Bonaire for a solo diver

[DiamondD]

Hi! New diver here, just got my OW last month in the Philippines. I am thinking Bonaire would be a great place to get in some serious diving. My problem is I will most likely be going it solo. Am I going to run into any problems finding someone to dive with? I would like to do mostly shore dives and a lot of it but would consider boat dives if it would be easier to buddy with someone. I'm thinking about June or July for a week or so. Also any place to stay that would be better for a single diver?

TIA

Dean

 

[AndyG_DM]

For a sole diver I'd suggest Buddy Dive as you can usually find someone in a similar situation. As you only have OW certification you may find yourself fairly limited for dive buddies or to only boat dives though - hope that helps. Your other option is to put a shout out here on SB to see who's there at the same time.
Cheers
Andy

 

[diversteve]

Good suggestion from a finding a buddy standpoint but the single rates at Buddy Dive are double the 2 person rates. That's a big difference IMO. The problem with the places that are more reasonable is that they're smaller/off-water so less likely to have available buddies. The Dive Hut in town might be one exception. Not fancy but reasonable.

I might not stay at the Plaza either - although they have an established dive presence it's also a large non-diver resort with the dive shop/boats on one end and the dive site on the other so it minimizes your chances further.

Buddy, Habitat, maybe the Divi Flamingo, maybe Carib Inn would be places I'd look at. Carib Inn might be mostly divers but it's a smaller place. They have single accomodations though. No food but from there (or the Divi next door) you can walk to town.

IMO the condo complexes are less likely - some don't have the meeting places like Buddy's/Habitat's bars. Karel's Bar downtown might be a good option also - City Cafe was until it closed last fall?

It should be easy enough to find a buddy. Most dive packages on Bonaire bundle a truck. Most are 4-dr. so it's possible you could find a couple of divers with room for you. Most people won't mind - we wouldn't. One advantage to buying some boat dives in a package is you'll likely meet others who are also shore diving - often that afternoon since most 2-tank trips are in the mornings..

Just standing around waiting for our Bonaire flight we met two other groups - hint: wear a dive t-shirt. One we later boat dove with and we must've ran into the others 3-4 times at dive sites - it's not a very big island and there's only one road along all the dive sites. I was also asked twice if I needed a buddy while waiting for mine on the dive dock at Habitat and another resort - that trip was sometime in June also IIRC.

Post on Bonairetalk.com also when it gets closer to your planned arrival. As mentioned above - post here and review this forum. Some members like herman run trips down there fairly often that you could likely tag along on. It's also much cheaper to share larger condos and you have a built in set of buddies.

Another option is that many of the DM's freelance reasonably. We paid one $20pp for a night dive once. A good although slightly more expensive intro is to book the Naturalist dive at Bonaire Dive/Adventure - Jerry provides a good overview of Bonaire, dives with you at their house reef - Bari Reef and helps ID the fish you see. Den Laman condos is there and has some studio units also but it's a smaller property so maybe not as ideal for finding someone.

Check your local shops - likely one does trips to Bonaire yearly or so. Especially from the Denver area. Find a buddy b4 you go.

 

[knives]

I have stayed at Dive Hut Specials & Packages , we have often dove with other divers that needed buddies. There are often divers that come alone to the Hut , also when you check in at Wanadive , let them know you are solo and they will let you know if there are others to hook up with . It is a very friendly place ..... you will love diving Bonaire !

 

[gypsyjim]

I would agree that Buddy Dive ' set up makes meeting fellow divers easy.

Why not start a thread in the ABC /Bonaire forum, looking for quad mates?
A quad is the ideal Bonaire package. IMHO

We have met some great fellow divers here on SB, simply by posting that way.

 

[oly5050user]

Hi! New diver here, just got my OW last month in the Philippines. I am thinking Bonaire would be a great place to get in some serious diving. My problem is I will most likely be going it solo. Am I going to run into any problems finding someone to dive with? I would like to do mostly shore dives and a lot of it but would consider boat dives if it would be easier to buddy with someone. I'm thinking about June or July for a week or so. Also any place to stay that would be better for a single diver?

TIA

Dean

Another option is to go with a group out of a LDS..does not have to be from your home area. You have a bunch to choose from to dive with this way. I have a group out of Westchester NY staying at Buddy Dive September 20-27. Includes usual 6 boat dives, unlimited shore diving, free nitrox,breakfast, rental truck. Booked during a special so also have an additional 3 boat dives, 50% off at buddy restaurant/bar. Pm if interested. I have had divers join us from Alaska, N Carolina, MS. , Canada with no problems.

 

[KeithG]

single in Bonaire is not an issue. Last week we ran into a pair of divers that buddied-up at the airport while waiting for their luggage to show up (guess it really helped that they were staying at the same place).

dons, buddy's or divi are all great destinations to find a buddy. You may have to do a boat dive or two at the start of the week, but if you are friendly and appear competent then you should be able to find a selection of buddies.

And do not rule out trios. we often see a single diver getting attached to an established buddy pair. Buddy teams often "evolve" and / or "alternate" during the week as some individuals decide to sit out and relax (nap!) for a while. So don't stop after you find the first buddy. you may want multiple candidates if you are trying to pound in 5 dives a day.

 

[tajkd]

To add to this, I've done an entire week solo and managed to get as many dives as I wanted. Post here on SB for buddies and connect with them.

 

[wwguy]

IMHO a better description for this thread might be "Buddy diving on Bonaire for a solo traveler". This is quite different than diving solo on Bonaire, which some people also do. Diving with an established buddy pair as a newly acquainted 3rd diver falls somewhere in between both on the risk vs. benefit scale. In most situations the neophyte lone diver benefits at the expense of incremental risk and responsibility for the buddy pair. But it certainly is a friendly thing for the buddy pair to do.

I really like the previous suggestion to participate in a group trip with other solo travelers. This provides an opportunity to buddy up with someone of similar skills, comfort levels, and air consumption rates before committing to any particular dive profile or activity. Posting inquiries in forums like this, or on BonaireTalk, prior to a trip might also yield a qualified buddy.

I also agree with the previous observation that the resorts that have the most divers wandering about are probably least attractive to budget-minded lone travelers. Bear in mind that you don't have to stay at Buddy Dive or Captain Don's to enjoy meeting people at their happy hours. Customers staying elsewhere are always welcome at the dive resort bars, restaurants, and dive shops.

 

[T.C.]

When are you going?

My shop will be there at Buddy Dive 14-21 June. I'm always looking for people to dive with.