Bonaire vs South East Asia

[Saialle]

Hi there!

We're thinking a lot about going to Bonaire for our next dive trip, but my concern is that we've been diving in Fiji, Komodo, Thailand and Burma, and LOVED it there (fields of corals! zillions of fishes!). Afterward, when we did Cozumel, and then... well, we were a bit disappointed...

I'm wondering how is Bonaire compared to those places?

We did a couple of LOB, and really liked it. One aspect that is attracting us to Bonaire is the freedom of diving by ourselves, as long as we want (or can). We like to take our time, and look at the small critters in the shallows.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[under water]

I'm gonna say that you have been spoiled by what the Pacific has to offer in the way of diversity HOWEVER, if you bring the right expectations, you will enjoy Bonaire. Sounds like you want to do what Bonaire is known for .. slowing down and checking out all the small critters.
Bari Reef has the greatest recorded diversity of any Carribbean reef, but part of that might be that a naturalist, Jerry Ligon at BDA (Bonaire Dive & Adventure) uses it as his classroom.
I read somewhere that the Caribbean has had something like 60 thousand years of natural selection whereas some of the West Pacific sites have had millions of years of undisturbed natural selection going on so the number of species is significantly higher.

 

[dvrliz1]

Saialle,

I agree with Frank. You will DEFINITELY enjoy the "shallows". I have some "secret" spots where Ed (Hubby) and I go and spend about 1/2-2 hours in under 30 feet of water that is teaming with amazing life, a lot of large coral heads with a lot of life! Great nurseries! If you enjoy the freedom of shore diving, you will definitely enjoy Bonaire.....

Oh did I mention that NOAA reported this year that Bonaire has the HEALTHIEST reefs in all of the Caribbean with the MOST variety of fish species as well as corals!

Let me know if I can answer any of your questions.

Liz

 

[Mossman]

There's no real comparison between the diversity of life found in SE Asia versus what you can find anywhere in the Caribbean, nor are the reefs in the same shape as some of the pristine remote sites accessible only via liveaboard. You'll miss the colorful soft corals for sure and have to satisfy yourselves with a very limited number of nudibranchs and other macro life, scant reef fish, and only rare glimpses of pelagics.

On the other hand, for North Americans at least, Bonaire offers the convenience and cost savings of a shorter flight. IMO, the diving is far more relaxing than a liveaboard or day boat operation because you're not on any schedule. You also have a good range of land-based dining opportunities and the environment is much healthier than SE Asia or other underdeveloped areas of the third-world, i.e. you can drink the water, aren't likely to get food poisoning from any of the restaurants, and won't get malaria, typhoid, yellow fever, or any of the host of nasties to be found in other tropical climes.

If I had the time and money to take all my dive trips in SE Asia or Micronesia, I probably would. Since I don't, but I still want to dive in warm water, the Caribbean is my best bet. Of all the Caribbean islands I've dove off to date, Bonaire is easily my favorite.

 

[bnajdrovsky]

I dove at the Beqa Lagoon in Fiji in March this year, and must say that Bonaire has it beat by a long shot. I suspect that I didn't get to see the best of Fiji, but actions speak louder than words, so I will just mention I recently booked yet another trip back to Bonaire for the last week in September. This will be my 3rd trip to the island, and I still consider it the best over-all diving destination I've been to, and I just can't get enough of it. The diving there is relatively easy with very low currents and great visibility. About the only challenging thing is the entry into the water at some of the dive sites due to the rocky shoreline (Andrea II for instance), but it's nothing too difficult. On the other hand, the reefs are absolutely beautiful and some of the healthiest I've seen anywhere, and the convenience of diving on your own schedule simply can't be beat. Just load up the pickup truck with tanks in the morning and head out wherever you want. Buddy Dive ( and I suspect other ops as well) include unlimited Nitrox for certified divers with their dive packages, which is a great bonus, since I tend to do 4 or 5 dives a day there, making EAN an absolute must have. The dive operators offer boat dives as well, but about the only sites that really require it are on Klein Bonaire, and there are so many vehicle accessible sites on the main island that I'm not even booking any boat dives for this upcoming trip; it will be all shore diving. Some of my favorite dive sites are White Slave, Karpata, and for night diving, Oil Slick Leap is the best IMHO. If you go, be sure to visit the Washingon Slagbaai park up north, and bring your scuba gear with you. There are some nice dive sites that are only accessible by going through the park.

 

[laurendell]

Hi - I dove in Indonesia about a year ago and have been to both Bonaire and Cozumel as well.

In my opinion, as others have said, no where in the Caribbean is as nice as South East Asia (or, at least the only part of SE Asia I saw) in terms of amount of fish and the quality and color of the coral. It's just not there.

However, Bonaire is one of the best places I've seen in the Carribbean as far as coral, comparable only to some dives in Belize (the ones very far from shore, near the Blue Hole), and maybe Bloody Bay Wall in Little Cayman. I know a lot of people on here looooove Cozumel, but when I was there, I wasn't impressed either. This could be because the weather was horrible when I was there (cold, windy, & overcast), but I really don't think so. I could see a lot of hurricane damage and I just didn't think there were as many fish as other places. A few dives like Palancar Wall (might be the wrong name) I did really enjoy though.

So - I think compared to SE Asia, it won't be as good, but I don't think you should be discouraged by your experience in Cozumel. I think it would be very hard to not enjoy Bonaire because of the marine life. (Lack of good beaches, maybe) And like others have said, the ease of shore diving, getting there, and good food choices are great and are definitely added bonuses!

ps -- I am already booked to go back to Bonaire (2nd time) for November of this year! So, yes, I liked it there

 

[Saialle]

Thanks for your input!

Maybe I should wait a bit and do Wakatobi....

 

[drbill]

I, too, find the Caribbean to be somewhat depauperate compared to the incredible biodiversity of SE Asia. However, since I've spent a bit of time in SE Asia, and have not been to Bonaire, I would like to go there... as soon as they declare it a South American dive site (tee hee).

 

[laurendell]

I enjoyed Wakatobi (maybe even more than most, since I met my fiancee there - heehee!!). Not sure if I enjoyed it 5X more than Bonaire, although it was 5X the price, but the coral is really, really healthy and there's a ridiculous amount of macro life, and the guides are really good at finding it and pointing it out.

I think there's no comparison between the two places in terms of diving or "location in paradise", SE Asian blows it away. But for a fairly low-cost trip with great diving that's easy to get to from the states, Bonaire is hard to beat, and definitely worth checking out.

 

[ronski101]

Bonaire is better than Coz but it depends on what you are looking for. Clear water, price, pristine reefs, macro, big or little stuff, walls, muck, shark dives, wrecks, shopping, resort, food, photo, cenotes, whale sharks, etc. I suggest you list what kind of diving you prefer and I bet you will get some accurate responses as to where you should go on your next trip.