Trying to avoid a cattle d(r)ive

[Nuub]

Hello folks. I'm new to diving and to this board, but have been lurking for some time, reading all I can about Bonaire because...
Me and my sister are Bonaire first timers headed there last week of August. 23-31. We both have less than 12 dives, never dove without a DM. Trying to decide on which Op.
One thing I'd like to avoid are large group (more than 4 divers plus DM or guide/assist) boat dives. I'm not keen on large groups in the water all at once. If there many people, but we're all led off in different groups in different directions, that's OK.
It seems like Cpt Don and Buddys have well thought out operations with the bigger capacity dive boats, which is pretty cool. But. Does that mean there's always a crowd of people going? Or am I better off going with a smaller Op like Dive Friends or WannaDive? My sister likes Boat dives so we'll probably end up doing at least four days of two tank dives.. But I'm also a fan of opportunities for conviviality, which I expect would be better at Dons or Buddys.
My selection of Op will affect where I stay.. (Dons, Buddys, Sand Dollar, Plaza, Belafonte, CCP - each has a diff dive op associated with it)

Second question - this will be the first time I've done shore diving without a DM. What equipment is essential for a shore dive: signal float tube, EPIRB style unit?, waterproof flares just in case? First Aid kit, working local cell phone..

Thanks for any and all help!
Nuub

 

[herman]

Welcome to the board.
With a ratio that small, you are going to have to hire a private DM, no one will regulary take just 4 diver per DM. These dives are easy and there is no need for a DM other than to show you the small stuff. Some of the smaller ops will have smaller boats but not near that ratio. Also, its a lot easier if you use the dive shop that is affaliated with the resort you are staying at...not a requirement but it does make life easier.

For shore dives none of that equipment is necessary. You are diving less than 100 yds from shore at all times and currents are mild (for the most part) and you are rarely more than 5 miles from your resort. A good compass is all you really need.
My best suggestion is to find some experienced Bonaire diver and join in with them. There are 2 groups from this board going in June/July and others going by themselves. Joining in with them would be ideal. Alternately, join the Bonaire board (Bonaire Talk) , tell about yourself and ask if anyone will be on island when you are that would be willing to let you join up with them...I have had good sucess doing so over the years.

 

[diversteve]

From the social aspect, I wouldn't pick Bellafonte. It's in Belnem, a quieter neighborhood south of town. We stayed nearby at BelMar condos so I'm familiar with it/that area. They use Dive Friends or Wannadive but neither are on location - Dive Friends is up the street at Port Bonaire condos and Wanna Dive is at Windsock Beach Resort nearby. My guess would be that for your BMP orientation you'll have to go to one of their shops first also. One or both probably stages tanks at Bellefonte for guests.

Also there's no food near Bellafonte or any kind of bar so "conviviality" takes a hit since you'll be driving to Kralendijk for that. Only the Hotel Roomer restaurant is in Belnem and it's small. Belnem is a small condo complexes/private villa rental area. The closest bar is probably Coconut Crash at the Plaza.

If it matters, there's no beach at Bellefonte - that whole area is ironshore. All those waterfront resorts will have stairs/ladders/dive docks to access the water. Where Bellefonte is located I don't think they have a pool either - not enough space to the water.The nearest beach is probably Bachelors and it's not great. Windsock is probably one of the easiest shore dive entries nearby but it's mostly coral rubble. The best beach nearby is around the lagoon at the Plaza Resort.

For shore diving all the good southern sites are about 5mins. away. A lot of those also have on/off shore submerged ironshore/coral rubble so both bring good boots and help your buddy get over it. Carry your fins and put them on after you're floating. The ball marks the start of the reef - at most you'll easily spot it from shore.

No gloves allowed so don't touch anything dark brown growing on the rope - it might be Fire Coral. You'll regret that for weeks/months later. An easy dive is the Salt Pier also, easy entry, spectacular diving in shallow water under the pilings and lots of fish. Watch for rays also. Can't dive it if a ship is loading. Don't touch the brown stuff there either - it is fire coral - I know...

Considered the Divi Flamingo? It's just south of town, they have everything on-site including a small beach, the only Casino on Bonaire and are walking distance to downtown. IDK anything about their dive operation but I'd guess it's similar to Don's/Buddy's. It's maybe not quite as big a resort as either of them. Besides their dive you'll drive to any others though.

Since every northern resort is on a dive site, you could start by diving Habitat, Buddy's, Den Laman first to get familiar with shore diving on your own. Habitat has two shore dives, Cliff to the north and the small, shallow LaMachaca wreck. Buddy's has a good dive and Den Laman/Sand Dollar are on Bari Reef - most counted species of fish in the Caribbean. They're all free, just check in with the dive shop so they know you're there. Habitat charges $5 for use of the lockers/showers etc. - worth it. To dive there, drop your gear at the turn-around near the bar then go park. The dive dock/lockers is down the ramp - the shop is up off to the right.

Once you leave town/the resorts in either direction, there are absolutely no facilities at any site. Most afternoons there aren't many divers at any of them either. So as new divers, you'll want to be careful.

Also I'm sure you've read it but leave nothing in the truck you don't want taken, windows down, doors unlocked. We just pile our gear loose on the back seat and leave tanks in the back - no one steals tanks. Buy something like this for cash, DL, room key etc. Or just put it all in a pocket, wet money is accepted everywhere. Witz from LeisurePro.com

Divers hang out at City Cafe and Karel's Bar downtown - City has music on the weekends also. Both are open air places right on the waterfront. Bongos Beach Bar at Eden Beach used to be popular but they've gone with some sort of upscale ultra-lounge concept (Spice) recently so IDK if it's still there. Habitat's bar was busy in the afternoons and Buddy Dive also. Even if you don't stay there, the Tuesday night Beach BBQ at Coconut Crash at the Plaza is worth it.

One thing about the Plaza is that the Toucan Dive boats/dive shop/dive lockers are at the far SE side of the property on the lagoon but 18 Palms - their dive site is almost at the NW end. They stage tanks there but you'd have a good 5min.+ walk with gear. I marked up an overhead view for the invasion showing the property details here: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/in...tions-about-bonaire-invasion.html#post6532003 Zoom in - I I'd the various locations. For boat diving, it's very convenient though, their rental area, lockers, retail shop, dock etc. are all together. Bring fruit for the iguanas.

 

[Lorenzoid]

I would pick my dive op by criteria other than its boat dives. If this is your first trip to Bonaire, my recommendation is to skip the boat dives entirely. If you want to try one, then go for it, but don't choose your dive op based on the quality of their boats. Sure, a boat dive now and then provides a little variety, but Bonaire is all about the shore diving. Pick your dive op based on what people say about them generally. I've only done three Bonaire trips (and haven't felt an urge to do a boat dive yet), but some of the people in my group who have been to Bonaire a dozen times say the few boat dives they have done were hardly worth it. A boat dive on Klein Bonaire can be nice, but hardly necessary to enjoy all Bonaire has to offer. It's all about the shore diving.

As far as shore diving safety is concerned, I too had never shore dived when my wife and I arrived on our first trip to Bonaire. I had some trepidation, but there is really nothing to it. There are threads here on SB you can find that discuss what a first-time shore diver might want to know, and specifically about Bonaire. As herman said, you don't need much safety gear of the type you mention (SMB, EPIRB, etc.) because you will be diving parallel to shore and not very far out, and usually there is little current. There's essentially no chance of you being swept out to sea. If you have a problem, you can often just turn toward shore and swim in. I do like the idea of carrying a cell phone in a waterproof case and capable of local calls, so you could dial 911 (I believe that's the number) in an emergency. But I have not noticed anyone doing this, and so I suspect the number of divers with that much foresight are few. Don't leave anything behind in the truck while you are out diving except for ratty t-shirts and flip-flops, as it will likely be pilfered. I suspect a fancy first-aid kit would be stolen.

diversteve's overview is great, but do a search for other threads on what a first-timer to Bonaire might want to know. There are many.

By the way, we chose Buddy Dive for our first trip. The dive-and-drive package was great for us first-timers.

 

[herbdb]

Unless a large group has a package deal including boat dives, you will see very few people on the boats. We like to stay at Capt Don's. Last time we were there I never saw more than 6-7 people on their boats. Some of the best dives I have done are in front of the resort. Buddy's is another good option right next door. The island is small enough that driving distance to town or dive sites is not a big deal.

Something rarely mentioned. One of you needs to drive a stick shift, automatic transmissions are not the norm. You need to make special arrangements for one and it will cost more.

Have fun, Bonaire is my favorite.

 

[SailNaked]

Stay off the boats, equipment needed for bonaire booties, the rocks are hard and the water is wet and soft. you need almost nothing in Bonaire, the current is mild and you swim into it till you get to about 1400# and then turn back. keep the wall on the right or left on the way out and the oposite side on the way back you never need a compass. depth guage, air guage watch both.

Get nitrox cert before or there, if you like to dive a bunch, you can do air if you only plan 2 a day, we do 5 a day.

 

[diverjen]

As a returned first timer and new diver: I would suggest a place with a nice house reef and setup for house dives. Buddy's and Captain Don's come to mind. I have heard a lot of good things about these dive ops, too. We stayed at Sand Dollar and dove with BDA and never felt like it was a cattle boat and we were brand new never been in the ocean as divers (snorkeled a lot before this). The ratio was maybe 8-10 divers to a DM and Captain. We will probably dive BDA again next time because we love the house reef, Bari Reef and the setup there. Buddys and Don's are just north of Bari so essentially (although I have not dove them) the same incredible house reef. I get the impression that Buddy's has a great breakfast and a great dive vibe for meeting others. This is something we missed out on at Sand Dollar (mostly owners, we did not really meet new people on this trip, which is sad). We are not sure where we are staying next time, maybe Den Laman, Bamboo Bali or Apartment Bridanda, just because they have great deals and the amenities and location we are looking for, nothing wrong at all with Sand Dollar and we had a great unit by the dive dock.

General Recommendations:

Have a hard soled boots as mentioned above, you will need them.

Get Nitrox certifed as mentioned above, it is a free upgrade at most places (but maybe not Don's?).

For Boat dives, most places have a 5 or 6 pack dive package, at BDA you don't pay ahead you just get the deal if you do that many boat dives by the end of that week. Don't prepay for a boat package. IMHO, that is plenty of boat dives for a week in Bonaire. We did 5 I believe and went over to Klein several times and cheated and did 1000 steps by boat. The Klein sites are in better condition IMHO. I wouldn't say forget the boat dives as I know others feel this way, but they don't need to dominate the trip by any means.

The other thing I have not done but will do next time is to try and get on the Buddy Dive 3 tank trip to the park, I have heard great things about it. Apparently there are some tricky entries up there and it is worth the day. You don't have to stay at Buddys to take it, but I think you have to be on top of booking it because it fills up.

If you are really uncomfortable with shore diving or want a guide for a more difficult spot or to find you something specific I recommend VIP diving for a guided dive. They are fantastic and I cannot recommend them enough. I was also uncomfortable being a new diver, but most of the sites are really easy and we were fine on our own. We did do our first ever night dive with VIP and that was great.

Lastly , there is a naturalist at BDA named Jerry who does a guided Dive with the Naturalist dive following a presentation. This was just me, hubby, and Jerry. This was my favorite part of the trip in that it really opened my eyes in a new way to fish behavior and how to find all kinds of critters by understanding their behavior. IMHO this is a must do, especially for newer divers.

My suggestion would be to do a few boat dives to Klein, but spend that extra saved cash on a Dive with Jerry and the Buddy 3-tank to the park. Also, maybe do a guided night dive with VIP.

You are going to have a great time! So jealous and please report when you get back!

 

[tkaelin]

Given your experience level and concern about large dive boats, I would suggest Capt Dons or Buddys. The house reefs right out front offer excellent diving and I think once you see the lay of the land (and water and reefs), you will be very comfortable diving on the house reefs without a DM. Of course, if it makes you feel more comfortable on the first house reef dive, hire a DM at the resort to take you out. You will quickly see how safe and simple it is to dive the house reefs at these two resorts. Shore dives around the island can run from tricky/expert to easy/beginner so best to read up on those and get more information. I always do some boat diving when in Bonaire despite the preference of others to just shore dive. It is easy and inexpensive and gets you to Klein and some other sites you can't get to by car. I have never felt crowded on a Capt Don boat, even if there are 10-12 divers. The afternoon dive will have less and we have gone out with just a handful 4-6. I would not pass up the boat dive option. The nice thing about boat diving at Capt Dons is that the day before they list on a chalkboard where each boat is going and to sign up you write in your diver number. This gives you chance to find out more about the site in advance and to see how full a boat is going to be. If you change your mind or think the boat has become too full, simply erase your number and you are off the boat. Likewise if you see that day that the boat is empty or less full, simply sign up and you are on. Lots of flexibilty. I think we did 3 boat dives our first trip, 5 on our second trip and 8 on our third. You can see the trend. I dive around 22-25 dives in six days and half of that or so is always at the house reefs at Capt. Dons, Buddys and Bari Reef just down the street. Have fun

 

[DeputyDan]

+ 1 for Jerry's naturalist course....

 

[redacted]

...you never need a compass....

I carry a compass and use it often in Bonaire. I like to take a compass reading to the site marker buoy and do that swim UW. If there is no marker buoy, I choose a heading and put in my own marker when I get to the drop-off - usually between 25 and 30 feet. Note the depth and features surrounding the marker and head off into the current. You may not be able to feel the current but the soft corals should be bent slightly with the current. We usually hed into the current at about 35 feet until about 1600 - 1700 psi. Turn the dive and move up to about 25 feet and head back. The marker should come into sight around 500 psi. I like to reverse my compass heading and return to shore UW. With a little practice, you will be quite close to your entry point when you stand up. Entries and exits can be a bit tricky at some sites so choose carefully and avoid unknown exit points if possible.