Another Bonaire trip

[SelfDiver]

Only had time for 4 dives
Twin AL80 with 21-25% and AL80 with 40-50%
90-100 minutes in the water on each dive with a 2mm shorty. Computer gives water temp of 26°C at the deepest point.
Andrea 1 50meters 5PQ3+78 Kralendijk, Caribbean Netherlands
Beautiful dive site with easy entry/exit. A 50 meter walk from the parking lot to the water with twinset can be difficult.
Eden beach 50 meters 12°09'52.9"N 68°17'13.7"W easy entry to the water but it is all sand all the way down. There is a tiny wreck at 25 meters. Skip this place.
Delfins beach twice. Easy entry-exit. you can take a gorilla cart all the way to the dock. The sand is at 35ish meters.
It is closed on Sundays, unless you are staying at Delfins. The parking lot feels more secure from random theft than the beaches.
VIP diving: Kevin a Maarten can sort you with any gear and tank mixes you want.
O2 is $1 per cubic foot. So an AL80 with 50%O2 costs $40
Twinsets are $35 ish per day
Helium is $3.90 per cubic foot
I can do one "Big" dive to 50meters and a 30 meter "small" dive on a twinset and AL80 stage.

Questions? comments?

 

[divezonescuba]

Thanks for the info.

 

[drrich2]

Questions?

What led you to choose the sites you did? Given the added expense and effort involved with tech. diving, and the low number of dives you had time for, I'm curious how you decided where to go.

 

[SelfDiver]

What led you to choose the sites you did? Given the added expense and effort involved with tech. diving, and the low number of dives you had time for, I'm curious how you decided where to go.

I didn't choose the sites, I was there with Non-divers. My friends wanted to drive the northern loop, so they dropped me off on the way at Andrea I
The Eden beach dive was when they were going to lunch and dropped me off on the way and it is a place I can wait in the shade and shower and clean gear even if they are late. The Eden beach entry is easy but the dive site is meh.
The Delfins beach dives were because they wanted to hang out and drink on the beach. We park the car. I parked them in the bar, and went diving. Two hours later, I was done and they were too. It is a good combination of diving and not being too anti-social.
One of my friends even borrowed my fins after and did some snorkeling.

Added note: Bonaire is great for tech diving:

• Go in anywhere you want, and everywhere is 20-30 minutes drive.
• You can do long shallow dives or deep dives. (It is easier to get depth in the northern sites.)
• Easy beach entry almost everywhere, even with twinset and stage bottles.
• Instructor availability for everything from open water to CCR trimix.
• Can't swing a regulator without hitting a dive shop.
• Direct flights from US(Miami Atlanta, Newark) and Amsterdam
• You can come naked with a credit card and leave with gear for Trimix
• Decent food options, but expensive.
• Cheap diving: $250 for unlimited 32% Nitrox for 6 days.
• $50/day for full gear rental (BCD, regulator, wetsuit, computer, mask, snorkel, fins and boots)
• A 6 day dive trip will cost: $550 diving+flight+taxes (75+40)+Hotel+car.
• "Sketchy-creepy" factor is low.
• Beautiful bridwatching, caving, climbing, hiking, beach snoozing...for the last day before flight.

Who wants to go next time I do one of these tech trips?