taxi rate between "town" and plaza resort?

[del_mo]

Having not be to Curacao, I don't know what their shore entries there are like, but I can tell you than in Bonaire they can be difficult. It's seldom rig your kit and just walk it. Ask about sites with easy entries if age/conditioning is an issue. Oil Slick Leap has to be the easiest, though! Just keep your knees together for that one!

 

[spectrum]

Geez, spirited opinions on shore diving huh folks Been all over, most recently sunset waters Curacao this past May where we did the morning boat dives and afternoon shores at the house reef.
That worked for us so I suspect it will be fine this time around as well. I know, I know, we'll be missing out on a bunch of great sites, but any way you look at it, its better than the quarry up here Really appreciate all the suggestions! We'll get the wheels and who knows, maybe take a ride to other sites...

Sounds like a plan! Have a great time, you can't go wrong.

 

[mbs]

Thanks again folks, especially for the moral support... I turned 50 this year and can be a little melodramatic about the aging thing In Curacao we only did the shore dive at Sunset Waters so I can't comment on the ease of access elsewhere. It was walk into the water easy there! I seem to recall the sites we saw from the boat looked like very easy beach access as well.
Mike

 

[redacted]

Even sites that look fairly easy in Bonaire can be a bit deceptive. The rock and sand pockets of iron shore just below the water line to about waist deep are no a stroll in the park when combined with just a little wave action. At 62, I only went on my a$$ once, during an exit) in about a dozen such dives.

 

[RJP]

You are crazy NOT to rent a car with all the sites and great restaurants in town and all over the island, not to mention going up to the park. Absolutely spring for the rental!

Now Dave, you forgot to mention that if you DO go up to the park be sure to bring at least 3 tanks per person, because the ride to/through the park precludes zipping back to your hotel for more.

If we were going to do the park again I'd probably pack lunch, bring FOUR tanks each, and make a whole day of it. (OK, so it would be 2/3rds of a day at the rate we were diving, but you get the idea.)

 

[diversteve]

Curacao is different than Bonaire. You don't have the beach areas like at Sunset Waters and other divesites on Curacao, on Bonaire the reef is a lot closer to shore. So there's typically coral rubble in the surf and ironshore both onshore and just offshore. Go to shorediving.com for pictures of what to expect. The brown stuff just offshore - that's the ironshore...

I've done the Sunset Waters dive and it's easier than most entries you'll find on Bonaire. As awap posted, there is Ironshore just offshore at a lot of Bonaire sites that you have to negotiate over. And it's sharp and slippery. I went down at Angel City and have a permanent 1x4" scar on my shin to prove it. But after doing that, we were able to find easy entries at most of the 15 or so divesites we did - Karpata being the exception. And I skipped 1000 Steps, more for the walk back up with gear than the entry.

Having said that, if you're careful it's not a problem. Pick your entry points, a lot of the sites on the ironshore have small sandy coves that make entry/exit easy - as long as you can find the entry point swimming in. Most aren't visible until you walk along the water so stop and look don't just drive by. A good example is Vista Blue, it's mostly ironshore except for a couple of sandy openings. You can see it in the picture on Shorediving.com (site 21) . Simple entry/exit from there. But it's an Advanced dive, currents can be ripping there in the afternoon.

Along the south sites, park your truck in front of your entrance point for reference, it'll be the tallest thing at some of them. At eye-level in the ocean it's harder to spot a break in the ironshore than you might think.

Another option is to dive the resorts. Capt. Don's is on both the Cliff and LaMachaca named sites, Buddy's has a great reef as does Divi. Plaza where you're staying is on the 18Palms dive site - north end of the resort. It's all beach in that area afaik. Wannadive/Eden Beach is on another named site and between Den Laman and Sandollar condos is Bari Reef, which has the most counted species of fish in the Caribbean. All have facilities/showers/lockers and dive docks with stairs for easy access.

Salt Pier is another site with easy "beach" access. DM accompanied only dive since the port regulations went into effect a couple years ago. And if you're night diving, Town Pier is the signature Bonaire dive - as well as having steps right down into the water. Need a DM for that one also.

btw, I'm 50 also...