Trip Report Bonaire Trip Report [Photos + HD Video]

[Kharon]

What are some of your favorite dive spots that we might have missed? Any topside recommendations for us to try next time? Bet you can't wait for October. Hope it's another wonderful trip for you!

You hit some of my favorites (Cliff, Tolo, Alice, Invisibles). I also like Tori's Reef for the easy entry and Angel CIty - both for the double reef. This trip I'm going to go to some of the farther south sites real early in the morning - Red Beryl & Red Slave for sure.

One site almost no one dives that I really like is just south of the DFB location of Port Bonaire. It's the entry on the north side of the airport fuel pier. Sandy and you can lean on the pier supports to get your fins on. It's the only site I regularly see a bluespotted coronetfish. There's always a lot of fish and a big school of mixed fish.

As far as topside - I don't have anything. I go to Bonaire to dive - eating (cook my own meals) & sleeping are necessary. Anything else is optional. Usually I'm too tired for optional.

Yeah, I can't wait for October. Diving here (upstate NY0 sux. Good for practice and clean the lake diving. Not much else. Oh well.

 

[Doctorfish]

We certainly like staying at Buddy Dive. Excellent house reef with easy access, good dive shop and tank availability for the house reef, drive through tank station, rental trucks on site and decent rooms. Breakfast, overlooking the ocean has become a trip highlight for us.

The Dive and Drive package includes accommodation, truck, breakfasts unlimited shore diving +/- a few boat dives if you want. It may be a bit more expensive than piecing a trip together yourself, but sure is convenient.

 

[Trailboss123]

You hit some of my favorites (Cliff, Tolo, Alice, Invisibles). I also like Tori's Reef for the easy entry and Angel CIty - both for the double reef. This trip I'm going to go to some of the farther south sites real early in the morning - Red Beryl & Red Slave for sure.

One site almost no one dives that I really like is just south of the DFB location of Port Bonaire. It's the entry on the north side of the airport fuel pier. Sandy and you can lean on the pier supports to get your fins on. It's the only site I regularly see a bluespotted coronetfish. There's always a lot of fish and a big school of mixed fish.

As far as topside - I don't have anything. I go to Bonaire to dive - eating (cook my own meals) & sleeping are necessary. Anything else is optional. Usually I'm too tired for optional.

Yeah, I can't wait for October. Diving here (upstate NY0 sux. Good for practice and clean the lake diving. Not much else. Oh well.

@Kharon - Thanks for the tip on the dive site south of DFB Port Bonaire! I will be sure to hit it up next month. As for southern dive sites, one of my favorites is Pink Beach! Very easy entry and exit going straight out from the most northern palm tree. It is a bit of a kick to the reef, but well worth it. Head south once you hit the reef and descend.

 

[AdivingBel]

@Kharon - Are you referring to the fuel pier at the northern end of Windsock? I usually go in just south of that pier. It's one of my fav sites. Really easy entry and a great spot for eagle rays. I usually do a quick tank swap at DF Port Bonaire after coming back from the southern sites and pop over for a handy, late afternoon dive. Seems like I nearly always catch a flight of rays (the nearly always part might just be my imagination ).

 

[Kharon]

@Kharon - Are you referring to the fuel pier at the northern end of Windsock? I usually go in just south of that pier. It's one of my fav sites. Really easy entry and a great spot for eagle rays. I usually do a quick tank swap at DF Port Bonaire after coming back from the southern sites and pop over for a handy, late afternoon dive. Seems like I nearly always catch a flight of rays (the nearly always part might just be my imagination ).

Yep - that's the place. I enter on the north side of the pier and head south. Never saw any eagle rays though. Probably because I don't drop to the sand at 130'. I usually stay around 30-40 feet.

 

[Kharon]

@Kharon - Thanks for the tip on the dive site south of DFB Port Bonaire! I will be sure to hit it up next month. As for southern dive sites, one of my favorites is Pink Beach! Very easy entry and exit going straight out from the most northern palm tree. It is a bit of a kick to the reef, but well worth it. Head south once you hit the reef and descend.

I'll have to give that a try when I get there - if I have time. LOL - I have a lot of "must do" planned dives and snorkels and only a week instead of two.

 

[Rainer]

You hit some of my favorites (Cliff, Tolo, Alice, Invisibles). I also like Tori's Reef for the easy entry and Angel CIty - both for the double reef. This trip I'm going to go to some of the farther south sites real early in the morning - Red Beryl & Red Slave for sure.

One site almost no one dives that I really like is just south of the DFB location of Port Bonaire. It's the entry on the north side of the airport fuel pier. Sandy and you can lean on the pier supports to get your fins on. It's the only site I regularly see a bluespotted coronetfish. There's always a lot of fish and a big school of mixed fish.

As far as topside - I don't have anything. I go to Bonaire to dive - eating (cook my own meals) & sleeping are necessary. Anything else is optional. Usually I'm too tired for optional.

Yeah, I can't wait for October. Diving here (upstate NY0 sux. Good for practice and clean the lake diving. Not much else. Oh well.

We wanted to get to both Tori's Reef and Angel City, but just ran out of time. We'll have to add them next time for sure! Your "secret" spot also sounds like a must-do.

Agree about all the diving being exhausting. We very much enjoyed eating at some of the nice restaurants and one of our favorite days was visit Slagbaai, even though we only got in one dive while there (other sites were just too rough with the high winds).

Have a great trip in October!

 

[Rainer]

@Kharon - Are you referring to the fuel pier at the northern end of Windsock? I usually go in just south of that pier. It's one of my fav sites. Really easy entry and a great spot for eagle rays. I usually do a quick tank swap at DF Port Bonaire after coming back from the southern sites and pop over for a handy, late afternoon dive. Seems like I nearly always catch a flight of rays (the nearly always part might just be my imagination ).

Sounds like a great site indeed. We saw lone eagle rays at some of the southern double reef sites, but never any groups.

 

[Trailboss123]

We wanted to get to both Tori's Reef and Angel City, but just ran out of time. We'll have to add them next time for sure! Your "secret" spot also sounds like a must-do.

Agree about all the diving being exhausting. We very much enjoyed eating at some of the nice restaurants and one of our favorite days was visit Slagbaai, even though we only got in one dive while there (other sites were just too rough with the high winds).

Have a great trip in October!

Which dive site up in Slagbaai did you end up diving and how was it? I have done a few dives at Boka Wayaka II and Boka Slagbaai.

 

[Rainer]

Which dive site up in Slagbaai did you end up diving and how was it? I have done a few dives at Boka Wayaka II and Boka Slagbaai.

I discuss this a bit in the trip report ("Day 5"). We dived Playa Funchi. You can see the entry starting at 2:40 in the video I posted. It's one of the first sites you'll come across when driving the park. Relatively easy entry (though we did have to come to the rescue of a couple that was attempting to drown themselves on their exit). There's a long sand patch before you hit the reef. Overall, it's a very nice dive site. Also a great spot on the other side of the parking area to have lunch, overlooking a lagoon filled with flamingoes (3:50 into the video).

We had loaded three cylinders each into the truck for our day in the park, but all the other dive sites offered pretty rough entries given the winds. We likely could have gotten in at some of the more southern Slagbaai sites, but it would have been tricky and we really didn't want to risk the big camera over and through the rocks. Just spending time in the park, driving around, jumping out at various locations to take short walks and explore, more than made up for the missed dives. We did make sure to get in a dive on the way back to our apartment after leaving the park, so it wasn't as if we really wasted much dive time anyway.

Washington Slagbaai is a beautiful area and offers a really unique experience compared to the rest of Bonaire. I'd highly recommend you take a day to head there.