Bonaire shore diving made easy vs bonaire snorkeling guide

[altarose]

Heading to ABC Islands this winter. Has anyone seen both BSDME & Bonaire snorkeling Guide. BSDME comes highly recommended on TA, but as far as I understand it was written for divers with snorkeling added in. Bonaire guide was written by snorkelers for snorkelers, with up to date info. We are strickly snorkelers, both are about the same price and I like having the guide as ebook format for Ipad
Any thoughts
Thanks
Randy

 

[stu_in_fl]

not really answering your question (as I dive I have the BSDME book and am unfamiliar with the other one) I found it useful for the first few times I went (now I know the area quite well so don't reference it so much)...but worth getting one or the other to give you some hints of the various sites (as some will be suited to snorkelling and some not).

one tip though as you mentioned you wanted the e-book. The rule of thumb in Bonaire - don't leave anything in the car/truck that you don't want to risk being stolen....hence if an e-book/iPad you wouldn't want to have it with you when you went out snorkelling...probably worth getting the paperback version that you can carry around with you and leave in the truck. (and leave the doors unlocked and windows open on you car/truck in case someone decides to break them to see if there is something inside to take)....leave the iPad in your room safe.

 

[DeputyDan]

My wife's favorite snorkeling site is between Den Laman and Eden Beach.

Very close to Den Laman is the foundation for a restaurant - all under water (I think Hurricane Lenny was the cause) - this gives a lot of structure for fish.

 

[altarose]

Thanks for the replys, yes, I know about not leaving anything of value in vehicle, I would print up some pages ahead of time and plan the next days locations on the ipad while having a beer on the deck of rental

 

[gert7to3]

If you are just snorkeling then I would assume the snorkeling book is best for you.

Imho to the north Andrea I and II are very good for snorkeling. To the south The Lake has shallower gorgonians and Margate is nice with shallower elkhorn coral formations. Many of the house reefs have some shallow structures which always have life around them.

Front porch, just south of Bari has an old pier trailing into the water. This area may be getting redeveloped.

The sea cliffs along the northern sites are good. Especially along Oil Slick and 1000 Steps. Don't linger by the ladder or jump spot at Oil Slick. The docks at the house reefs are busy places with boats arriving/departing and divers jumping in the water. Best to stay clear of them.

Check with some dive ops about sites around Klien Bonaire. Some of the fringing reefs on the east side of the island have been spared the worst of the storm surge scouring which has so damaged much of the near shore reefs along the west side of the main island. They are worth the boat trip.

Also consider a night snorkel at some of the house reefs. Take a flashlight along and watch the tarpon pick off small fish. The shore side lights will have the area well illuminated, so it's not really so much of a night swim.

You should wear good footwear and at least a rash guard suit. Fire coral is abundant in shallow water and small urchins infest much of the rocks you will have to climb over.

 

[gert7to3]

Oops forgot this website with panorama views:

Bonaire Panoramas

 

[altarose]

Thanks for the tips and the link to the panorama's, gives a good sense of what to expect and the lay of the land

 

[WenPederson]

Was in Bonaire in May/June. Bought the snorkel guide and loaded it on my Kindle (which I left locked up when snorkeling). It is quite a good reference tool. Has pictures of the entries, good directions and a general overall description of some - but not all of the snorkeling sites on the island. The authors were most interested in sites with a predominance of pre-Omar and Lenny coral. So those were emphasized as their "best" snorkel sites. I'm not so much into coral but am into fish - so some of their sites were not friendly for my purposes. All around I'd give it a good rating.

 

[TropicalSnorkeler]

Hi from Galen & Nicole (authors of the Bonaire Snorkeling Guide eBook)

I just wanted to leave an update about our Bonaire Snorkeling Guide eBook improvements. While we have received great reviews for it, a couple of people felt like we focused too much on locations with corals, and did not recommend places that were only good for fish.

So Nicole and I took a good look at the guide to see how we might improve it based on those valid concerns. And really we have to agree. Although we did not intend it, some of our wording may have sounded a bit negative to folks who are mostly interested in fish. We did not mean to come across like that, and we don't feel that way at all (we also love seeing fish). Sure, we definitely enjoy locations that have corals, and interesting topography. But we are not snorkeling snobs. Snorkeling is about having fun and appreciating nature.

Fortunately, since our guide is an eBook, we are able to make changes and update the guide instantly, which is what we have done. Here are some of the changes we made to make the book more useful and enjoyable for everyone.

Instead of flat out not recommending a location based solely on what we like to see, we have switched to including a simple one to five ranking system that we give to each location. Five is our highest ranking. To get five, a location has to have some of all of what we enjoy listed below:

•Lots of fish
•A healthy coral reef environment
•Interesting topography
•Clear water
•Appropriate depths for snorkelers
•Reasonably safe conditions and water entrance

Using this ranking system someone can easily tell what we think of each location, based on the items above.

But we know that not every snorkeler is focused on the same things as us. So as an alternative to our ranking system, we also provide an itinerary section that groups locations based on popular interests, like what spots have the most fish. Also, as another alternative to our ranking system, we carefully describe what we have seen at each location, including all the fish. So there are now at least three ways that someone reading our guide can figure out what spots they want to snorkel, based on the things they want to see.

While we know that no guide is going to be perfect for everyone, we think these changes help clarify what we like, while supporting the interests of others in a more positive way.

We are very interested in hearing feedback about our guides so that we can continue to improve them. There is a form on our site for sharing your suggestions:

Guide Improvement Suggestions

Our general Bonaire snorkeling info pages:
Bonaire Snorkeling - How Good Is it?

Our Bonaire Snorkeling Guide eBook
Bonaire Snorkeling Guide eBook - The Best Spots

Happy Snorkeling!

Galen

 

[boat sju]

You might find this site interesting until you get your books.

Scuba Shore Diving Region: ABC Islands