Must Do's in Bonaire?

[El Orans]

Yep and it's starting to get bad here.

If not, you know what to do

El Orans,

Future PBD-patient

 

[caymaniac]

If it's really busy at the Plaza you could stare at the topless babes, none when I was there. The one thing I would do again would be to rent a sailboat off the Plaza's beach. We had ablast and thewind was really strong, in fact while we had one pontoon out of the water we chased some flying fish.
Dive Safe,
Caymaniac

 

[bluwolf]

Attention Divers...!!!

I am going to Bonaire for the first time in October and want some insight as to things I just have to do while Im there....

Anyone got any good ideas???


NightRaven77

Having been to Bonaire only once, I don't presume to have the insight of the BAA members, although it was awesome and hope to return some day. But thought I would pass along a few things I would change if I had to do it again, or will do next time I'm there.

1. Would not reserve any boat dives. We reserved 5 days of boat diving prior to going (3 tanks per day) for about $250 each, which was an excellent price, but should have just reserved tanks for shore diving and rented a truck for the week. Unless you just want the ease of boat diving (boats were always full, which is a little surprising), surely recommend you plan on just shore dives. 90% of the dive spots can be just as easily reached from shore as a boat. We ended up renting a truck one day and did several shore dives (Salt Pier and 1000 Steps) and didn't do the boat dives that day, so we wasted a little bit of money. And some of our best dives were right off the pier and the Divi dive shop.

2. If you plan on doing shore dives, ensure you bring good booties with good soles. The beach is all old coral. When we did the salt pier, we went with a couple that dove with snorkeling fins, and they got beat up severely trying to enter the surf because they were barefoot and could hardly walk. After that, they only did boat dives.

3. Definitely drive around the island. The museum in the park is cool if you like that sort of thing. West side of the island is awesome as well with the wind and surf, drastic difference from the east side.

4. Go see the salt.

5. If you plan on doing 1000 Steps, get in shape, because it's a long haul back up.

That's about it. Would stay at the Divi resort again, our room was so close to the ocean you could spit and hit the water, and I cannot spit that far. Their dive shop was excellent and they have a great reef right off their pier.

 

[diversteve]

Attention Divers...!!!

I am going to Bonaire for the first time in October and want some insight as to things I just have to do while Im there....

Anyone got any good ideas???


NightRaven77

Dives:

Angel City
Rappel - boat dive only - skip this if you shore dive Karpata/1000Steps or Witches Hut, it's a similar reef structure. If you dive Karpata/1000 Steps etc. you'll be taking the scenic tour through Rincon to get back, it's one way.
Get on a boat to Klein at least once: we liked Forest and Hands Off(drift) best.
Bari Reef off the SandDollar is the most prolific reef in the Caribbean -shallow with easy access through Bonaire Dive/Adventure's facilities.
I also liked Cliff at the north end of Capt' Don's property, sort of a mini-wall.
A Bonairean DM told me the second reef past the Hooker is excellent.

Eats:

it rains fishes
Casablanca
Donna/Giorgios for Pizza

 

[SDAnderson]

The Windjammer can perfectly be dived on air if you don't mind doing extended deco, and you are able to properly plan the dive.

As an occasional solo diver, it might be a bit hypocritical to dis a deep air diver, nonetheless I'd say by definition you can't "properly" plan a dive to 200 feet on air. The risk of ox tox is too great to be working at that depth on air and the narcosis degrades your decision making abilities. Besides, as narced as you're going to be at those depths on air, the few memories you'll bring back are most likely going to be of little more than neurotic gauge checking...

Been there, done that, lots of us old farts used to do it regularly. I won't do it anymore, however - it's just not safe. 200 feet calls for a mix rich in helium to minimize the narcosis and lean in oxygen to reduce the ppO2. "Proper" planning would call for a ppO2 on the bottom of no more than 1.4 and an END of no more than 100, which translates to a 19/43 trimix, or 18/45 if you use standard mixes.

Trimix is extremely extremely expensive. I think the only one who uses it there is the trimix course.

Trimix is expensive pretty much wherever you go, especially in out-of-the-way places like Bonaire. Nonetheless, it is (or should be) the price of admission to deeper dives. From experience, I can tell you that helium is available on the island for other than training purposes, at least most of the time.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Just got back from Bonaire on Saturday ... where are you staying? We stayed at Captain Don's Habitat, and the reef right in front of the lodge is a fabulous dive (actually two dive sites ... La Machaca and The Cliff).

I did visit several dive sites, and here are some of my favorites ...

1000 Steps ... agree with the several who have already recommended it. I did my 1,000th dive there, and it was excellent. Lots of really cool coral structure.

Angel City ... just south of the Hilma Hooker. A nice, shallow double reef system with loads of fish. You can get in a loooonng dive here due to the shallow depth.

Rappel ... boat dive only. A steep dropoff, with a nice "shelf" at 30-40 fsw. If there's not much surge, getting in close to the wall is very cool with the overhangs. You will need a free-ascent safety-stop on this dive, since the bottom isn't shallowed than 30 fsw.

Out on Klein Bonaire I recommend Sampler (HIGHLY) ... I think this site is aptly named, with just tons of corals and fish life to enjoy.

I also recommend Hands Off and Monti Divi ... both of these sites have excellent reef structures.

Disappointments ... Mi Dushi (outer side of Klein Bonaire) and Witches Hut got pretty well trashed by Ivan. The Town Pier is an expensive ($30 per person) guided night tour ... money better spent on a boat dive to my concern ... especially considering that it's by far the most crowded dive site on the island. I far better enjoyed the night dives right in front of Habitat, where we got up-close and personal with the tarpon.

We opted not to do Salt Pier, due to the new restrictions. Many of my friends call it the best dive on the island, however ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Desa]

Just got back from Bonaire on Saturday ... where are you staying? We stayed at Captain Don's Habitat, and the reef right in front of the lodge is a fabulous dive (actually two dive sites ... La Machaca and The Cliff).

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

Not trying to Hijack this thread, but since we cant go to the Cayman islands in October, we have deceided to go to either Bonbair or Carasau. I have never been to either one. Wife wil do a little diving, but she wants a motel that is a step above a "divers dive". How is/was Captain Don's Habitat?

Any other sugestions or recomendations?

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Not trying to Hijack this thread, but since we cant go to the Cayman islands in October, we have deceided to go to either Bonbair or Carasau. I have never been to either one. Wife wil do a little diving, but she wants a motel that is a step above a "divers dive". How is/was Captain Don's Habitat?

Any other sugestions or recomendations?

Captain Don's is very nice ... they have condos, cottages, and villas ... all of which are definitely a cut above the normal diver's dive. But if your spouse isn't diving on a regular basis you might want to consider a different location. Although Bonaire is a diver's paradise, there's little else to do there. I don't recall seeing a sandy beach anywhere on the island. We did a tour of the island on our final (non-diving) day ... but you can cover the entire island in a day. Then what?

Haven't been to Curacao ... but I understand it's quite a bit more oriented toward the non-diver. They have a Captain Don's Habitat there as well.

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[rjchandler]

Not trying to Hijack this thread, but since we cant go to the Cayman islands in October, we have deceided to go to either Bonbair or Carasau. I have never been to either one. Wife wil do a little diving, but she wants a motel that is a step above a "divers dive". How is/was Captain Don's Habitat?

Any other sugestions or recomendations?

Lions Dive has nice condo's. Pool. Artificial sand beach (depending on what Ivan did). nice restaurant.

Try Plaza for a fancier resort.

 

[vjongene]

As an occasional solo diver, it might be a bit hypocritical to dis a deep air diver, nonetheless I'd say by definition you can't "properly" plan a dive to 200 feet on air. The risk of ox tox is too great to be working at that depth on air and the narcosis degrades your decision making abilities. Besides, as narced as you're going to be at those depths on air, the few memories you'll bring back are most likely going to be of little more than neurotic gauge checking...

Been there, done that, lots of us old farts used to do it regularly. I won't do it anymore, however - it's just not safe. 200 feet calls for a mix rich in helium to minimize the narcosis and lean in oxygen to reduce the ppO2. "Proper" planning would call for a ppO2 on the bottom of no more than 1.4 and an END of no more than 100, which translates to a 19/43 trimix, or 18/45 if you use standard mixes.

I have no intention of rekindling the Deep Air controversy. However, the agency with which I trained (CMAS) still considers 60 m (200 ft) to be the maximum depth for diving on air. This gives a ppO2 of 1.4 atm, within what most would consider the "safe zone" for ox tox. I can remember clearly all of my 50 m + dives, and while narcosis was certainly a factor there was a lot more to them than neurotic gauge checking.

This being said, I fully agree that Trimix is the safer choice, if you are willing to invest in the training and the gasses.

If you want to dive the Windjammer, Captain Don's will organize a dive on air, with deco on a high O2 mix, for $100. They require a technical certification for this. The Yellow Submarine will organize a dive on air only, with extended deco, for $50. They require training in deco diving, but no technical C-card.