Bonaire site recommendations for my first and last trip

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Fellows:

I am booked to dive Bonaire from May 16 - May 23.

I must confess that from all the guide books, trip reports and reviews I read about different places Bonaire never really appealed to me. This is not because Bonaire was getting bad reviews but more because people were praising it for things that do not personally excite me. Yet there was a group discount that was being offered for Bonaire that was very tempting and I could not have done Bonaire cheaper.
Furthermore the group that I was going with were friends from previous dives so there was peer pressure building up to sign up for a destination that I personally would not have chosen if I was going by myself. This time it seems stars were aligned in such a way that my dive trip for 2015 turned out to be Bonaire and that is fine too.

Given the above situation, my first time in Bonaire would most likely be my last time. I do not think I will end up going back as there is plenty of ocean out there that calls me a lot more loudly and passionately than Bonaire does. Since my first time next year may very well be my last time ever, can anyone present their favorite TOP 30 DIVE SITES in Bonaire? if you knew you will make only one trip to Bonaire which 30 sites would you choose? I am sure that with the feedback I get, I will still remember Bonaire with some good memories.

Also if anyone could recommend any guide books or website for Bonaire dive sites that would also get me excited.

Cheers -

CS

 

[jimbeeler]

You've got me curious, if you don't mind me asking.... What does excite you? What kinda stuff do you like to see and do while diving?

Jim

 

[drrich2]

Roughly from north west coast headed down, focusing on good sites and that are popular with strong name recognition.

1.) Karpata - one of the lusher reef sites, and very popular. Going here commits you to the one-way stretch on the coastal road and a long drive around home, so also hit Tolo (1st).

2.) Tolo (a.k.a. Ol'Blue) - easy entry, nice site, and if memory serves they've got a nice bed of shallow water stag horn coral a bit north of the entry, near which I saw a big southern stingray. Often overlooked, but a nice 1st dive on your way to Karpata.

3.) 1,000 Steps - actually 60 something. Yeah, the stairs are a burden, but you can get nice scenic photos topside, and it's a nice site, too.

4.) Oil Slick Leap - consistently good for animals, minimal swim out, the giant stride in is a signature Bonaire dive, as you head for the ladder at the end of the dive watch for animals in the crevices at the shore line. I've seen big porcupine puffers and rainbow parrotfish ending dives at this site.

5.) Andrea I &/or II: Sites are side-by-side, easy entry/exit, popular. Would be easy to take a couple of tanks to and hit both.

6.) The Cliff - a fairly shallow but striking vertical wall stretch that's topographically distinct from other dive sites here, except Small Wall, which is by boat (unless you stay at a couple of resorts, including Black Durgeon) and larger in my opinion.

7.) Buddy's Reef if you stay at Buddy Dive, of course. It is nice.

8.) Bari's Reef - lauded as having the best officially measured diversity in the Caribbean or some such? It is nice. If you don't stay at Sand Dollar or another resort right by it, you turn off the round-about just south of Sand Dollar and head down to park & walk in. Very popular site.

9.) Windsock - nice, easy entry, good for night dives since that big pier makes knowing where to get back out easy.

10.) Invisibles - good site, but fairly long swim out (which may not appeal to people prone to sea sickness). One of the very well known sites.

12.) Hilma Hooker - the big wreck. A signature Bonaire dive.

13.) Alice in Wonderland - well regarded southern site.

14.) Angel City - consistently popular. I headed straight out to the 2nd reef (this southern stretch has a double reef system) and enjoyed the 2nd reef. A good site. Like Alice in Wonderland, consistently spoken well of.

15.) Salt Pier - if you see it without a ship in port, stop and dive it. Shallow dive, lots of pilings, another signature Bonaire dive.

16.) Red Beryl & Vista Blue are both good sites consistently well-spoken of. As you head south, mind the conditions since current can be more of an issue.

17.) Sweet Dreams - as lush or lusher than any Bonaire site I've hit, far as I recall. Far south, be mindful of conditions.

18.) If by chance you try White Slave, be mindful that we entered by the slave huts and headed south, and the reef drop off was really deep, but heading north, we found it shallower and much more dive able.

19.) To say you've tried the east coast 'wild side' diving, do a shore dive with Bas Tol at BasDiving.com. For that, at Buddy Dive I asked for a big tank, and got what I suspect was an AL 100. If you can get a big tank, do it, as Bas can show you a lot of cool stuff.

20.) Do at least one boat trip and hit Klein Bonaire. Also by boat, I hear good things about a main island site called Rappel, but I've never dove that.

21.) I have never figured out how to find and get to the site 'Something Special,' but it's often spoken of and from what I understand somehow distinctive.

If you dive very heavily on this trip, and hit all the places I told you, you will at least be able to say 'Yeah, I've been there' to the majority of the mainstream 'talked about' sites, in my opinion.

There are always more. People will talk about diving in the park, boat trips to the wild side, other sites like Bachelor's Beach and Witch's Hut/Weber's Joy, etc...

Richard.

 

[tursiops]

I'm not going to suggest any dive sites until I know what kind of diving turns you on and off, including your preferences for shore dives versus boats.
I've been there 27 times, have over 600 dives on the island, have been to almost all the dive sites on both sides of the island plus Klein, and look forward to going back again next year.
So tell us what you like instead of "I don't like Bonaire" and maybe we can help....that is, give us some information instead of your conclusions....

Your best reference for shore diving is BSDME.

 

[darook]

Richard's list is a great start and includes my most visited sites. Shore diving is not for everybody and if you are into valet service this aint your place. I find it a nice balance to more boat dive intensive places which have a strict schedule but include a lot more support. My guess is you will enjoy yourself more than you are expecting and if not no one can say you didn't give it a try.

 

[redacted]

Wait a minute. There is scuba diving in Bonaire!!!

All these years I have been going there for the sail boarding, kite boarding and, of course, the nude beach.

I know I have not tried 30 sites. But put Kartata (north for one dive and south for another) at the top of the list. Tolo runs a close 2nd. Down south try all or any sites between Margate Bay and Red Slave. Red Beryl has the easiest entry if conditions are a bit challenging.

 

[deedeediver]

Fellows:

I am booked to dive Bonaire from May 16 - May 23.

I must confess that from all the guide books, trip reports and reviews I read about different places Bonaire never really appealed to me. This is not because Bonaire was getting bad reviews but more because people were praising it for things that do not personally excite me. Yet there was a group discount that was being offered for Bonaire that was very tempting and I could not have done Bonaire cheaper.
Furthermore the group that I was going with were friends from previous dives so there was peer pressure building up to sign up for a destination that I personally would not have chosen if I was going by myself. This time it seems stars were aligned in such a way that my dive trip for 2015 turned out to be Bonaire and that is fine too.

Given the above situation, my first time in Bonaire would most likely be my last time. I do not think I will end up going back as there is plenty of ocean out there that calls me a lot more loudly and passionately than Bonaire does. Since my first time next year may very well be my last time ever, can anyone present their favorite TOP 30 DIVE SITES in Bonaire? if you knew you will make only one trip to Bonaire which 30 sites would you choose? I am sure that with the feedback I get, I will still remember Bonaire with some good memories.

Also if anyone could recommend any guide books or website for Bonaire dive sites that would also get me excited.

Cheers -

CS

Dear Captain S, I think once you arrive on Bonaire and dive on Bonaire it will not be your last dive trip. I could be wrong, but......I am of the opinion that you will be pleasantly surprised... also, how is Woodbridge these days, I have lived in Mount Vernon...... I hope you have a great time in May and I am glad some dive buddy finally twisted your arm to get to this fabulous dive island.

 

[a878bob]

I'm not sure about 30, but how about my top 5.
Red slave, 1000 steps, Karpata, oil slick leap, bachelor's beach, invisibles, Hilma hooker at night, wow, maybe I can come up with 30.

I don't bother with Klein anymore, salt pier is pretty barren as far as I'm concerned. The Orange cup coral on the piling is one reason to go I guess, the one just inside the park is a good dive if you can find it, maybe it's Taylor made, that's part part of the fun, I park by the big tree with the inner tube on the bush, then you have to find the way into the water, it's narrow, I think the site just north of red slave is sweet dreams, it's not marked, but the soft coral and fans were amazing. I'm pretty sure now I can come up with 30.

I really have my heart set on retiring on Bonaire, can't wait to get back.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

You've got me curious, if you don't mind me asking.... What does excite you? What kinda stuff do you like to see and do while diving?

Jim

I am into big animal photography, such as turtles, rays, goliath groupers and sharks etc. Bonaire is not known for big animal encounters as it is more of a macro place. I will be bringing my 60 mm macro lens for it will see more use on this trip than most others.

---------- Post added October 23rd, 2014 at 07:59 PM ----------

I'm not going to suggest any dive sites until I know what kind of diving turns you on and off, including your preferences for shore dives versus boats.
I've been there 27 times, have over 600 dives on the island, have been to almost all the dive sites on both sides of the island plus Klein, and look forward to going back again next year.
So tell us what you like instead of "I don't like Bonaire" and maybe we can help....that is, give us some information instead of your conclusions....

Your best reference for shore diving is BSDME.

Thanks tursiops. Big animals are major attraction for me but if there is any particular area of Bonaire that would be suited for other types of wide angle photography like reef-escapes and wrecks then I would be interested in that. I will be diving the Hilma as that is a well known wreck there.

 

[Roatan Joe]

Without out a doubt, the best dive I did while on Bonaire was a light drift dive. Jump into the water at LaDania's Leap and drift dive to Karpata. There's info somewhere online that explains exactly where LaDania's Leap is located and the underwater nav directions to get you to come up at the correct location at Karpata.. I absolutely loved the dive. Great topography, a very healthy pristine reef, wall dive, lots of larger sea life when I did it. It was great! Obviously the sealife moves, but we saw lots of turtles, eels and larger fish compared to the rest of the week while diving in Bonaire.

I don't agree with the person that mentioned on the below link that it should only be attempted with a guide. Maybe hire a guide if you're a very inexperienced diver, otherwise it's doable. Found the link which has lots of good info and listed it below. Look for the yin-yang marking in the middle of the road. That is where you get out and walk to the water. The leap wasn't that bad. My wife did it when she had only a handful of ocean dives under her belt and later said "no big deal". She liked giant striding better than wading through surf on foot. Very important, be at the correct depth and look for the anchor which is your landmark for turning towards shore at about a 45 degree relative angle. It's a BIG anchor and shouldn't be missed if your at the correct depth and looking for it.

Scuba Shore Diving Site Page for: La Dianas Leap of Bonaire North, ABC Islands