BigDaddyGlad
Contributor
At the risk of coming off like a Negative Nancy... do you know exactly what you're getting into here? While there are some operators who offer boat dives on Bonaire (mostly to Klein Bonaire and the northern sites not accessible by truck), Bonaire is known for it's shore diving done autonomously. That is, without a guide. You will need to be confident in your "basic" navigation skills to ensure a safe return to the entry/exit point. I know I wasn't comfortable with that prospect until I had been to Bonaire 4 or 5 times off a cruise ship and had guided dives at some of the iconic sites. And even then, I was 60+ dives in before I was confident I could "lead" a dive.
If you're comfortable with that as a newer diver, you should first off purchase Reef Smart Guide for Bonaire. This book is absolutely essential to help plan your dives. It has a complete guide to all the sites, often with routing photos and tips on entry & exit. After nearly 40 logged dives on Bonaire, I still won't go without a copy of the guide.
"Must do" sites will vary as everyone will have their own favourites, but the sites I hit up on every visit are:
- Salt Pier
- Hilma Hooker
- La Dania's Leap with swim to Karpata exit
- Oil Slick Leap
- Angel City
- Buddy Dive house reef (for a night dive)
If you're comfortable with that as a newer diver, you should first off purchase Reef Smart Guide for Bonaire. This book is absolutely essential to help plan your dives. It has a complete guide to all the sites, often with routing photos and tips on entry & exit. After nearly 40 logged dives on Bonaire, I still won't go without a copy of the guide.
"Must do" sites will vary as everyone will have their own favourites, but the sites I hit up on every visit are:
- Salt Pier
- Hilma Hooker
- La Dania's Leap with swim to Karpata exit
- Oil Slick Leap
- Angel City
- Buddy Dive house reef (for a night dive)
