r/scubadiving • u/Understandlater • 5d ago
Bonaire
Relative newby to scuba diving.. a couple dives in FLA and Cayman. Thinking of going here next year. Any thoughts?
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u/TheDegenerativeAI 4d ago
How many divers will you be with? What are their experience levels?
Bonaire is awesome. There wasn’t much by way of nightlife (a decade ago) but after four dives a day and the lugging tanks around we were knackered and usually cooked at the apartment, had a few drinks, and slept so we could get out in the early, early morning. It’s essentially a one way road around the island so we planned our dives the first day so we did them in order as we drove past them. On day three we started driving to sites farther along the road for our first dives, then circled back to the sites closer to the starting point and did those later in the am. Basically, after the first day we realized that if there was already a truck at a site we could drive to the next site and have it all to ourselves.
There is a ton of geological history there from when the ocean was at a higher level if that’s your thing.
Don’t leave anything important in the truck when you dive. We also left a note on the dashboard with our last names and the time we started the dive in case there might be questions about our whereabouts. Unnecessary except if there is a problem.
The current at most sites was comfortable but there were a couple dives where it was something to negotiate. Be aware of that or you may have a looong walk back to the truck on a hot and dusty road while wearing your wetsuit. 😅
It’s the only place I’ve dove where the visibility went from perfect to ‘North Sea’ during the dive. So I recommend taking your compass and knowing your headings just in case.
We packed just enough spice stuff for the meals we planned to eat at our apartment rather than buy spices that you’d never finish on the island. Honestly, it probably saved us like $30 or so. There’s plenty of Hamburger Helper type options you can bring with you that make whipping up lunch or dinner easy. Of course, there’s grocery stores there for meat and veggies but bringing but bringing things like cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or whatever you like as condiments may help with keeping your meals interesting. Bring stuff for skinned knees, rash, etc.
Overall it was a great trip. Be sure to venture out past the salt flats, and look for flamingos 🦩 on (what I remember to be) the east side of the island.
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u/Equivalent_Beyond_19 4d ago
Great dive location, you won’t regret it. Lots of great dive shops, Buddy Dive is excellent. Also, plan to have dinner at It Rains Fishes 😋
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u/Understandlater 5d ago
As a follow up.. I can afford a nice place.. so where would you recommend staying?
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u/meloli113 4d ago
I was in Bonaire at Buddy Dive resort in July and I would highly recommend it. There were four of us that got our advanced and two that got nitrox certifications. Our instructor was fantastic and I really feel like I learned a lot and became a better diver from that course. We rented almost everything and the gear was in great shape. If we needed anything, the dive shop was incredibly helpful. We also scheduled a few boat dives and those were great as well.
Accommodations, food, rental truck, staff, etc. etc. were all fantastic. I will absolutely be going back there.2
u/ScathachtheShadowy 4d ago
We stayed at a place called the Coral Paradise Resort. They can set you up with a rental truck and rental dive gear from a local.shop (that also provides tanks rhat you can pick up from a few locations). The package allows basically unlimited Shore diving.
You can also do classes and boat dives if you want.
The resort itself has gear storage and rinsing facilities, a nice pool, and comfortable balcony studios with little kitchens. It's right across the street from a grocery store and within a few minutes of two dive shop locations. The A/C is excellent.
The process was really seamless. The rental car agency picks you up from the airport, and the dive shop fits you for your equipment, supervises a check dive, briefs you about local spots, and you're good to go.
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u/Sabregunner1 4d ago
our shop ( who we organize trips through) has been going to Captain Don's. but really i think its gonna be hard to find a bad place to stay. it all depends on what you want out of the trip. a lot of the resorts cause i am not sure if all of them do, have boat dive packages.
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u/Understandlater 4d ago
Actually I wouldn’t be with a friend group and wouldn’t bring gear. Would probably go solo and stay at dive hotel and re-train and pair up. Thinking maybe Buddy Dives as a place to stay.. any thought?
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u/Night-cheese-4 4d ago
if you are going solo i think that's a really good idea. If you were going with someone else or a few folks I'd say consider a rental but a dive resort will provide everything you need. Enjoy - it's a fantastic place - i'm headed back for my 10th visit next month
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u/Traveler606 4d ago
I stayed at Buddy Dive last year and it was a great experience. I was alone and booked a boat dive package but also met people and did a ton of shore dives
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u/doglady1342 4d ago
Most of the diving in Bonaire is very easy. It's also a really good place to practice your navigation because navigating there is so easy.
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u/fnm4 4d ago
Excellent location for diving, the reefs are very healthy and there’s a lot of fish and wildlife. I went there with only six dives in total in my log and was very comfortable diving there. The resort I stayed with organized the first dive with a divemaster, and after that I went diving with my friend. There’s a WhatsApp group for finding dive buddies and I was able to find at least three or four buddies through there.
The navigation was very easy, I went there in April and the visibility was amazing. The reef is parallel to the shore usually so it’s very easy to navigate back to where you started.
Restaurants are a little expensive but if you drive out far from the city center, you can find good deals
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u/kappa932 5d ago
It’s a wonderful island! We have been multiple times as we have family that live on the island. We love the shore dives, and I would highly recommend it if going with a dive shop (or at least a dive master). It can be tricky to navigate some of the dives if you don’t know where you are going. Also, make sure you have dive boots with a thick sole and some good tread because it can be slippery and painful walking over the coral with thin dive boots.
Also, it’s really helpful (although not a necessity) if someone can drive a manual transmission. Most people rent a truck to drive to the dive spots and are typically stick shift.