Hey all,
We just got back from our first trip to Bonaire and we had a BLAST! All the information we had at our disposal on Scubaboard really maximized our trip and we really got a lot of action for the hours spent in the island. Thank you all for your help!!
We took 3/4mm wetsuits but after the first day left them behind in favor of a couple of dive skins we bought at Bruce Bowker's great shop. We added a vest on the night dives and were warm and toasty all week. We used frozen water bottles for drinking and soda bottles filled with water and left in the bed of the truck for a great warm face rinse after the dives. Entrances/Exits were fairly simple and well marked and the water was very flat with little to no current on most sites. Temps in the 80's and viz ranging from 60' to over 100' was the norm. Take your time, use your feet to find obstacles, and ask others at the sties the ins and outs - we got out of Karpata without a scratch, but I face planted at Salt Pier trying to step up out of the water on a sandy beach so go figure!! We were VERY happy to have our thick soled boots and also take very seriously the advice to leave the truck on the rock/crushed coral not in the sand. It kills turtle eggs, but also we saw stuck trucks that will really ruin your day! DEET was much needed as the mossies were around and hungry especially when rinsing the gear or sitting outside in the evenings.
Housing:
We stayed at Casa Calexico and really liked it. The owners Audrey and Joop were wonderful and really have put their heart into the property and it shows. It was a great place to come back to for a break between dives to swim and sun, and the beds were amazingly comfortable! We missed being around other divers and would consider staying at one of the resorts on the water that cater to divers just because we really enjoy making new friends. We had a couple of dives and meals at Don's and would likely try them next time. That is not in any way a dis on Casa Calexico and we would recommend them without hesitation for small (5 rooms) simple yet comfortable and personal accommodations.
Car:
Pickup truck from Caribe rental arranged by Audrey at Casa Calexico. They were great - we had the face stolen from our radio the first night, and they were very understanding and didn't charge us. Their attitude was it was a freak thing, and they'd rather replace a cheap radio than a broken window. Highly recommended.
Food:
Van Del Tweel was our grocery store of choice and we loved all the options especially the bread, meat and cheese selections. We bought pepper steaks to grill, fresh baked breads and cheese for breakfast and lunches and a selection of snacks and beverages that we ate throughout the week.
Stand out meals included;
Patagonia - expensive and not the greatest location (inside with ac and no view) but the best steak I've eaten in a long time. Great service as well.
Rumrunners at Captn Don's - great pizza and a wonderful view.
Rose Inn - goat stew, beef stew, red beans and rice in a funky local setting. Nuff said!
Deli Delicious - chicken and pesto pita was outstanding and not too expensive.
Cactus Blue on the beach - best burger I've had in a while and for $10 with a drink it's a very good deal too! Hagen is a hoot and super nice to chat with. The kite guys are a different crowd from the divers, and it was fun to hang with some of them and see a different slice of Bonaire.
City Cafe - good meal one night on our own, and we went back with our hosts and some friends for the $10 fish and chips special on Friday night and enjoyed the crazy hang with the live band and tons of locals.
Dive Op:
We were with Wannadive through Casa Calexico. We loved Tama at the Eden beach locale and she helped us lug our gear to a better entrance down by Bari for our check out dive after giving a nice briefing. Tanks were plentiful and fills were a solid 3k psi always! Nitrox ranged between 31-33, and we left our computers set for 31 and watched our MOD carefully however, most sites are best above 80fsw anyway. We also did a special glowing crustacean spawn night dive with her later in the week and had a great time as well. The only complaints were that they had a large group and only one boat, so they were booked up. Their alternative seemed to be guided shore dives so that didn't work for us. Also, their location is to the north and although they have a service outpost at Windsock, they didn't stock the 63cf nitrox tanks there (these were what my daughter preferred to use) so we had to go to Eden Beach to get new tanks every day. The tank locker was next to the parking lot which was nice, but the shop and rinse tanks were not close although wheel barrows were available. Not the end of the world, but every minute counts right??
We were forced to look elsewhere for boat dives (see above) and ended up doing two mornings with Dive Friends (two tanks) to Klein and North Bonaire. We loved this op and would likely use them in the future. Everyone in both shops were great, and we made some really nice friends on their boats. They had a lot of new divers, but allowed us to do our thing as long as adhering to the dive profiles. Amazing customer service for diving and in the shop and more convenient locations for where we were staying made us glad we found them.
We went with East Coast divers on their RIB and had an absolute blast - Hans and Fred run a tight ship and it was really fun, really safe, and some of the best dives we did all week!
Last but not least, we did a guided night dive at La Cai with Bas Tol at Bas Diving and enjoyed a kick ass 110 minute dive that I will remember always. Bas is a great guy, and we had a great time hanging out with him! He even called ahead to Pasta Bon Pizza to order us an after dive pizza so they wouldn't close before we could get there!! Can't recommend him highly enough and we will definitely set aside more time for Bas diving next trip!
Continued in next thread.....
We just got back from our first trip to Bonaire and we had a BLAST! All the information we had at our disposal on Scubaboard really maximized our trip and we really got a lot of action for the hours spent in the island. Thank you all for your help!!
We took 3/4mm wetsuits but after the first day left them behind in favor of a couple of dive skins we bought at Bruce Bowker's great shop. We added a vest on the night dives and were warm and toasty all week. We used frozen water bottles for drinking and soda bottles filled with water and left in the bed of the truck for a great warm face rinse after the dives. Entrances/Exits were fairly simple and well marked and the water was very flat with little to no current on most sites. Temps in the 80's and viz ranging from 60' to over 100' was the norm. Take your time, use your feet to find obstacles, and ask others at the sties the ins and outs - we got out of Karpata without a scratch, but I face planted at Salt Pier trying to step up out of the water on a sandy beach so go figure!! We were VERY happy to have our thick soled boots and also take very seriously the advice to leave the truck on the rock/crushed coral not in the sand. It kills turtle eggs, but also we saw stuck trucks that will really ruin your day! DEET was much needed as the mossies were around and hungry especially when rinsing the gear or sitting outside in the evenings.
Housing:
We stayed at Casa Calexico and really liked it. The owners Audrey and Joop were wonderful and really have put their heart into the property and it shows. It was a great place to come back to for a break between dives to swim and sun, and the beds were amazingly comfortable! We missed being around other divers and would consider staying at one of the resorts on the water that cater to divers just because we really enjoy making new friends. We had a couple of dives and meals at Don's and would likely try them next time. That is not in any way a dis on Casa Calexico and we would recommend them without hesitation for small (5 rooms) simple yet comfortable and personal accommodations.
Car:
Pickup truck from Caribe rental arranged by Audrey at Casa Calexico. They were great - we had the face stolen from our radio the first night, and they were very understanding and didn't charge us. Their attitude was it was a freak thing, and they'd rather replace a cheap radio than a broken window. Highly recommended.
Food:
Van Del Tweel was our grocery store of choice and we loved all the options especially the bread, meat and cheese selections. We bought pepper steaks to grill, fresh baked breads and cheese for breakfast and lunches and a selection of snacks and beverages that we ate throughout the week.
Stand out meals included;
Patagonia - expensive and not the greatest location (inside with ac and no view) but the best steak I've eaten in a long time. Great service as well.
Rumrunners at Captn Don's - great pizza and a wonderful view.
Rose Inn - goat stew, beef stew, red beans and rice in a funky local setting. Nuff said!
Deli Delicious - chicken and pesto pita was outstanding and not too expensive.
Cactus Blue on the beach - best burger I've had in a while and for $10 with a drink it's a very good deal too! Hagen is a hoot and super nice to chat with. The kite guys are a different crowd from the divers, and it was fun to hang with some of them and see a different slice of Bonaire.
City Cafe - good meal one night on our own, and we went back with our hosts and some friends for the $10 fish and chips special on Friday night and enjoyed the crazy hang with the live band and tons of locals.
Dive Op:
We were with Wannadive through Casa Calexico. We loved Tama at the Eden beach locale and she helped us lug our gear to a better entrance down by Bari for our check out dive after giving a nice briefing. Tanks were plentiful and fills were a solid 3k psi always! Nitrox ranged between 31-33, and we left our computers set for 31 and watched our MOD carefully however, most sites are best above 80fsw anyway. We also did a special glowing crustacean spawn night dive with her later in the week and had a great time as well. The only complaints were that they had a large group and only one boat, so they were booked up. Their alternative seemed to be guided shore dives so that didn't work for us. Also, their location is to the north and although they have a service outpost at Windsock, they didn't stock the 63cf nitrox tanks there (these were what my daughter preferred to use) so we had to go to Eden Beach to get new tanks every day. The tank locker was next to the parking lot which was nice, but the shop and rinse tanks were not close although wheel barrows were available. Not the end of the world, but every minute counts right??
We were forced to look elsewhere for boat dives (see above) and ended up doing two mornings with Dive Friends (two tanks) to Klein and North Bonaire. We loved this op and would likely use them in the future. Everyone in both shops were great, and we made some really nice friends on their boats. They had a lot of new divers, but allowed us to do our thing as long as adhering to the dive profiles. Amazing customer service for diving and in the shop and more convenient locations for where we were staying made us glad we found them.
We went with East Coast divers on their RIB and had an absolute blast - Hans and Fred run a tight ship and it was really fun, really safe, and some of the best dives we did all week!
Last but not least, we did a guided night dive at La Cai with Bas Tol at Bas Diving and enjoyed a kick ass 110 minute dive that I will remember always. Bas is a great guy, and we had a great time hanging out with him! He even called ahead to Pasta Bon Pizza to order us an after dive pizza so they wouldn't close before we could get there!! Can't recommend him highly enough and we will definitely set aside more time for Bas diving next trip!
Continued in next thread.....
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