snydes
Registered
We recently returned from a week in Bonaire and I wanted to post my thoughts on the trip here for anyone who is thinking of going there for the first time. If you are a seasoned diver or have been to Bonaire before this is probably a lot of what you already know.
Prior to this trip my wife and I had but only 18 logged dives, and most of those were check out dives from the certifications, so not a lot of experience in the water on our own. Most of our check out dives were off a boat in Key Largo, and we were just plain burnt out with boat dives. The idea of having a truck with the freedom to go where you wanted when you wanted was extremely appealing and when the dive shop we got our certifications through announced they were booking a trip to Bonaire, we were in. Flight wasn't bad, just under 4 hours from Atlanta, the contrast between the monster Atlanta airport and Bonaire's one and only was pretty drastic, and I welcomed the much less hectic little airport. We got rentals from Hertz, little stick shift 4 door Isuzu diesels, most had tank racks bolted to the beds. Perfect trucks for the purpose of diving. So off we went, we stayed at the Divi Flamingo resort, which was just minutes from the airport. Decent place, rooms were good, beds were comfortable and the AC's worked fantastic. The following morning you have to do a orientation before you dive, just common sense stuff, did a dive from the house reef (Calabas Reef) and we were set free to go where we pleased. Now I want to mention that shore diving isn't for everyone, and we had several members of our group sign up for boat packages. A few of these were older individuals who preferred the ease of entry from the back of a boat rather than walking across the sometimes tricky terrain and entering the water, and I can appreciate that. It was also very convenient to handle your gear as there were lockers that everyone was assigned right on the dock where the boats picked you up, so no lugging your gear back and forth to the truck. The boats took them to all the same sites we were driving to, except they could also go to the island of Klein Bonaire (little Bonaire) which has some lesser traveled dive sites. Having said that, we loved shore diving. The navigation was very easy, there were buoy markers in the water at all the marked sites, we just dropped down there, followed the reef into the current (what little there was), turned around at half tank and head back at a shallower depth till we reached the buoy and then headed back to the shore. I would also highly recommend buying the "Dive Guide Bonaire", it was very helpful for selecting dive sites and had tips for entries, and was well worth the money IMO. We only were able to dive a fraction of the sites during our week, the standouts for us were Salt Pier, Karpata, and Angel City, I would make a point to visit all of those if you can. We had hoped to see an eagle ray and a turtle, and we did at Salt Pier, in fact we seen a LOT of turtle at salt pier. We liked Salt Pier was so much we dove it twice. As far as the truck break-in/theft issues, most of your popular sites were so well traveled during the day it seemed unlikely, but follow everyone's advice and leave nothing of value behind, and leave the windows down and the doors unlocked. We also enjoyed just driving around, if you follow the road going north along the west side it loops around through Rincon and back to Kralendijk. There is also a little off shoot to the left before you drive down to Rincon which has a great view, there is a sign for it, its a good photo opportunity. I also want to note that the people were all very nice, and no one ever approached us trying to sell things, which for anyone who is used to the tourist traps like Jamaica, where they can sense you as soon as you leave your room, it's a refreshing change. The week passed by quickly, I would have liked to do a few more things out of water but there just wasn't enough time. Many of the divers we spoke to were repeat visitors, and I can see why. We did have one incident I must mention, not to us but to two people in our group. Friday night was a busy night at the resort, lots of music, double happy hour and everyone was celebrating their last night before leaving Saturday morning, and very few people were in their rooms. Now in all the rooms there were notices on the sliding patio doors reminding you to keep them locked and use the wooden lock bars that wedge in to prevent them from being opened. Those lock bars were inconvenient, but we followed that advice all them time because we figured there was a good reason for that notice. Well the rooms that were right along the water were the most at risk, and that night around sunset when everyone was out apparently someone walked along the backside where the patio doors were and checked to see which ones they could enter. As I said two from our group were victims, the one admitted he didn't have his lock bar in and the other wasn't sure, and they both lost iPads and cell phones, an unfortunate way to end their vacations. It should also be noted that these thieves walked right past several pieces of high dollar dive gear, full face masks, dive computers and cameras, and only went for the electronics. Well, there it is, we had a great time diving in Bonaire and all in all it was a wonderful trip and I would go back in a heartbeat, so thats my review FWIW.
Steve
Prior to this trip my wife and I had but only 18 logged dives, and most of those were check out dives from the certifications, so not a lot of experience in the water on our own. Most of our check out dives were off a boat in Key Largo, and we were just plain burnt out with boat dives. The idea of having a truck with the freedom to go where you wanted when you wanted was extremely appealing and when the dive shop we got our certifications through announced they were booking a trip to Bonaire, we were in. Flight wasn't bad, just under 4 hours from Atlanta, the contrast between the monster Atlanta airport and Bonaire's one and only was pretty drastic, and I welcomed the much less hectic little airport. We got rentals from Hertz, little stick shift 4 door Isuzu diesels, most had tank racks bolted to the beds. Perfect trucks for the purpose of diving. So off we went, we stayed at the Divi Flamingo resort, which was just minutes from the airport. Decent place, rooms were good, beds were comfortable and the AC's worked fantastic. The following morning you have to do a orientation before you dive, just common sense stuff, did a dive from the house reef (Calabas Reef) and we were set free to go where we pleased. Now I want to mention that shore diving isn't for everyone, and we had several members of our group sign up for boat packages. A few of these were older individuals who preferred the ease of entry from the back of a boat rather than walking across the sometimes tricky terrain and entering the water, and I can appreciate that. It was also very convenient to handle your gear as there were lockers that everyone was assigned right on the dock where the boats picked you up, so no lugging your gear back and forth to the truck. The boats took them to all the same sites we were driving to, except they could also go to the island of Klein Bonaire (little Bonaire) which has some lesser traveled dive sites. Having said that, we loved shore diving. The navigation was very easy, there were buoy markers in the water at all the marked sites, we just dropped down there, followed the reef into the current (what little there was), turned around at half tank and head back at a shallower depth till we reached the buoy and then headed back to the shore. I would also highly recommend buying the "Dive Guide Bonaire", it was very helpful for selecting dive sites and had tips for entries, and was well worth the money IMO. We only were able to dive a fraction of the sites during our week, the standouts for us were Salt Pier, Karpata, and Angel City, I would make a point to visit all of those if you can. We had hoped to see an eagle ray and a turtle, and we did at Salt Pier, in fact we seen a LOT of turtle at salt pier. We liked Salt Pier was so much we dove it twice. As far as the truck break-in/theft issues, most of your popular sites were so well traveled during the day it seemed unlikely, but follow everyone's advice and leave nothing of value behind, and leave the windows down and the doors unlocked. We also enjoyed just driving around, if you follow the road going north along the west side it loops around through Rincon and back to Kralendijk. There is also a little off shoot to the left before you drive down to Rincon which has a great view, there is a sign for it, its a good photo opportunity. I also want to note that the people were all very nice, and no one ever approached us trying to sell things, which for anyone who is used to the tourist traps like Jamaica, where they can sense you as soon as you leave your room, it's a refreshing change. The week passed by quickly, I would have liked to do a few more things out of water but there just wasn't enough time. Many of the divers we spoke to were repeat visitors, and I can see why. We did have one incident I must mention, not to us but to two people in our group. Friday night was a busy night at the resort, lots of music, double happy hour and everyone was celebrating their last night before leaving Saturday morning, and very few people were in their rooms. Now in all the rooms there were notices on the sliding patio doors reminding you to keep them locked and use the wooden lock bars that wedge in to prevent them from being opened. Those lock bars were inconvenient, but we followed that advice all them time because we figured there was a good reason for that notice. Well the rooms that were right along the water were the most at risk, and that night around sunset when everyone was out apparently someone walked along the backside where the patio doors were and checked to see which ones they could enter. As I said two from our group were victims, the one admitted he didn't have his lock bar in and the other wasn't sure, and they both lost iPads and cell phones, an unfortunate way to end their vacations. It should also be noted that these thieves walked right past several pieces of high dollar dive gear, full face masks, dive computers and cameras, and only went for the electronics. Well, there it is, we had a great time diving in Bonaire and all in all it was a wonderful trip and I would go back in a heartbeat, so thats my review FWIW.
Steve