Trip Report Bonaire - December 24 - December 31 2022

[slushangar]

Just got back from a trip to Bonaire. Have used this forum extensively for advice on diving trips, so figured I would finally contribute and post about one of my recent trips.

Firstly, what an amazing trip. The freedom of shorediving was a nice experience (first time) and a change of pace for my wife and I from the normal dive resort/liveaboards we are used to. But it did make us appreciate the times we've done liveaboards or stayed at resorts where others setup/transport the gear and tanks. It is a lot of work hauling tanks, rinsing gear, and setting everything up, taking it apart.

Lodging: We stayed at Beaches Ocean-view Apartments. Located less than 1.5 km south of the airport. Smaller family run operation consisting of ~10 units. Each with a kitchenette, private bathroom, AC, dive lockers/rinse stations, and a pool. There is a common area of the rooftop where they have beer, wine, and soda available for purchase at reasonable prices. 100% recommend this place and if we return to Bonaire, we will be staying here.

Rental Car: Rented thru National at the airport. Got a newer Nissan Frontier, manual transmission. I'm able to get my corporate rate thru National, not sure if it makes sense for others.

Dive Shop: Got our tanks from Wannadive. They give 10% off for those staying at Beaches Ocean-view Apartments and have free nitrox. Location was right next to Beaches which made it an obvious choice for us. They also have a north location too. Their service was great, and tanks were consistently filled to 3,000 - 3,200 psi. Highly recommend.

Diving: Dove 2-3 sites a day. My wife and I discovered that when not in a group, we are low air users. Every dive we did was about 75 minutes. Doing dives this long, it becomes a bit harder to do more than 3 dives a day. Three 75 minute dives is almost 4 hours. Plus surface intervals you start running out of time quickly. If you want to dive 3+ sites a day, you need to start early, bring snacks/water, and have a plan. I was surprised that we were able to beat the crowd at some of the popular sites by starting around 8:30 am (figured it would have to be earlier). We also did some of the other popular sites later in the afternoon (4pm) to avoid the crowds as well. This approach worked well for us.

We dove the following sites (listed from north to south). General all sites were similar and very good. Saw a lot of moray eels, garden eels, 2 green sea turtles, squid, crabs, shrimp, baracuda, and more reef fish than I can name. Reef was in excellent shape. As good as any place I've been in the Caribbean (Belize & Utila). Can't compare to the Pacific's biodiversity, but for the Caribbean, Bonaire is top-notch.

• Boka Slagbaai: In national park, not worth the effort to get to. Reef is somewhat damaged here, but still saw tons of fish. Definitely recommend a trip to the national park though.
• Karpata: One of the best. We dove two times.
• Ol' Blue: Very similar or the same as Karpata.
• 1,000 steps
• Oil Slick Leap
• The Beach: Unnumbered site located just north of Bachelor's Beach, accessible via the The Beach Restaurant. We did as our checkout dive as this was across the street from WannaDive.
• The Lake
• Hilma Hooker: Not a big wreck diver, but enjoyed this as it is surrounded by reef. Several huge tarpon.
• Angel City
• Alice in Wonderland
• Salt Pier
• Invisibles
• Margate Bay
• Red Slave: Reef not in as good of shape here. Seemed like current near the buoy was pulling hard to the south here. We went north from the buoy.

Dining: We did a combination of eating in/out. Shopped at Van Den Tweel and loaded up the fridge in our apartment. They had a good selection of food, reasonable selection of wine, and some beers. My wife is a vegetarian, and all the restaurants we went had at least 1+ vegetarian options on the menu. For the week of Christmas/New Year's, plan to make reservations in advance.

• The Beach: Across the street from our lodging. All tables were reserved for the night, so we ate at the bar.
• La Cantina: Downtown. Made a reservation ahead of time for Christmas. One of the best meals I've ever had. Nice courtyard.
• Joe's Restaurant: Between airport and downtown. Had reservation. Very good food, nice atmosphere.
• Stoked Food Truck: Located on beach at airport. Quick spot, good food. Open until 7pm, so an option for dinner.
• King Kong Burgers: Located ~2km south of airport. Great burgers and fries. Quick option for lunch. not open for dinner. Have vegetarian burgers.
• Roos Suriname Food: Excellent option for those who like ethnic food. Highly recommend.
• Kos Bon So: Located in Rincon. Local place. Excellent option for food and a beer if you are up north at the park or diving Karpata. Great prices.
• Posada Para Mira: Located in Rincon. Also a good option if you are up north at the national park or diving Karpata.

Any questions, feel free to ask.

 

[tkaelin]

Welcome to the freedom and fun of shore diving. For greater ease, try staying at a place with a good house reef and dive set up.

 

[deeper thoughts]

Thnx for sharing

 

[KDAD]

We made it to Kos Bon So in Rincon when we down there in August. Nice local place that we hit for food and a beer on our way to the park. I like off-the-beaten path spots like that. The park was the highlight of the trip for my wife so it made her list of places to return.

 

[drrich2]

Glad you enjoyed Bonaire. Oh, yes, there's a price to pay for the freedom of shore diving on your own in terms of labor getting around and setting up gear, but once you've done it this way, you'll miss it going forward.

Bonaire seems to be my preferred 'every other' dive destination. I go, enjoy it, then wonder off elsewhere to enjoy something different I can't get in Bonaire, then...crave another trip to Bonaire.

Sometimes doing your own dive, instead of following a guide-led tour (despite the gross superiority of professionally trained, seasoned local guides familiar with the reefs), is rewarding. I'm glad you got to do it.

 

[NW Dive Dawg]

Great trip and great report.... Thanks!

The freedom of no schedule, no DM's, no time or depth restrictions, no "no post dive ice cold beer", make Bonaire a total repeat destination. Like Rich, wife and I try other locations but always keep going back to Bonaire. 13 times in the past 20 years. Our other favorite repeat is LCBR.

The only thing I would add to your list is to consider adding in a day with East Coast Divers......formerly Larry's Wild Side Diving.

Also, one of our favorite sites is Vista Blue....for Eagle Rays.......so much so that we named our boat after it.

 

[Jake 10]

Welcome to the freedom and fun of shore diving. For greater ease, try staying at a place with a good house reef and dive set up.

A place with good house reef and dive set up? Could you share a recommendation(s)?

 

[Jake 10]

@slushangar thanks for the report, we are looking forward to our summer trip to Bonaire and shore diving

 

[drrich2]

A place with good house reef and dive set up? Could you share a recommendation(s)?

tkaelin may answer soon; I'll throw in a couple of recommendations.

Buddy Dive Resort has a nice setup, with piers and easy walk in/out via a couple of sets of steps. I prefer to enter and head north from their pier, past Captain Don's (which should also have a fine house reef; I haven't stayed there, but I've dove and like that stretch of reef), but heading south (toward Bari reef) was also good.

Sand Dollar Condo.s and Den Lamen are side-by-side, and if you stay there and dive with Dive Friends, you can use the on-site pier. Their house reef is Bari Reef, and it's quite a reputable one.

My Research Notes for Bonaire - My Research Note For Bonaire

8 Day Trip Report: Sand Dollar, Dive Friends

 

[DirtFish]

Thanks for the trip report! I'm heading there in March and I am a vegan/vegetarian. What were some of your wife's favorite restaurants for vegetarian meals? I always worry about ending up eating nothing but rice and beans, or some crappy thrown together mixed vegetables with no love.