Wannadive for Beginner Divers?
- Thread starter isaias
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DiverVince
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Isaias..There is a high degree of competition on Bonaire in the diving industry. Consequently, they deliver a high level or service. I've dove with quite a few dive ops over the years & can honestly say that anyone I've ever dove with would be a good fit for a beginner diver. Just be up front with them when you check in and let them know what you want. I'm sure you'll not have any problems.
kotik
Contributor
Hi isaias,
My wife and I took a couple of guided dives with Wannadive this year, and we were very happy with them.
Wannadive's guided dive system as I've seen it is through a sign-up board, so the dives may be a few people or the full capacity of the boat. The boats aren't the large cattle-herd type though, so even if it is a full boat it's not many people (sorry, I don't remember exactly the capacity). The dive masters are friendly and very attentive and they were alert to people's skill levels and needs.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Bonaire itself is a great experience, I am sure you will get a flood of encouragement from anyone who's made the trip. Happy diving to you!
My wife and I took a couple of guided dives with Wannadive this year, and we were very happy with them.
Wannadive's guided dive system as I've seen it is through a sign-up board, so the dives may be a few people or the full capacity of the boat. The boats aren't the large cattle-herd type though, so even if it is a full boat it's not many people (sorry, I don't remember exactly the capacity). The dive masters are friendly and very attentive and they were alert to people's skill levels and needs.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them. Bonaire itself is a great experience, I am sure you will get a flood of encouragement from anyone who's made the trip. Happy diving to you!
cardzard
Contributor
I absolutely agree with what DiverVince said.
Honesty goes a long way.
Honesty goes a long way.
bkpix
Contributor
We did one boat dive with them. The DM did not check the conditions, got the whole group into the water, and had us swimming into a swim spa strength current. It was not an enjoyable dive, and would probably have been even worse for a new diver.
You will not find a better dive op than Bart and the gang at Wannadive. Super nice folks. Most diving on Bonaire is non guided so don't expect the hand holding you get most places, Bonaire diving is all about diving freedom. I am sure you can rent guides but don't expect them as part of a package.
When you have only a couple of dives on your resume, diver freedom is not the first thing on your mind. At least not for me. I don't feel ready to venture out on my own yet, and would need some guidance.
Mabe boat dives are the way to go, but I believe most places are offering guided dives with the dive master for a fee. This is the route I'd take. Also, since I don't dive much I plan to do some local diving around where I live to get better at my skills.
Mabe boat dives are the way to go, but I believe most places are offering guided dives with the dive master for a fee. This is the route I'd take. Also, since I don't dive much I plan to do some local diving around where I live to get better at my skills.
Been to Bonaire twice and used Wannadive both times. If we go back I am pretty sure we would use them again. The first time my wife maybe had less than 10 dives under her belt and hadn't dove in a while - she came up too fast from only a few feet but she freaked out. Bob talked to her, and calmed her down and helped with her descent, and weights, etc....
Each trip we took a guided tour with Wanna Dive. The first trip was a night time dive around the town pier. As far as the guides went they did a good job of keeping tabs on everyone which was impressive given the traffic under the pier at night.
The second trip we had one of the DMs take us out on their "house reef" to show us some sea horses.
They have tanks at four locations (Golden Reef Inn, Bari, WannaDive Hut, their location near Windsock, maybe more we didn't know about), that was convenient especially when we stayed at GRI the first trip.
We didn't do the boat dives so I can't comment on that.
Each trip we took a guided tour with Wanna Dive. The first trip was a night time dive around the town pier. As far as the guides went they did a good job of keeping tabs on everyone which was impressive given the traffic under the pier at night.
The second trip we had one of the DMs take us out on their "house reef" to show us some sea horses.
They have tanks at four locations (Golden Reef Inn, Bari, WannaDive Hut, their location near Windsock, maybe more we didn't know about), that was convenient especially when we stayed at GRI the first trip.
We didn't do the boat dives so I can't comment on that.
reefdiva
Contributor
Bonaire is a great place to build your confidence in shore diving and the folks at Wannadive are certainly a good choice. Have you written to them and asked about hiring a DM to get you started on some shore dives? Once you have done a few you will see how easy it is and can venture out on your own. I would suggest starting at some of the "easier" spots such as Windsock. Swim out to where you want to drop, turn and take a compass heading to shore, drop down, find a marker and note its depth, choose left or right, when you reach your predetermined air consumption/time, turn and head back to the marker. Then use your compass heading to get to shore. When we were new to shore diving in Bonaire we would only dive sites that had boat moorings so we could use that as our marker for return so you might want to think about that to help your confidence.
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