Good hotel/dive packages on Bonaire?

[Togalive]

Hey there, so I'm considering Bonaire now as a possible spot to go for my dive vacation now that I've found a few ways to lower the airfare. But I'm wondering if anyone here could give me a reccomendation for a good *affordable* hotel that has some dive packages for unlimited shore diving and some boat diving. I've been looking at the Golden Reef Inn, and the Buddy Dive Resort, but I'm sure there are some I havent seen yet and I would really appreciate some intel from people who have "been there, done that".

P.S: If the hotel is nearby other good shore diving locations, that is a definite plus. Were hoping to make at least 3 dives a day, 1 or 2 being boat, and any others being shore dives. I am getting my open water certification within the next few weeks, so good beginner friendly shore dive locations near the hotel is a definite plus. For example I've read that Golden Reef has some good ones, but how close exactly are they?

Thankyou!
Austin

P.S: Also, my dad (a bit of a worrywart at times haha) wanted me to ask how "New person friendly" the majority of shore diving is on Bonaire. From what I understand, most all of them are marked by a downline, so I dont think we have much to worry about, but he insisted I ask :P

[DiveMaven]

Golden Reef Inn isn't on the water, so you'd be looking at sites along the water in front of the resorts (Capt Don's, Buddy, Sand Dollar, Den Laman, Eden Beach....). Go to InfoBonaire.com for information on accommodations. You're going to be hard pressed to find somewhere with a lousy house reef that's ocean front, so it'll be a matter of finding the place that you like best. If you stay off water, many of the on-water resorts will charge you to use their dock to access to water.

I would strongly recommend though that you rethink the boat diving part of your plan. IMO there just is very little reason to get on a boat more than a couple of times to go to Klein, particularly since the ala carte price is very reasonable. On our first visit to Bonaire we made the mistake of prepurchasing the 6 boat dive package and only used 1. :( On our second visit, the only boat dive we did was with East Side Divers. :)

The shore diving is so easy to navigate and get to that boat diving winds up being more of a hassle than it's worth. Except for the far southern sites where the conditions can sometimes be rough, the entire west side of the island offers shore diving that just about anyone can do. Since the reefs are all walls, you simply pick a spot to navigate from (could be the permanent mooring line), go one direction until you've burned 1/3 of your tank, turn around and go back to the starting point. Buy the book "Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy", great resource for picking dive sites.

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
Like DM says, GRI is not on the beach but that is really not a problem on Bonaire, ALL of the resorts are near great shore dive spots. There are loads of marked and unmarked sites that you park your truck beside the road and dive. This is a typical site, this one happens to be Windsock, which your plane will come directly over as you land on the island. WS happens to be a very easy first dive and well worth doing. It's one of the ones I suggest new divers start on. My truck is parked 50- 75 feet away.
http://ncdivers.com/cpg133/albums/userpics/10010/normal_DSC00040.jpg

To go low budget you will be hard pressed to do better that GRI, Liz and Ed will take good care of you and the dive shop they use- Wannadiveboniare is on the top of my favorite dive op list, super folks.
While to difficulty of the sites does vary, none are super difficult. I can name you several very easy entries that you could dive everyday and still not see it all. Most do have buoys you can use as down lines but I see no reason to. I just wade in, get chest deep, put on my fins and go under. My dives start and end in less than 8 ft of water. There is a lot to see in the shallows if you slow up and take the time to look.

For your first trip and esp if you are wanting to keep it on budget I would forgo the boat dives as well. They are not expensive but do add to the cost of the trip...still as a extra treat one or 2 over to Klien Bonaire would be fun. :)

[DiveMaven]

Great shot of Windsock! It's such an easy entry that I always laugh when I see people diving off the boats tied up there (usually the Divi Divi boat).

[dvrliz1]

Togalive,

We are not on the water as everyone says, but you can drive to the dive site "The Cliff" in under a minute or so. Within 5 minutes you can be at a majority of other sites from Something Special to Oil Slick Leap (great beginner dive IMHO, as easy entry and exit due to ladder access).

Also, regarding boat dives, I would REALLY recommend that you NOT book boat dives prior to coming to Bonaire. The majority of people who come to Bonaire the first time realize that there is SO much shore diving, that only a couple of boat dives are necessary. As Herman says, we can also recommend a lot of "first time" shore entries. You may also want to get Susan Porter's "Shore Diving Made Easy" (I think still available on Amazon.com or you can pick up here while on island). You can pretty much schedule boat dives a la carte, which ever dive resort/operator you choose to go with.

Liz

[CCarter1]

my wife and I took our first trip to Bonaire this April. We stayed at Buddy Dive and really enjoyed how easy they made it. You can store all of your equipment at their dive shop by the water or by the drive thru air fill station. Their house reef is the easiest entry and exit that you will experience on the island. Its a dock that you can giant strip off of, or use the stairs and walk right in.If your in to photography, I recommend John's u/w digital photo class.
We purchased their dive and drive package that included unlimited shore diving with a rental truck included, free breakfast and 2 boat dives a day. The boat diving might be a great way to get you started and comfortable with the water (since you're new divers) but I only did 5 all week. Get the "shore diving made easy book, its a great help when you sit down to figure out what site you want to try next. The biggest difference in the different sites is the way you enter and exit the water.
I could go on and on about Bonaire, it truly is a diver's paradise.
have a great trip.

[DiverVince]

Togalive...Since you have asterisks next to"affordable" you do not want to stay at a resort that's directly right on the water. As in all real estate, waterfront affords the highest prices. Check out this site which lists properties as budget, superior & deluxe to get a good grasp as to what's available.

Also good advice previously provided on not pre purchasing a boat diving package. Most folks just love to dive where they want & when they want. THAT'S diving freedom. You;re in for a treat..enjoy...;)

[DiverVince]

Jeepers forgot to give you the link....
Info Bonaire - Hotels & Accommodations - Resorts, Condos, Inns, Apartments, Houses and other accommodations (http://www.infobonaire.com/hotels.html)

[VinoBambinos]

Just returned this morning from our second trip to Bonaire in 6 months. We stayed at Sand Dollar both times, the first with a group of 24 from our diveshop the latest with a smaller group of 5.
We checked out a lot of locations while on the island and really like the setup at Sand Dollar as well as Buddys and Belmar.
The diving from Sand Dollar and Buddys couldn't be easier, a simple giant stride off the pier. We would enter at Sand Dollar and exit at Buddys or Front Porch if there was any current.
Ditto what herman said about starting the dive shallow. We saw a 3-3 1/2 foot Green Turtle sleeping at "Bari" in 12 feet of water, our first seahorse at "The Lakes" in 8-10 feet, and almost stepped on a moray at "Invisibles" in 1 foot of water.
No matter where you stay you will love the diving :)

BTW, we will be booking our next trip as soon as we can lock down a date

[Togalive]

Thankyou so much for all the great advice! I have another question for you though, and as it appears now that we will be forgoing the 6/12 boat dive packages, and shore diving instead (still going to buy atleast 2 boat dives and 1 night dive. Since these will be our first ocean dives, we want to go in atleast twice with a guide there), I was curious if anyone had a preferred dive shop that they have done business with from whom I could rent all my gear for a week along with unlimited air? I've been looking around, and I've found a few good ones it seems, but I figure you guys are the ones who have actually dealt with them :)

Thanks again!

[herman]

I do not know of a bad shop on Bonaire. If I had to choose then it would be either Buddy Dive or Wannadivebonaire. I have had the pleasure of diving with both of them and have friends at both shops. Both have great staffs and good operations, you will not go wrong with either of them. If you are staying at GRI then the answer is easy, they are partnered with Wannadive so go with them. Because there are no bad shops on Bonaire it's usually just easier to go with the shop that is associated with your resort, it just makes things easier, esp for your first trip.

[lakeviewfarm]

Just got home for Bonaire. I stayed at Capt. Don's did 11 boat dive 6 shore dives, one on the east side. I like the boat dives, put your stuff on the boat and leave it here for all 3 dives of the day. Shore diving is easy in most spots but not as nice as boat dives. Get a guided night dive on the salt pier it is great. You will enjoy Bonaire, food was good, people a Capt Don's were great. Tom

[Niffer]

I returned from a trip to Bonaire on 7/24/10. When setting up our trip, we worked with Ann Phelan (http://www.bonairecaribbean.com/) and she set us up at the Coral Paradise Resort (http://coralparadise.com/) (CPR). The CPR reviews on Trip Advisor were outstanding. It's a small, budget resort that borders Captain Don's Habitat (http://www.habitatbonaire.com/). We purchased a package at CPR with diving through Captain Don's dive shop and had unlimited access to their great house reef. Kenny & Margaret Treadway, the owners of Coral Paradise, made sure we had everything we needed all week. Since CPR is small, it was a lot of fun to meet and talk to the other divers around the pool in the evening. I would absolutely stay there again if I make it back to Bonaire.

[Bonairetrip]

P.S: If the hotel is nearby other good shore diving locations, that is a definite plus. Were hoping to make at least 3 dives a day, 1 or 2 being boat, and any others being shore dives. Austin


It is easy to do 3 dives a day (I do anywhere between 1 and 5 depending on mood). Unless you stay on the water and do only the house reef, renting a truck is optimal. Distance is not a big deal: you will understand more when you get there. It could be anywhere from about two minutes to twenty minutes, depending on the site you select. There are likely to be many sites fairly close to you regardless of where you stay.

The bigger choices are: Do you stay south of town: Plaza, Divi, Carib Inn, Bel Mar, HHH, in Belnem, etc. or do you stay north of town (Buddy, Dons, GRI, Black Durgeon, etc.)? Do you stay on the water or not?

[mary.kay.schmidt]

I have stayed at Buddy's and am thinking of staying there again. The food was fair but the shore diving was great. Your stay includes a pick up truck and a drive thru for picking up tanks. Evening entertain was provided and lively.

[RJP]

I was curious if anyone had a preferred dive shop that they have done business with from whom I could rent all my gear for a week along with unlimited air? I've been looking around, and I've found a few good ones it seems, but I figure you guys are the ones who have actually dealt with them :)



I can highly recommend Plaza Resort as a place to stay, and they seem to have some good packages running currently.

Nearly every resort in Bonaire has a dive op on premises or is otherwise affiliated with one. (Plaza has Toucan Diving) Probably a good idea to work with whomever is "right there" if only from a logistical standpoint. PS - they all have unlimited air.