suggestions please: resort and dive operator in Bonaire in September

[Jersey]

What are your preferences? Hotel room/condo/house? In/near/far from town? On/near/far from water? Price point? The options are endless. Our 'normal' is a 1 bedroom at Buddy Dive. Truck rental included. Great house reef for 24/7 access. Almost equidistant between Northern and Southern sites. 6 boat dives - yes boats can be a bit crowded, but its a big reef - spread out people! (We tend to hang at the back of the pack). Breakfast included, lunch in room, dinner split between cooking in/dining out. Opportunity to meet other divers - or not. Multiple restaurants within walking distance. 5 minute drive to town or a couple mile walk.

You can arrange tanks or boat dive with just about anyone, most are happy for customers. There are also a couple concierge dive services if you want a guide for off the beaten path, park sites or to situate you to shore diving. Habitat, Capt Don, Buddy, Sand Dollar, Den Lamen all within the same 3/4 mile stretch, all mid level resorts - not 5 star, but clean comfortable, waterfront, AC. All have websites that are accurate as far as amenities and accommodations. In town there are plenty of condos from ground floor to penthouse chic. South of town Divi, Bruce Bowkers Carib Inn and The Plaza. South of the airport Bellafonte and Belmar. Harbour Village probably the most exclusive of the resorts. Off the water (often just across the street) options are endless and less expensive. There are also smaller boutique accommodations along the water, some of them Euro style (think W Hotels). Just depends on your taste and wallet.

This is by no means an all inclusive list, I've been to almost all the above and I would stay in any. Whatever you do, bring the bug spray, dive a lot, have fun!

 

[tkaelin]

I would not get hung on the cattle boat thing for Bon. I don't recall any such complaints on SB or BT for Bon dive boats. In my experience boat diving with Capt Dons, even though they have bigger Newton type boats and you could end up with a full boat (16+), I have never had a cattle boat experience with them. The reasons for this are: I see more experienced divers on Bon and on the boats so getting a larger number in and out of the water on the boat has never been an issue; you don't have to dive with the guide and you for the most part have dive freedom, even on a boat dive. So even with more divers, a good chunk peel off and go on their own so you don't have to be with a large group in water. Another plus at least at Capt Don Boat is you see where thery are going to go for each of their three one tank boat dives the afternoon before and you can see how many divers are signed up. You can also sign up or remove your name anytime before the boat leaves. So what this means is you know where the boat is going and whether the boat is full and we have signed up last minute for relatively empty boats or removed our name when we see it has loaded up. I find the third boat dive of the day, which usually goes to Klein, relatively empty and have gone when it was just the four of us. Pretty nice.

 

[Kharon]

Hamlet Oasis has a very nice house reef (Cliff), apartments with full kitchen, and Dive Friends Bonaire is right on premises. I haven't stayed there because I have a place off water that I rent from (Coco Palm Garden) that is just a bit less expensive. I always use Dive Friends and rent a truck for the two weeks I'm there (this year Nov 26 - Dec 10). Next year I may use Hamlet because I'm getting older and the idea of a house reef with a mini-wall is becoming appealing.

It is just a bit north of town and I usually dive the southern sites (except Cliff & Tolo). South seems to have more fish and more soft coral. I could be wrong because I haven't dove north a whole lot.

My impression of boat dives is that they are not crowded because few people go to Bonaire to boat dive. The main draw is the freedom of shore diving and the huge number of sites to choose from. I've only gone on a boat once to go to Klein and didn't think it was any different from the shore dives on Bonaire. That boat had only 6 people and one was a snorkeler.

I could also be wrong about this but I think most boats head for Klein and the few sites on Bonaire that are not shore accessable. I've almost never seen a boat moored at any of the shore diving sites.

 

[KeithG]

I could also be wrong about this but I think most boats head for Klein and the few sites on Bonaire that are not shore accessable. I've almost never seen a boat moored at any of the shore diving sites.

Divi boats do a mix of sites, klien, north & south. i claim they hit klien only about 1/3rd of the time. We only use the afternoon boat as it is a 60 minute dive (morning boats are two 40 minute dives).

 

[diver0008]

South seems to have more fish and more soft coral. I could be wrong because I haven't dove north a whole lot.

You are correct, but you do get some big groupers, turtles, rays, and eels. Also some baitballs and schools of barracuda.

North, and the Park are very nice changes in Scenery.

 

[jimw]

For small boats--take a look at Bruce Bowkers Carib Inn. it is located directly next door to the Divi and has 3 small diveboats. Hertz is still at Divi as I understand it.

 

[Kharon]

While communicating with DFB for my upcoming trip I found out that wed & sat their boats go to north sites that can't be reached by car. Other days are mostly Klein. As I remember it the dives are dependent on gas not time. First to reach turnaround pressure notifies the DM and the group heads shallower and back. If everyone has good consumption rates dives can easily exceed an hour.

One other thing I am considering is going on their UV night dive. My only problem there is they need 2 divers and I travel solo. So I'll have to tag along if someone is doing that dive while I'm there.

 

[gbf]

One other thing I am considering is going on their UV night dive. My only problem there is they need 2 divers and I travel solo. So I'll have to tag along if someone is doing that dive while I'm there.

Do it! Do it!

I was always a naysayer about those dives, you know , gimmick, yadda yadda.

It's amazing. I've been diving almost 40 yrs now and I was astounded. My young daughter badgered me into doing it with "Flow Bonaire". zsussannah (sp) was our guide and she was great, in addition to being georgeous. Be sure and take along a few beers for after-dive wrap up.

 

[scubaotter]

If you want to stay on the water and want a "beach" then I would suggest Eden Beach resort and WannaDive as the dive operator. Eden Beach is one of the few sandy beaches on the island. If you don't mind staying in a resort off the water I would highly recommend Bamboo Bali. The resort is small, quite, comfortable, and the owners treat you like family. I've been going to Bonaire for over 13 years and we only stay at Bamboo Bali now. I've been working with WannaDive for more than a decade and their dedication to their clients has only gotten better over the years. WannaDive has at least two boats now and the also charter dives on the East side (Wild side) of the island as well.

 

[Yaki]

Thank you everyone for suggestions and advice. We have decided to stay at Den Laman and dive with Bari Reef divers.
Sounds like we are heading for a treat visiting Bonaire!