Why shore diving?

[oldschoolto]

Don't go to Bonaire... I've been doing this dive spot for years and still haven't seen all the spots to dive... I'm down here 4 weeks now and have to wait 4 more weeks before my flight out... And I haven't had the chance to beat up a local kid for trying to steal out of a truck, After spending hours and hours hiding in the weeds to catch one.. And those 75-80 minute dives are tiring... Not to mention the deep solo Deco diving...

Jim..

 

[Willar]

I can understand your concern and Bonaire might not be for you. I like it because:

1 - Diving arm-in-arm with my sweetheart, no one else to disturb us.
2 - Dive without other divers to worry about, get kicked by, or swam over/under me.
2 - No drama or problems from other divers with issues, running out of air, etc..
2 - Dive without some group taking over the boat.
2 - When I see something cool and want to take a photo, I don't have to worry about some other diver swimming under/over me to get their photo.
3 - Dive what time I want at my leisure, no boat schedule.
4 - Dive the site I want. Not up to a captain or other unknown diver.
5 - Dive the depth and profile I want, stop and look at whatever I want without a dive guide pushing the group along.
6 - Free Nitrox in most cases.
7 - Cheap dive costs.
8 - Relaxing dive environment.
9 - Great dive sites with wonderful quality.
10 - Relaxing surface interval at my leisure and schedule.

I am pretty fed up with bad divers and cattle boats as you can tell. If you don't want the freedom, then you are welcome to put up with the "fun" of boat diving with a bunch of unknown divers. Oh, and I've not had crime problems but I don't feel the need to take a bunch of stuff along with in in the truck. I leave a towel, a hat, cheap sunglasses, and a couple of bottles of water in the unlocked truck.

If you'd rather dive from boats with valet diving service then that's what you should do. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[king_of_battle]

And that's what Bonaire is for me, unless I want to pay a fortune for air?

I've been to Bonaire out of the Boston area. Right now I can find flights out of MHT for under $800 and less than 8 hours. MHT-ATL-BON on delta is easy and pretty quick.

 

[kristen8416]

My husband and I are going Nov 28th-Dec. 2nd. We had stayed away due to hearing of the crime and "leave your truck windows rolled down" situation. I had the same feeling as well. Why would I want to go somewhere that I have to worry about the crime. Alas, we decided to go anyway. I've heard so much about the awesome diving that I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll follow the precautions everyone has mentioned. The only letdown may be that we do like to see the "big stuff". I'm looking forward to being able to stay down longer, go my own pace, and dive whenever I want to though.

Would the recommendation be to not take a lot of cash and use credit card instead???

 

[mbs]

My husband and I are going Nov 28th-Dec. 2nd. We had stayed away due to hearing of the crime and "leave your truck windows rolled down" situation. I had the same feeling as well. Why would I want to go somewhere that I have to worry about the crime. Alas, we decided to go anyway. I've heard so much about the awesome diving that I'm willing to give it a shot. I'll follow the precautions everyone has mentioned. The only letdown may be that we do like to see the "big stuff". I'm looking forward to being able to stay down longer, go my own pace, and dive whenever I want to though.

Would the recommendation be to not take a lot of cash and use credit card instead???

I don't think it really matters.. Whichever you normally travel with would be fine. I use a little waterproof pouch to hold the truck key, drivers license, and cash and/or credit card while diving - Amazon.com: Aquapac Waterproof Keymaster 608 - 2 Count: Sports & Outdoors

 

[tkaelin]

Bonaire and shore diving are just not for everyone. While I enjoy boat diving, I love the freedom that comes with shore diving, especially on Bon, where I can just grab a tank and go and dive when I want, where I want and for how long as I want. It truly is liberating, especially if most of your diving has been the traditional boat diving involving a sign up and commitment in advance to go to a boat on the ops schedule going where the Capt wants which you may not find out until you are there.

 

[hroark2112]

Leave most of your cash in the safe in the room. Carry $20 or so for lunch or drinks on the way back after diving. Every store and restaurant is used to wet money. They won’t even bat an eye at it. I tend to take the cash I think I’ll need, a credit card for deposits and “just in case” stuff, and I almost always come home with leftover cash.

The whole leave the windows open thing is totally no big deal. With nothing in the truck worth stealing, even if someone came by they would look in and then wander off. Most of the trucks are pretty beat up, and you’ll likely drive with the windows open all day anyway.

Go with an open mind and enjoy!

 

[Lorenzoid]

I don't mind traveling 24- 30 hours if the diving is worth it. I've been to Indonesia three times, wakatobi twice, Palau, Truk, Philippines twice. I don't mind spending the money if the diving is worth it. On most of those trips, I flew out to LA and spent a couple days before. The Philippines trips, I left out of Boston once and JFK once.

I'm late to this party, and I see others have laid out the pros and cons well, but if you can afford the time and money cost of an Indonesia or Philippines trip, then by all means go--the Coral Triangle of the Pacific beats the Caribbean. But for those of us looking for somewhere to dive for a week that takes less than a day to reach by plane, and once we get there is cheap to dive (on a per-dive cost basis), Bonaire is a good option. The per-dive cost is a major attraction for many people.

Most of my Bonaire trips have been with a group of friends who just dislike the regimented schedule of boat diving. They just don't like having to be at the dock, ready to dive, at such and such a time, every single day for a week (since they had to sign up for such a package). They would rather wake up, maybe take a quick dive off the house reef, make a leisurely breakfast, and while sitting at the table over a cup of coffee, pore over the dive site map with the group and decide where everyone would like to dive that day. Will we head up north and go around the island, maybe stopping for lunch in Rincon? Or will we head down south? Or is it one of those days when we just don't feel like an adventure, and we decide to dive right smack in the middle of town, where people are reporting seeing that seahorse? There's no "navigation" involved--your only choice when you swim out from the shore is to turn left or right and hold your depth along the slope until you decide to turn around. It seems that some people just enjoy making up their own schedule, maybe even on the spur of the moment.

If that's not your thing, then by all means stick with boat diving. Bonaire is not for everyone's taste.

 

[Willar]

I don't think it really matters.. Whichever you normally travel with would be fine. I use a little waterproof pouch to hold the truck key, drivers license, and cash and/or credit card while diving - Amazon.com: Aquapac Waterproof Keymaster 608 - 2 Count: Sports & Outdoors

Does that pouch stay dry at 60+ ft? It is rated for 15 ft.

I was thinking of getting this:
Trident Dry Box 2000

 

[rek_diver]

The person who started this thread makes it sound like assembling and donning gear and wading out into calm, warm, tropical water is hard work. It's not. It's part of the experience.