV night dive that was really cool. Not to be missed.

 

[npgeorge]

Cool, thanks for the suggestions, all!
-Yeah, I'm pretty certain my wife and I walked down that same path but it wasn't painfully obviously where to "leap" from. (similar to the previous poster) Guess we'll have to take a better look when we're there next week. Last december the currents were all messed up in that area, anybody ever have to fight the current back to Karpata?

-I'll be e-mailing Bas shortly.

Thanks again!