Bonaire or Roatan?

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sancho

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Location
ARKANSAS
# of dives
50 - 99
Planning a trip in 2010 family(2y/o, and 13 y/o diver. How jropen water friendly are the dives? How about safety topside? loved bonaire but would like to try roatan.
 
I'd say Anthony's key in Roatan... but the shore diving in Bonaire might be more condusive to family life.
 
Planning a trip in 2010 family(2y/o, and 13 y/o diver. How jr-open water friendly are the dives? How about safety topside? loved bonaire but would like to try roatan.

You should try Roatan, among other destinations.

I found what little current there was on Bonaire to be slightly more prevalent than anything on Roatan, really a non issue on Roatan. There are certain places on Roatan, most notable the "Shark Dive", of which current warnings and precautions are obvious.

Bonaire's shore dives easily qualify as an "advanced diving skill" as entries are made on uneven "ground" (broken rip-rap coral) and often some wave action to contend with... tougher when you are shorter! Most all dives on Roatan are boat dives, the exception being CCV; BIBR; FIBR; RHR which do have legit shore dives (in descending order of actual usage by divers)

AKR as mentioned above, is extremely "kid friendly"- they go out of their way to invite families and offer any number of non-dive activities to entertain the youngsters.

Contrary to popular belief, CCV (photo) welcomes young divers, IF they are well behaved and absolutely centered on a dive experience above all else, they fit right in and are generally welcomed by all. It's a pretty high level of maturity for some kids, but expectable from a 13 yo.

IMG_4140.jpg


If you are looking for diving every day, looking for more than 2 dives on any given day, an AI resort makes sense monetarily as well as in terms of hours-in-a-day budgeting. Guest Houses and ala carte dive ops might make better sense if you don't need that kind of frequency.

On Bonaire, you may well have been used to an op that offered a two tank boat dive in the morning and then let you off to go shore diving by rental car in the afternoon.

On Roatan, it works a bit differently. You might go that above mentioned guest house ala-carte route, selecting on or two trips on single tank boat dives spread out up to four times during a day. Pure convenience- pick your dive time, it's just very hard to make two boat trips in succession- so spread them out, say- one at 0900 and another at 1300 (If they offer runs at 9, 11, 1, and 3, for instance).

That way, using a typical West End Dive Op, you can do a bit of diving and some sitting on the beach. AKR (BIBR, IoLR) is near enough to this West End zone to also enjoy easy daily access to other Roatan topside diversions. (Horseback riding, jungle canopy tube, etc).

It all depends on what you want out of it- a dive vacation or a vacation with some diving.

Safety? In the AI resorts, it is a non-issue. On the wild party scene of the West End... how much trouble can a 13 year old get into? Not much. Just tell them to stay on the main drag and be as smart as they are back home. It's not exactly a den of sin and drunken debauchery, but for the motivated adult, it can be. :crafty:

When you talk about "safety topside", it leaves the true question you are asking open to a lot of interpretation. If you are talking about medical support service, it is absolutely non-existent. You're much better off with health concerns on Cayman, Nassau, Grand Bahama, Bonaire, Jamaica (about in that order) with the Bay Islands in the bottom 10%. Many people don't see this as a viable category for selecting an island, some feel mentioning it is an intrusion on their right to chose. On the contrary- all information is valuable for your consideration- you must then decide.

If you are looking for babysitting for the 2yo, this can easily be arranged- many resorts keep someone on call for this. there's a lot of Grandmothers down there that will spoil your kid rotten.

A 13 year old should be just fine without supervision. Any younger than that, they will likely be adopted as a weekly mascot by one of the local shops. :blinking:

IMG_4296.jpg

^^^^^^^^ This lucky guy and his dad saw a Hammerhead on a drop-off Shore Dive at CCV in April 2009 ^^^^^^^^
 
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I agree with Doc, Roatan would be great. :D But the fact he says he has a 2yr old rules out CCV. I would think that AKR would be ideal though! Friends stayed there with their kids a few summers ago and both kids loved it (13 yr old JR OW diver and a 6 yr old little fish). Both kids found lots to do and weren't bored.

I didn't see where you mentioned if you are traveling with another adult - diving or non-diving. That might be a determining factor in your choices.

Although I love Bonaire, I don't know if I would find it fun for kids for a whole week. We were there 2 yrs ago, while the Kid's SeaCamp was going on, and those kids had a ball but they were busy with organized activities all day. I can highly recommend the Kids Sea Camp though from friends who have used it. One person is going back this summer to Bonaire for the Sea Camp with her daughter. :D

robin:D
 
I agree with Doc, Roatan would be great. :D But the fact he says he has a 2yr old rules out CCV.

The Playa Miguel Beach Houses at CoCoView are okayed for infants and juveniles~ also contrary to the long standing myth.

From Playa Miguel FAQ: Can I bring my small kids to the Clubhouse?
As a rule at CCV, no kids are allowed at the Clubhouse. If you bring small kids, we suggest that you should eat at the outside bar where there are not too many other vacationers around. Please keep them from running wild, yelling, screaming and running all over the place. If this can't be done then you will have to keep them in the beach house.

Again, though... the Kid Friendliest AI Resort is Anthony's Key. At CCV- they better be diving!
 
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