Trip Report Trip Report: My First Visit to Bonaire, Early July 2017

[hroark2112]

As someone who is comfortable with solo/small group trips, Bonaire is my personal favorite. I would even go alone if I had to, although I haven't had to do so yet.

My advice would be to find either a group trip to join up with or find someone like me to buddy up with for a vacation. You won't have to pay them to dive with you and you'll have lunch & dinner buddies for topside activities.

I've only done a few dives north of Karpata (hoping to do some more next month). The biggest difference is that the harder to get to sites have less impact from divers. The corals are bigger, the access to the dives can be more difficult, but the dives are a lot better since there is so much more to see.

To the south I have done a ton more diving. Sites like Red Slave can be awesome diving, some of my absolute favorites. The currents can be unpredictable, it might be easy to enter but by the time you're ready to get out it might be significantly different. You never know what you'll see on a given dive. I've only once been lucky enough to do the dive at the Lighthouse at the southernmost point of the island. It was almost 2 hours of heaven, at times I felt as if I were in a gorgonia forest.

I can't wait to get back! Less than a month

 

[Ironborn]

As someone who is comfortable with solo/small group trips, Bonaire is my personal favorite. I would even go alone if I had to, although I haven't had to do so yet.

My advice would be to find either a group trip to join up with or find someone like me to buddy up with for a vacation. You won't have to pay them to dive with you and you'll have lunch & dinner buddies for topside activities.

Yes, I have been looking into group trips like those of Single Divers, although mostly for destinations other than Bonaire.

How does one find a buddy around which to plan a whole trip? I had some success finding another scubaboard member with whom to book one two-tank excursion during my trip to Cozumel, and that went well. I am, however, hesitant to plan an entire vacation around a stranger that I find on the Internet.

How have most of you found your buddies? In real life or online? Are they local to you, or did you meet them during dive trips, keep in touch, and then plan another trip with them?

I noticed that most of the buddy pairs on Bonaire were married couples. I am a bachelor and intend to keep it that way.

 

[Jersey]

What a comprehensive report, thank you. Couple thoughts -
I've found the same great experience - service, friendliness, etc - all over Bonaire. I love the GOODDive team, Tina was a huge help in developing my confidence early on. Have found staff everywhere are most helpful, offering suggestions to improve gear, air, trim, hunting without being obnoxious. Definitely do the West and I'll second the recommendation for Bas Tol. He does many of the sites via shore successfully. I understand Buddy Dive may be gearing up to start running their 3 tank North Park dives again. That was a great trip - leave at 0700 back around 1530. Those sites are different, possibility for larger pelagics, steeper, almost mythical scapes and sometimes ripping currents.

Sorry, I'm one of those couples who bring my built In buddy. We do a combination of boat and shore diving,. Some days I just don't want to deal with packing up truck, sand everywhere, entries and exits. Just drop me on a reef, see you in an hour. I don't know that we look all that friendly, but almost every trip someone will ask (usually after seeing us on a couple boat dives) if would we mind a tag along for some shore diving. Usually we will go out once, and if you are relatively safe diver, invite you along for other dives. We've introduced more than a few divers to their first ever night dives, which I think is pretty cool. My suggestion is always to scope out the divers and if people match your dive style, ask. Or ask the DM's if they know of any teams or groups that may not mind a tag along. I go SLOW usually with either a camera or go-pro in hand. So if hanging at the same coral for 10-15 minutes while I wait to see what comes along isn't your style, we would not be a good fit.

As to camera I started with a point and shoot Sony for a few years, till I outgrew it. Bought a second hand Canon G-9 complete with strobes, housing, mount and arms (from a Scubaboard member) that I used for 4-5 years. Getting in and out requires a bit more coordination and planning, watching wave patterns, timing, but it's doable. I enter with mask on, reg in, fins over each arm, BC with some air. That leave both hands for camera and balance. You get used to it. I've gone down, I've tried to keep the camera above me only to prevent me from going splat on it. Latest rig is a Canon G16 in Ikelite housing w/ 2 strobes and it will probably last me a long time. I have no desire to move to DSLR.

 

[Ironborn]

What a comprehensive report, thank you. Couple thoughts -
I've found the same great experience - service, friendliness, etc - all over Bonaire. I love the GOODDive team, Tina was a huge help in developing my confidence early on. Have found staff everywhere are most helpful, offering suggestions to improve gear, air, trim, hunting without being obnoxious. Definitely do the West and I'll second the recommendation for Bas Tol. He does many of the sites via shore successfully. I understand Buddy Dive may be gearing up to start running their 3 tank North Park dives again. That was a great trip - leave at 0700 back around 1530. Those sites are different, possibility for larger pelagics, steeper, almost mythical scapes and sometimes ripping currents.

Sorry, I'm one of those couples who bring my built In buddy. We do a combination of boat and shore diving,. Some days I just don't want to deal with packing up truck, sand everywhere, entries and exits. Just drop me on a reef, see you in an hour. I don't know that we look all that friendly, but almost every trip someone will ask (usually after seeing us on a couple boat dives) if would we mind a tag along for some shore diving. Usually we will go out once, and if you are relatively safe diver, invite you along for other dives. We've introduced more than a few divers to their first ever night dives, which I think is pretty cool. My suggestion is always to scope out the divers and if people match your dive style, ask. Or ask the DM's if they know of any teams or groups that may not mind a tag along. I go SLOW usually with either a camera or go-pro in hand. So if hanging at the same coral for 10-15 minutes while I wait to see what comes along isn't your style, we would not be a good fit.

As to camera I started with a point and shoot Sony for a few years, till I outgrew it. Bought a second hand Canon G-9 complete with strobes, housing, mount and arms (from a Scubaboard member) that I used for 4-5 years. Getting in and out requires a bit more coordination and planning, watching wave patterns, timing, but it's doable. I enter with mask on, reg in, fins over each arm, BC with some air. That leave both hands for camera and balance. You get used to it. I've gone down, I've tried to keep the camera above me only to prevent me from going splat on it. Latest rig is a Canon G16 in Ikelite housing w/ 2 strobes and it will probably last me a long time. I have no desire to move to DSLR.

Good idea, maybe boat dives will be a way for me to find buddies, as they would give us an opportunity to scope each other out and see if we are compatible. I will probably do some boat dives on Klein Bonaire and the east coast next time.

Are Buddy Dive's 3-tank trips to the National Park shore dives or boat dives? I got the impression that the main obstacle to diving that far north was the roads, that the drive takes longer than one might expect from looking at it on a map, and that the ride is often bumpy.

I considered Buddy Dive when I was exploring my options and decided against it for two reasons. I heard that it was hard to get on their boat dives, i.e. you have to wait around and miss one trip in order to get on the list for the next one. The single supplement also would have made my lodging quite expensive.

 

[Rainer]

Are Buddy Dive's 3-tank trips to the National Park shore dives or boat dives? I got the impression that the main obstacle to diving that far north was the roads, that the drive takes longer than one might expect from looking at it on a map, and that the ride is often bumpy.

The biggest obstacles to diving in Washington Slagbaai are rough entries. It's much more exposed that the west (leeward) side of the island. Most of the entries are over sharp or unstable rocks. It's doable certainly if the winds are down, but you need to use your best judgment.

The roads are fine (yes, bumpy) and the route does take awhile, but it's very much worth the drive if you care about more than just diving (gorgeous desert landscape, lots of interesting wildlife including iguanas, flamingoes, other birds, etc, plus some lovely beaches and overlooks).

You can see some of the park scenes in the following video we shot a few months ago (1:44-3:58 is all in Slagbaai):

 

[Jersey]

Good idea, maybe boat dives will be a way for me to find buddies, as they would give us an opportunity to scope each other out and see if we are compatible. I will probably do some boat dives on Klein Bonaire and the east coast next time.

Are Buddy Dive's 3-tank trips to the National Park shore dives or boat dives? I got the impression that the main obstacle to diving that far north was the roads, that the drive takes longer than one might expect from looking at it on a map, and that the ride is often bumpy.

I considered Buddy Dive when I was exploring my options and decided against it for two reasons. I heard that it was hard to get on their boat dives, i.e. you have to wait around and miss one trip in order to get on the list for the next one. The single supplement also would have made my lodging quite expensive.

Yes, agree the supplement can make trip pricey. There are certainly cheaper options, for us the convenience of package, breakfast, decent house reef, 24/7 diving (and we will go out at 10p or 5a), watching the sun set over the water every day, boat options and a good team makes it more palatable. It's not hard to get on the boats, you need to understand the method. And management does try to ensure more boat dives are added if it's a busy period. I've also seen them add a body or 2 to a boat - so if they had planned 13 divers, but need 14 to accommodate a couple or family, they can be flexible. Good if you are a single!

The Buddy Park trip was a boat dive on a custom boat. It's been out of commission last couple years, but supposed to be back up and running...soon...island time...maybe.Gave them the flexibility to get to sites when conditions were favorable - so they could start North park sites and work South. They would also do drift diving when conditions favored it, kind of hard to do drifts if you are driving in. Totally agree a day in the park to see the land side is amazing. We usually spend our off gas day doing a drive through, it's a brutal trek not bumpy, you leave your kidneys at risk and if it rains you sluice through goat paths, not roads. Pack lots of water, food, sunscreen, towels, no services in the park. Great photo ops, snorkel sites and yes dive sites if you want to take that route. I like the boat thing