Should Bonaire Even Be Considered For Solo Travellers?

[cleung]

I usually travel the world solo to dive and have never had any problems since I usually do boat dives where I either follow a divemaster or get buddied up with another on the boat. I do NOT plan to dive solo.

So with this in mind, should I even consider Bonaire as a dive destination? I realize that much of the diving in Bonaire are shore dives. If I went to Bonaire not intending to dive solo, I would think that I would be limited to the boat dives unless I can find a dive buddy down there - I don't know how easy it is to do this when I arrive there.

 

[redacted]

I would not go to Bonaire to do nothing but boat dives. I would also not expect to find a pick-up buddy for shore diving.

 

[diver0008]

If you do not want to dive solo, but are travelling solo, Bonaire may indeed not be a good destination for you, especially if you are shore diving, which is pretty much the whole idea on Bonaire.

You could stay at one of the bigger spots, like Buddy Dive where there are lots of people, and maybe hook up with some other divers. You can always jump on their boats too and group dive.

I dive solo on Bonaire, but have met up with people here on SB for some diving, as well as having met people at the hotels, and at the dive sites looking for buddies.

But counting on it may end up being disappointing.

I'll be there again (solo) November 27th to December 4th.

 

[DustyC]

If you do not want to dive solo, but are travelling solo, Bonaire may indeed not be a good destination for you, especially if you are shore diving, which is pretty much the whole idea on Bonaire.

You could stay at one of the bigger spots, like Buddy Dive where there are lots of people, and maybe hook up with some other divers. You can always jump on their boats too and group dive.

I dive solo on Bonaire, but have met up with people here on SB for some diving, as well as having met people at the hotels, and at the dive sites looking for buddies.

But counting on it may end up being disappointing.

I'll be there again (solo) November 27th to December 4th.

I'm missing you by a day on the back end.

 

[KeithG]

I usually travel the world solo to dive and have never had any problems since I usually do boat dives where I either follow a divemaster or get buddied up with another on the boat. I do NOT plan to dive solo.

So with this in mind, should I even consider Bonaire as a dive destination? I realize that much of the diving in Bonaire are shore dives. If I went to Bonaire not intending to dive solo, I would think that I would be limited to the boat dives unless I can find a dive buddy down there - I don't know how easy it is to do this when I arrive there.

No reason NOT to consider Bonaire. It presents the same situation as any other place for single divers, except it also has lots more divers. Some of whom will also be single.

In Bonaire you can
- boat dive
- dock dive
- shore dive
All of the shore dives are also done by boat - it just costs more and you have to travel at the boats schedule. There are a bunch of boat dive sites (klien) that can not be done from shore. There is no law that states you MUST only shore dive in Bonaire. Lots of people go to Bonaire and never do a shore dive.

If you check back through the Bonaire forum you will find a bunch of threads about how hard / easy it is to find a dive buddy.

 

[Doctorfish]

Not true that all of the shore dives are also done by boat. My experience has been that the captains seem to like to go to sites that are not easily accessed from shore or not at the far ends of the island.
Having said that, I think that Bon is not a bad choice for a diver travelling solo. The boat dives are not as expensive as some other Caribbean locations and provide lots of variety for a first time visitor.
Also, not difficult to find buddies at the house reefs, many of which are excellent.

 

[drrich2]

A number of questions are mixed into this thread, not all the same.

The topic - "Should Bonaire Even Be Considered For Solo Travellers?"

Very much so. It's one of the most solo diving-tolerant places you'll find (due to unmonitored shore diving up & down the west coast), the main crime concerns are petty theft (not saying nothing else ever happens, but walking in town after dark is more an option than in some other places), and a lot of people love shore diving.

Then the question comes up, how does Bonaire stack up for just boat dives? Well, it's got nice reef, pretty fishy for the region, warm water, high viz., usually low current, good general Caribbean diving. But not much big stuff (excepting tarpon, green morays, the occasional rainbow parrotfish or cubera snapper or tiger grouper, maybe a decent sized barracuda or ray; not likely to see black or goliath grouper, or sharks). Bonaire is a credible boat diving destination, although I'd consider Little Cayman, the Lighthouse Atoll region of Belize via live-aboard, maybe some others, as probably better.

The other question is, what about someone who wants to both boat and shore dive, won't be content just boat diving and refuses to dive solo? For that, I suggest you contact some dive groups headed to Bonaire (there are many), and ask each whether they tend to do group dives most days. My 1st 4 trips to Bonaire were done this way with Parrot Island Divers out of Nashville with Marcos Tramell. If you wanted to strike out on your own, fine. If you wanted to hand with the group, fine.

Different questions, different answers.

Richard.

 

[bethie]

I'm missing you by a day on the back end.

Murky Waters, I will be there the same dates as you ,diving solo (but not vacationing solo). Would you like to dive together sometime? I do not want to dive solo.

 

[diver0008]

Would you like to dive together sometime?

Sure. We can communicate logistics a little closer to the trip.

 

[underH2Oman]

I think Bonaire tends to be expensive if you are doing everything solo. The single supplement rates tended to be very high when I was looking.
We are heading to Bonaire in February (flying out of Toronto) if you want to join in on our group trip assuming you are ok with sharing a room. Feel free to join us for some diving.
The booking is through Fly and Sea Dive adventures.
Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire Trip 2017 hosted by Dean's Sport & Dive