Boat Diving in Bonaire?

[South4Scuba]

I checked the threads and I didn't see much information on boat diving in Bonaire. I apologize if this is a duplicate thread.

My wife and I have heard nothing but great things about diving in Bonaire. We are both very experienced divers but we have never been to Bonaire because all I have heard about is shore diving. My wife has a bad back and there is no way she can carry her gear up and down hills or through the surf to dive.

So, what about boat diving? We want to do a 2-tank morning dive and perhaps a single tank afternoon dive from a boat. Is this possible in Bonaire and if so what resort is BEST set up for mainly boat diving? Who has the best boats and boat schedule?

We would stay at an all-inclusive resort setting such as Buddy Dive or Divi or similar.

Any information from you Bonaire veterans would be appreciated.

 

[adurso]

Just returned from Buddy Dive. From all reports the boat diving was excellent. The other resorts will sell trips a la carte. Buddy was a good experience all around.

 

[Mossman]

Boat diving is fine in Bonaire and cheap, it just lacks the "dive freedom" flexibility of going when you want, where you want. Resorts with onsite dive shops usually have some sort of package with 6 or 11 boat dives plus unlimited shore dives for the week, with additional boat dives very reasonably priced.

Another option, assuming your back is OK, would be for you to carry your wife's gear down to the water for her and let her gear up in water. That's more difficult at dive sites with a hike or lots of steps from the parking area (i.e. the northern sites), but quite feasible in the southern sites where you can park only a few paces from the water's edge.

However, you said "all inclusive resort". Buddy and Divi are not all-inclusive, though Divi does offer meal packages. It really doesn't take too long to locate and browse their websites to obtain a lot more information, such as the answer to your boat diving question, then come back here if you have specific questions that the websites haven't answered.

 

[lsorenson]

I have been to Buddy as well and they do provide the boats.... I understand your situation otherwise I would advise no boat dives unless a la carte to Kline... Most, MOST others are walk in.... Since there is no rush, carry your wife's tanks into the water and help her out... No one is going to be pushing you in the back to get out of the way...!!!

Buddy does boats well... I would not use them but I have before and they are fine... In your situation, I understand...!

Bonaire is a fine spot to dive and I wish you the best...

lee

 

[lsorenson]

Mossman... I like the way you think...!

 

[DiverVince]

I'd pick between Buddy Dive or their neighbor Capt Don's Habitat. Personally I like the food better at Habitat. Either will satisfy your criteria on the boat diving. They both have EZ walk out docks.
I'm sure you'll both love Bonaire.

Many folks first introduction to Bonaire is the purchase of a dive package at a resort. Then more often then not on subsequent return trips, they find their own spots for some EZ entrance shore dives & generally opt for that and an occasional trip on the boat out to Klein. The popularity of the shore diving is the unlimited flexibility of it. Some dive sites also have very EZ entrance & exits.

 

[redacted]

We have made 4 trips to Bonnair and yet to see any good reason to opt for a boat dive. But Buddy Dive now offers a 3-tank, all day trip to the northern park reefs. I believe it runs about $130, including lunch. We'll probably give it a shot this year rather than attack those park roads again.

 

[lmorin]

Look into the Plaza Resort. They are strongly boat oriented. The boats carry about 8 divers or so. They do two tank trips from north to south, including Klein. More specifically, they go to many of the favorite shore dive sites (e.g., the Hooker).

 

[vladimir]

I always stay at the Harbour Village Beach Club. Their affiliated dive operator, Great Adventures, schedules 3 boat dives daily: 9:00, 11:00, and 2:00. I buy a package of boat dives for the week (or two) and get unlimited tanks for shore diving. That way I avoid that scheduled feel that dive trips often take on, and which detracts from the laid-back vacation vibe. If I'm too lazy to get out of bed, I skip the morning dive and do a shore dive after breakfast. Great Adventures will go out even if there's only one diver--which is the case more often than you would expect, because Harbour Village doesn't cater exclusively to hard-core divers the way, say, Capt. Don's does. The boats often go to the same sites you'd dive from the shore, though they are open to suggestion. So it's not the most cost-effective way to dive, but it's a nice lazy way to dive.

The reef directly out front of Harbour Village is pretty lousy, but if you do a little bit of swimming you can have a nice dive from the resort. The rooms at the resort are nice, but expensive. The beach is perhaps the best on the island. The restaurant, La Balandra, is good, and the setting even better--one of the nicest places to eat on the island.

 

[gypsyjim]

Our DNY bunch from here in SB just returned from our Bonaire trip. We used the Plaza, and they are well set up for boat diving. One larger boat, that can take 10 to 16 divers north to do the 3 tank Washington Park site, or a larger group for the closer sites. Two medium sized dive boats regularly take divers over to dive Kline Bonaire, or other of Bonaire's great sites, especially the ones not easily accessed from shore.

The Plaza offers boat dive packages, as well as the regular unlimited shore diving packages. I seldom do boat dives on our Bonaire trips, but as we got them added to our group package for this trip, we took full advantage of them, as well as going off and doing our own shore dive adventures, at whatever personal pace each group of dive buddies chose.

My gf, also has some back issues, and at most of Bonaire's shore sites when she is with me, I carry her tank down, and get her set up before I finish gearing up myself.

The only time I ever paid a price doing this gentleman thing, was years ago when we decided to do the 1000 Steps site as a 2 tank dive, and I carried the tanks for her, and my then 10 yr old son, as well as my own, up and down those stone steps! By the time I had returned all 6 tanks to the truck after the dives I understood how less than 200 stone steps got named 1000 Steps!!!