Bonaire good in late April? ...better than the Keys?

[keysdvr]

Hey all. Hoping for some information regarding Bonaire. Thinking about heading there late April. From what I've heard / read, the diving is pretty good, lots of it accessible from shore, the island is nice, and there's lots of good places to eat.

So here's the real question - how good is the actual diving? Some background: done a ton of diving in the Florida Keys. Last year we took a trip to Roatan. Spent two weeks diving and, well, was actually disappointed. The coral formations (canyons, slots, tunnels, walls, etc) were really quite spectacular. However, lots of the coral was dead. Very few schools of fish and an overall general lack of marine life. Lots of dead coral, not many sponges, etc etc. Yes - we saw some cool stuff (turtles, squid, grouper, etc). However, the overall diving was lackluster and we were excited to get back to the keys to do some diving.

Now for Bonaire - any information I can find is a few years old. I was wondering if anyone out there has been to both the Keys and to Bonaire and could compare / contrast. What the wife and I are really looking for is a place where we can 'be on our own program' (ie. shore diving via rented truck ala Bonaire), see lots of cool marine life, and be able to get some good food between dives. Thus - if anyone has any other suggestions as for a one week late April get away, I'm all ears. In advance - thanks for the input!

M

 

[oly5050user]

Looks like you are local to me here in NY..I try to get Bonaire every year..I have a group going in May out of Newark if you are interested.We booked it at the DEMA trade show and have some extras added from the resort. Arrival is very early on Saturday AM so that gives you a day of diving instead of flying.
Trip package includes 7 night hotel,unlimited shore dives,free nitrox,9 boat dives,1/2 off resort restaurant bill,daily buffet breakfast,rental truck,airport transfers.
I have been to Bonaire many times,some of the locals consider me a local there!. I am also in the Keys every August -2nd week of August lobster season-and diving on Bonaire is so much accessible. People do as many as 30 dives in a week in my group if they like..Many more photo op's present themselves there.I take my groups to different restaurants while on the island and advise where to go and such. While there I also offer advance courses or photo specialty certification. If interested pm me here.

 

[Mossman]

So here's the real question - how good is the actual diving? Some background: done a ton of diving in the Florida Keys. Last year we took a trip to Roatan. Spent two weeks diving and, well, was actually disappointed. The coral formations (canyons, slots, tunnels, walls, etc) were really quite spectacular. However, lots of the coral was dead. Very few schools of fish and an overall general lack of marine life. Lots of dead coral, not many sponges, etc etc. Yes - we saw some cool stuff (turtles, squid, grouper, etc). However, the overall diving was lackluster and we were excited to get back to the keys to do some diving.

Now for Bonaire - any information I can find is a few years old. I was wondering if anyone out there has been to both the Keys and to Bonaire and could compare / contrast. What the wife and I are really looking for is a place where we can 'be on our own program' (ie. shore diving via rented truck ala Bonaire), see lots of cool marine life, and be able to get some good food between dives. Thus - if anyone has any other suggestions as for a one week late April get away, I'm all ears. In advance - thanks for the input!

I've dove the Keys on one trip and Roatan on another. Thought both sucked, so haven't been back to either. On the other hand, I've done four trips to Bonaire, with a fifth one in the works for next year.

There is an ABC Island forum that can give you plenty of recent information or answer questions, but there's nowhere else like Bonaire if you want to dive on your own schedule, the food is very good and diverse, and marine life in the southern Caribbean is a bit different than what you'll commonly see in the northwest.

 

[DeputyDan]

The diving in some areas of the Keys is on par with Bonaire.
Keys diving requires a boat and there is the chance of being blown out.
Don't need a boat in Bonaire and unless there is a hurricane you will not get blown out.

I would choose Bonaire over the Keys unless someone else was paying.

 

[tflaris]

Plus 1 on Bonaire. Dive and drive can't be beat.

We go a couple of times a year.

Tony Flaris





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bubbletrubble]

Bonaire is outside the hurricane belt.
Bonaire allows a diver to rent a truck and dive on his own schedule -- as much or as little as he likes. It makes for a very relaxing vacation.

There's a good amount of macro-life and fish to check out. The coral is healthy. However, you probably won't see a lot of "big" things in the water, unless you get lucky.

I wasn't super-impressed by the restaurants on the island, but you should be able to find a couple that are decent. Others may have a different opinion.

 

[ScubaSteve]

Never dove the Keys.....been to Bonaire twice and only wish I had the time and money to go back every year. Bonaire is in fact outside the hurricane belt but last time I was there was when hurricane Omar hit. It was only a growing tropical storm at the time

Spoiler

but it certainly killed 2 days of diving and covered the rest of the week's diving in sand . Still an amazing week and amazing diving. But that was an extremely rare occurrence for the island that I got to experience. If I could go back today I would. The lack of larger wildlife can be disappointing to some but there is so much wildlife otherwise that I found it easy to forget about the lack of big stuff.

I thought the food on the island was pretty good but can really get expensive if you are not careful. Some good reasonable priced restaurants are there but some more expensive ones are there as well. I am generally very easy to please with eating on vacation so my opinion may not align with some. I think it is safe to say that you can eat well enough on the island but if you seek meals that will blow you away then you might be disappointed.

 

[Wookie]

And, the wind blows in the keys in April. Every year. Count on it.

 

[Arturo]

Hey all. Hoping for some information regarding Bonaire. Thinking about heading there late April. From what I've heard / read, the diving is pretty good, lots of it accessible from shore, the island is nice, and there's lots of good places to eat.

So here's the real question - how good is the actual diving? Some background: done a ton of diving in the Florida Keys. Last year we took a trip to Roatan. Spent two weeks diving and, well, was actually disappointed. The coral formations (canyons, slots, tunnels, walls, etc) were really quite spectacular. However, lots of the coral was dead. Very few schools of fish and an overall general lack of marine life. Lots of dead coral, not many sponges, etc etc. Yes - we saw some cool stuff (turtles, squid, grouper, etc). However, the overall diving was lackluster and we were excited to get back to the keys to do some diving.

Now for Bonaire - any information I can find is a few years old. I was wondering if anyone out there has been to both the Keys and to Bonaire and could compare / contrast. What the wife and I are really looking for is a place where we can 'be on our own program' (ie. shore diving via rented truck ala Bonaire), see lots of cool marine life, and be able to get some good food between dives. Thus - if anyone has any other suggestions as for a one week late April get away, I'm all ears. In advance - thanks for the input!

M

I´ve been in all three places you mention. Bonaire gets the upper hand, by far. If you have a buddy to team up, in Bonaire you can always rent a truck at the airport and sign up for the unlimited shore diving plan with the hotel you are staying in (about US$ 25 a day, as I recall). That entitles you get unlimited tanks, 24 hours a day, to dive as much as you please since to access 95% of diving sites you do not need a boat. If money is a concern, you can save quite a bit on boat money this way. Simply drive your truck to any of the marked dive sites with yellow stones along the road, gear up, lock your car and go diving.
M[/QUOTE]

 

[jar546]

ABC Islands has pretty consistent weather year round. Bonaire very shore diving friendly.

I have been diving in the keys in January (68F water temp, 10-15mph wind every day), April (70-72F water temp and same winds), August (Blown out due to hurricane threat & went to Aruba instead), November (78F water temp, winds 15-20 with much rougher conditions) I pretty much think the wind blows year round in every country. Aruba in August was nice but the 4' - 6' rollers were a bit challenging from the boat.