drrich2
Contributor
Hi:
2 Years ago, my wife, friend and I spent a week in Bonaire 3/07 with the Parrot Island Divers group out of Nashville, TN (we live in KY). This year we got to go back for a second trip, 3-21-09 - 3-28-09. It was a lot of fun; my friend & I got our AOW certification on this trip. I thought I'd make a simple trip report, and since people post on this forum asking about going to Bonaire, maybe lay out a little of what it's like. These photos are a mix from me, my wife Jami and our friend Wallob Hebel.
Bonaire is an island near Aruba, larger but much less densely populated (although cruise ships are bringing in big crowds some days; a big Royal Caribbean ship came while we were there; I saw street vendors with outdoor tables this trip, unlike our '07 trip), where coral reefs are close to shore and you can shore dive - walk in & swim out to the reef - rather than hire a dive boat to take you out, unlike much of the Caribbean diving sites. People often get a package deal that includes a resort stay, rental truck and unlimited scuba tank usage (pick'em up full, drop'em off empty, grab some more).
We had a 4 hour non-stop flight on Delta from Atlanta to Bonaire's Flamingo International Airport, one of the littlest airports (& the only pink one) I've ever seen. Flamingos occur wild on Bonaire and they feature strongly in local marketing.
We stayed at Eden Beach Resort in a 2 story apartment designed to accomodate 4 people.
Gas stove; the oven dial doesn't have #'s for temp.s, so you have to guess.
Upstairs is where the bedrooms were.
A southern dive site. At the southern sites you can often part fairly close to the Ocean, and walk in. Entry at some sites (i.e.: Hilma Hooker) is challenging, because rough, irregular rocky formations along shore are obscured by incoming waves. Some sites have better entry, like Aquarius and Windsock.
The dark near shore is rocky bottom, the light turquiose our further is sandy bottom, and the dark beyond that is deeper water.
2 Years ago, my wife, friend and I spent a week in Bonaire 3/07 with the Parrot Island Divers group out of Nashville, TN (we live in KY). This year we got to go back for a second trip, 3-21-09 - 3-28-09. It was a lot of fun; my friend & I got our AOW certification on this trip. I thought I'd make a simple trip report, and since people post on this forum asking about going to Bonaire, maybe lay out a little of what it's like. These photos are a mix from me, my wife Jami and our friend Wallob Hebel.
Bonaire is an island near Aruba, larger but much less densely populated (although cruise ships are bringing in big crowds some days; a big Royal Caribbean ship came while we were there; I saw street vendors with outdoor tables this trip, unlike our '07 trip), where coral reefs are close to shore and you can shore dive - walk in & swim out to the reef - rather than hire a dive boat to take you out, unlike much of the Caribbean diving sites. People often get a package deal that includes a resort stay, rental truck and unlimited scuba tank usage (pick'em up full, drop'em off empty, grab some more).
We had a 4 hour non-stop flight on Delta from Atlanta to Bonaire's Flamingo International Airport, one of the littlest airports (& the only pink one) I've ever seen. Flamingos occur wild on Bonaire and they feature strongly in local marketing.
We stayed at Eden Beach Resort in a 2 story apartment designed to accomodate 4 people.
Gas stove; the oven dial doesn't have #'s for temp.s, so you have to guess.
Upstairs is where the bedrooms were.
A southern dive site. At the southern sites you can often part fairly close to the Ocean, and walk in. Entry at some sites (i.e.: Hilma Hooker) is challenging, because rough, irregular rocky formations along shore are obscured by incoming waves. Some sites have better entry, like Aquarius and Windsock.
The dark near shore is rocky bottom, the light turquiose our further is sandy bottom, and the dark beyond that is deeper water.