My LDS goes to Bonaire about every three years. I never go, because I can’t seem to understand why people would spend so much to go shore diving. Loading a truck, driving around, can’t bring anything because people rob the trucks. Putting gear together, breaking it down, way too much work for vacation. The flights there suck. I’d much rather put my gear on a boat and leave it there for a week, only thing I have to do is check nitrox. Am I missing something? Is the diving that good?
Yes, the diving on Bonaire is that good, in my opinion. Please check out my July 2017
trip report.
I am normally a "been there, done that" kind of guy and rarely feel the urge to return to a place that I have already visited (for diving or non-diving reasons), but I do intend to return to Bonaire in the future.
If the logistical effort of shore diving is a deterrent, you can always do boat dives. Now, in my opinion, boat dives defeat one of the virtues of diving on the west coast of Bonaire (which I will explain below), but I think it would still be more than worthwhile. You can also do boat dives on the east coast of Bonaire, where shore diving is harder, so many/most go on boat dives there anyway. The east coast has a greater abundance of larger marine life that is less common the west coast. East coast boat dives are on my agenda for my next trip there.
If you want to reduce the logistical hassles of shore diving, there are also some dive operations that provide "valet" service, like VIP Diving, which many users of this sub-forum praise highly. I can personally recommend GOOODive, with whom I dove earlier this year.
What impressed me about shore diving on the west coast of Bonaire was the richness of the marine life in the shallows between the shore and the drop-off, and even in the tidal pools. Indeed, a large proportion of my most interesting creature sightings were in the shallows and during the underwater swim to and from shore, rather than on the reef itself. If I had dove those sites from a boat, I would have missed out on those experiences.
Shore diving also gives you a better appreciation of the topside environment and its correlation with the underwater environment. For example, the salt flats in the south correspond to the flatter reefs of the south, and the mangroves provide shelter for juvenile marine life. The terrain of the north is more rugged and corresponds to the steeper and more dramatically sloping reefs of the north.
The flight for me was not too bad, as I could fly directly there from Newark. My only gripes were that it was on United and I had to cross the river into New Jersey.
