So I am trying to talk my home bud into Bonaire this summer...

[Mossman]

I don't get it. We go somewhere to dive. Why would it matter if I fumble my way around in a beat up truck or take a boat to the same dive site. Yes, I know they don't necessarily go to all the dive sites but they do get to many good ones including of course the island that shore divers can't access.

Boats are on a schedule. Schedules negate the idea of "dive freedom". You have to sign up, be there at a certain time, be back on the boat at a certain time, and go where they go. My typical schedule is wake up when we both feel like getting up, make a quick breakfast or get a bite out, get our tanks, and do a couple dives at our own pace wherever we feel like going at the moment. Have lunch when we feel like it, then head out for a couple more dives (oh yeah, and boat diving will only give you 3/day), and I usually squeeze in one more solo shallow dive off the hotel or condo dock to practice the kind of photography that would otherwise bore my buddy senseless, while she takes her time showering and getting ready for happy hour, dinner, whatever. Then we repeat the next day, ad libbing wherever we feel like it. Sure, it's still a loose schedule, but at least it's "our" schedule.

There are many places I'd rather go than Bonaire but Bonaire is a great DIVE location that just happens to have shore diving. If I just wanted shore diving, I'd visit my local lakes.

If your local lakes have the same marine diversity and coral-crusted wall diving that Bonaire offers, I'd like to visit them too.

 

[ncchuck]

I guess it's just one more reason to visit Bonaire versus many other places. You can shore dive or boat dive. The vast majority of locations don't have that. Both have pluses and minues and YOU get to choose just as Mr. Mossman suggests. My real point was just go, regardless of your choice of diving methods. Try both and then go back again and do more of the one you like best.
No my local lakes aren't too great but they are close and very very very cheap.

 

[Mossman]

To clarify, we're okay sharing a room with two beds even tho the two private rooms in Coz was appealing, and for a Bonaire trip it'd likely just be the two of us, truck & all shore diving to try that approach.

Den Laman's truck/shore dive package for a beautiful fully air-conditioned 2BR/2BA condo is only $1094/pp. For an extra $105/pp they'll throw in 6 boat dives. The only caveat: breakfast not included. But the kitchen is very nice, complete with dishwasher (and icemaker in the fridge!) and it's not that hard to scramble a few eggs. If you don't want to cook, you can walk over to the restaurant at Sand Dollar next door for their buffet and they'll probably give you a discount if you eat there every day.

Don't you fly to Cozumel enough to have earned sufficient air miles to "comp" the airfare to Bonaire?

 

[jd950]

Waterskier: Curacao.

Damselfish: Thanks for the info. I, too like Curacao, and am looking forward to going to Grand Cayman within the next year.

ncchuck: It doesn't matter to me whether you prefer boat or shore diving. I think everyone should do what they like. If someone wants to go to Cozumel exclusively to shore dive, that's fine with me, too. I would say they are missing the best the place has to offer, but so what? At least on Bonaire I don't think you miss anything (much) by doing only boat dives.

But, I like diving my own schedule, my own profile and in small groups, often just me and my buddy. With shore diving, I can spend 15 minutes on a single coral head if I want to. I can dive at 11:30 at night or 5:00 AM if I want to. I can spend the whole dive at 20 ft or 80 ft if I want to, etc. To me, that opportunity is a huge draw of Curacao and Bonaire. And no, I have no interest in diving in a local lake. Clearly some dive locations are best done by boat even on on Bonaire and Curacao. I don't mean no one should get on a boat there.

So, for that reason I go to Bonaire and Curacao. But boat diving there is fine too. If you like going to Bonaire to boat dive then you should do that. It's just that if I was going to go on a dive trip with the expectation of doing all or mostly boat diving, I would go other places that I haven't been to and/or can only best be experienced by boat, like maybe Dominica, Saba, St. Vincent, etc. Or I would go someplace like Cozumel, that is closer than Bonaire and easier to get to. Maybe you have already been to those places and don't like them as much, or more likely, you just hate shore diving. Cool....dive from boats.

I know that may fire up some of the all-Bonaire-all-the-time folks, but that's okay, too.

 

[Mossman]

So, for that reason I go to Bonaire and Curacao. But boat diving there is fine too. If you like going to Bonaire to boat dive then you should do that. It's just that if I was going to go on a dive trip with the expectation of doing all or mostly boat diving, I would go other places that I haven't been to and/or can only best be experienced by boat, like maybe Dominica, Saba, St. Vincent, etc. Or I would go someplace like Cozumel, that is closer than Bonaire and easier to get to. Maybe you have already been to those places and don't like them as much, or more likely, you just hate shore diving. Cool....dive from boats.

I know that may fire up some of the all-Bonaire-all-the-time folks, but that's okay, too.

I can think of two advantages to boat diving in Bonaire: it's really cheap (with packages can run under $20/tank and with free nitrox - you can find cheaper in Roatan perhaps, but not in Cozumel or more other spots in the Caribbean), and there are three scheduled boat dives per day at most operations (whereas afternoon dives in other locales may be scarcer or the dives rather limited).

Best of all, you can schedule from day to day whether you'd like to boat dive or shore dive or both, since the boat dive schedules are flexible - you can sign up for your 6 shore dives on the typical package to go when you feel like it, i.e. shore dive two dives in the morning, then do an afternoon boat dive, or use up two of your boat dives in the morning and do shore diving in the afternoon. "Shore" diving can also encompass diving directly from the hotel's dock if one is staying at a waterfront hotel/condo, usually excellent dives in their own right, and there's nothing easier than that!

 

[ncchuck]

So, for that reason I go to Bonaire and Curacao. But boat diving there is fine too. If you like going to Bonaire to boat dive then you should do that. It's just that if I was going to go on a dive trip with the expectation of doing all or mostly boat diving, I would go other places that I haven't been to and/or can only best be experienced by boat, like maybe Dominica, Saba, St. Vincent, etc. Or I would go someplace like Cozumel, that is closer than Bonaire and easier to get to. Maybe you have already been to those places and don't like them as much, or more likely, you just hate shore diving. Cool....dive from boats.

I know that may fire up some of the all-Bonaire-all-the-time folks, but that's okay, too.

In general I actually agree except that if I had never been to Bonaire and I wanted to dive Bonaire I'd dive Bonaire. I wouldn't choose another location just because I was boat diving. I haven't been to Dominica, Saba or St Vincent but if I wanted to go, I'd go even if they only had shore diving. Just as you suggest, a lot of divers won't like the thought that there are places that may be better then Bonaire. Roatan has some terrific shore diving and boat diving.
It's not the access to diving sites that drives me. It's the location, people, sights, dive sites, critters, walls, coral etc. That in itself is crazy talk to those that only go on vacation to DIVE, DIVE, DIVE. I don't think I've ever chosen one location over another because of the type of access to the diving. I really want to dive Dominica one day because it has so much more to offer than just the diving for instance. I'd go there even if they only had shore diving. Indonesia had the best diving I've ever done but the people and sights were also one of the best things I've ever experienced.
I don't hate shore diving but I'll admit I like boat diving a whole lot better.
I can't argue with the freedom logic. Nothing beats shore diving in that respect. 3 boat dives and a house dive or two always seem to work for me.

 

[Mossman]

Another benefit to boat diving on Bonaire versus shore diving is for those of us with heavy camera systems that probably wouldn't appreciate being smashed on the ironshore in case of an inadvertent fall. I usually shore dive with my hands free, sans camera, mainly so I can assist my less-surefooted buddy (is that a politically-correct way of saying "accident prone"?) and only take out the camera on boats or "shore diving" off the hotel dock where I can at least steady myself with a hand on the railing.

 

[jd950]

Well, I have to admit that I probably provide a lot of entertainment to people watching as I wade in and out with the camera and strobes, trying not to topple over, especially if there is much wave action. At least Curacao has some easier entries. It is nice to roll in from a boat and then have someone hand down the camera.

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

coldwaterlloyd brings up what can be an annoying problem. Depending on the time of year you go, the mosquitoes can be bad...and I mean really bad. In Dec. 2007, we got eaten alive. It was so bad I had to leave my wetsuit on after night dives when breaking down my gear at the truck. We were getting bitten as we kicked out on the surface during dusk dives. Rinsing dive gear at the end of the day was painful. Daytime wasn't too bad, though. Bring your favorite mosquito repellent and apply it liberally especially in the evenings. One time of the day that they can be especially bad is in the early evenings. Wear pants and shoes to dinner. If you don't, your ankles/feet will suffer under the table.

That's a really good point that cannot be stressed enough!

We take 100% Deet (available at WallyWorld camping area) and it saved our skins... literally. The Deet did allow us to get away with shorts and flip-flops for dinner. We left the doors open too long one evening and had to spray the place down

 

[BHB ScubaTroll]

I guess it's just one more reason to visit Bonaire versus many other places. You can shore dive or boat dive. The vast majority of locations don't have that. Both have pluses and minues and YOU get to choose just as Mr. Mossman suggests. My real point was just go, regardless of your choice of diving methods. Try both and then go back again and do more of the one you like best.
No my local lakes aren't too great but they are close and very very very cheap.

I agree with trying both dive methods...

The underwater geology from north to south is amazing when you get down to it... One side formed by volcano and one side formed by coral... and everything that happens in between... Wow!

Top Side: Pictures of cactus with the ocean in the background, charred volcanic rock with cactus in the foreground... It is very much a geographic anomaly... one side of the island that encourages wind surfing and para-sailing races while the other side encourages lazy dives with ancient anchors from sailors past....

Then, over to Klein... and a new geography...