Where do I stay first time to Bonaire?

[jimw]

In my 15 or so trips--most of them have involved a Habitat stay--so I agree with tkaelin above. We usually do a 1 or 2 br bungalow and like them, but it is correct as reported above as to location of the newer rooms--the Junior Suites are close to dive shop, gear storage, tanks, shore dive entry and boats---- and OCEANfrontness!! Sometimes we get a car for a day when we stay at Habitat, but mostly not. There are a number of places to eat closeby now and a small grocery too--as well as an ice cream place. We shore dive out front a lot and do some boat dives to Klein, etc. One of our favorite dives is Cliff which is to the right getting in at Don's and straight away staying Hamlet Oasis. If you should stay at Coral Paradise--and do consider it; as it is very nice, then boat dive with Don's. Closest to the boats are the Capt Don's Habitat Junior Suites.

 

[uncfnp]

And there is a new deli style restaurant in that area, beside the ice cream shop I think. Between 2 Buns. A little pricey but great sandwiches. Open breakfast through lunch.

 

[Doctorfish]

Boat diving on Bonaire is definitely not like steak at the Olive Garden.

I like the shore diving on Bonaire but I love the boat diving more. I've seen plenty of people at the bar with big bruises, scrapes, cuts or fractures from slipping on the ironshore and surf. As an aging diver, I don't want to sustain an injury. There is always fresh water on the boat and help and a radio in the rare circumstance you need it. Shore diving also means sand in your gear, wetsuit and camera with little rinse capability till you get back to the lodge, by which time you may have salt crystals in your reg. No one steals your stuff from a dive boat. Further, without going on a boat, it's pretty hard to Dive Klein, or the East Side. The park is no picnic by truck either. Boat dives on Bonaire are relatively inexpensive and places like Buddy Dive, Habitat and Divi run multiple boats so you have a lot of potential sites and times to choose from. Not at all regimented.

One of the best days I've ever had in Bonaire was a 3 tank dive to the park with Buddy Dive. Doing the same sites by truck would have been near impossible in a single day, and in a truck without AC, driving for hours is not something I enjoy.

I agree with the dive freedom and lower cost of shore diving but prefer the ease and convenience of going out by boat. Hard to believe I'm the only wimp on this forum.

 

[flots am]

I like the shore diving on Bonaire but I love the boat diving more. I've seen plenty of people at the bar with big bruises, scrapes, cuts or fractures from slipping on the ironshore and surf. As an aging diver, I don't want to sustain an injury.

I'm with you. I love the diving, but don't have any confidence that I can climb over big, slippery rocks and not do something horrible to myself. Not only do injuries take longer to heal now, all the injuries from when I was young have come back to remind me.

flots.

 

[drrich2]

Doing the same sites by truck would have been near impossible in a single day, and in a truck without AC, driving for hours is not something I enjoy.
When I've been to Bonaire, the rental trucks we used had AC. Would be upset with one that didn't.

Richard.

 

[KeithG]

I'm with you. I love the diving, but don't have any confidence that I can climb over big, slippery rocks and not do something horrible to myself. Not only do injuries take longer to heal now, all the injuries from when I was young have come back to remind me.

flots.

And some of us are just lazy. And I say that with complete pride!

So far, we just boat and dock dive in Bonaire. Dragging that AL80 the 10 feet from the pile to the edge of the dock pushes me to the limit. On exit I am glad the rinse bucket is only about 7 feet from the ladder. It sucks when i get the locker 40 feet from the rinse bucket.

I dive for the fish. They tend to move about a bit. So I can dive the same site and have a very different experience every time. We often return to the same spot in order to see what has changed from day to night. You may have spotted a Moray hiding in a coral head on your afternoon dive. We make note of it and check the general area when we return for the night dive. That octopus that was only showing its eye in the morning, is now likely out hunting at night.

I do not feel compelled to have every dive on a different site. In fact, I often want to repeat a dive site numerous times because i saw something that I want to investigate further.

I believe this is more of a "small critter" thing. They are not that mobile.

 

[AceszHigh]

I've been to Cozumel twice for a week both times and Bonaire once for a week, just got back a couple weeks ago. While I didn't even consider getting on a boat...if I were going to go somewhere and not do shore dives ..I'd choose Cozumel over bonaire. Part of the fun in bonaire for me was the adventure of driving to different dive sites and the freedom to dive whenever, but I think I liked the reef itself better in Coz

 

[uncfnp]

I've been to Cozumel twice for a week both times and Bonaire once for a week, just got back a couple weeks ago. While I didn't even consider getting on a boat...if I were going to go somewhere and not do shore dives ..I'd choose Cozumel over bonaire. Part of the fun in bonaire for me was the adventure of driving to different dive sites and the freedom to dive whenever, but I think I liked the reef itself better in Coz

I was actually thinking of making this a thread question. Basically, if you take the shore diving out of Bonaire, is Bonaire still a special dive location?

 

[drrich2]

Somehow part of my last post didn't make it; my point was that when I was in Bonaire, the rental trucks had AC.

As for Cozumel vs. Bonaire, I've been to Bonaire 6 times (over 100 dives) & Cozumel once (2 dives). Based on that limited experience & what others have had to say:

1.) Cozumel more likely to see something big besides a tarpon. On 1 dive at Santa Rosa a big eagle ray swam under our group quite close, and a big black grouper swam up to about arm's length from me (probably used to hand outs) & followed us on the dive. I didn't see the huge green moray on one dive some divers further back in the group did.

2.) Cozumel tends to entail drift diving. Some love it, some hate it, I thought it was neat but not sure I'd want to do nothing else. You are stuck following a dive guide, which doesn't bother me, unless you're doing some of the shore diving (which I've read doesn't compare to Bonaire).

3.) Bonaire is expensive for me to fly to, but fairly cheap to stay at aside from meals. I haven't stayed at an all-inclusive place, or seen a cheap meal plan. At Cozumel, I'm told you can get some good 'meals included' values if you wish.

4.) I haven't set foot on a Bonaire boat yet, but I imagine it would be just fine, probably better than what I've seen in some other places (e.g. Puerto Rico, St. Thomas) on boat dives, and decently comparable to others.

5.) I think the 'shore + boat' dive option besides Bonaire for me would be CocoView in Roatan, which I hope to try someday. And some life Reef House Resort there.

Richard.

 

[AceszHigh]

I was actually thinking of making this a thread question. Basically, if you take the shore diving out of Bonaire, is Bonaire still a special dive location?

Others may not share my opinion...but in my opinion the easily accessible awesome shore diving is much of the appeal for Bonaire. I may be spoiled by living and diving almost every week in South Florida... but IMO the reef in Bonaire wasn't anything spectacular. Don't get me wrong, the I had a blast. But the visibility, life, and reef itself were more awe-inspiring for me in Cozumel. The huge coral heads and swimthroughs in cozumel were awesome to me. The reef had more color in Coz. Most dive sites in Bonaire that I did were a sloping wall from 40-130 feet and similar reef. We didn't see one shark, and only one turtle over 25 dives. In coz, nurse sharks and turtles were common, and eagle rays, stingrays , etc. Cozumel is all drift diving, and IMO that is about as easy as diving gets. Jump in, float, get out and the boat picks you up. No swimming. That's not to say the dives in Bonaire were hard at all...I frequently do shore dives requiring 30 minute surface swims in and out so I laughed when the Bonaire guide books said some sites had a 'long' swim..which was really a 10 minute or less swim. Just my 2 cents.