Specific questions about Bonaire

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Thanks for that Lorenzoid. I am confident that Bonaire is seriously good. I was looking for that’s sort of assessment though. It doesn’t mean I’m less excited about Bonaire, just like a ‘realistic’ assessment as opposed to:

“Best shore diving in the world.... but In all honestly I haven’t been to Red Sea, Indonesia, French Polynesia “ Etc. Etc.

I’m expecting to absolutely love it, just don’t need/want it to be oversold.
 
Though not in Bonaire but in Curacao, we had 2 bananas and 2 water bottles stolen from our truck. So I wouldn't bet on thieves chivalry.
 
I actually think it's Most shoredving sites per area - not best.I actually think Curacao is better - certainly more diverse. Although some of it looks just like Bonaire.

At one south Bonaire site my buddy asked "haven't we dove this already? and I had to think about - in certain areas the dive site names are about all that changes.
 
On Question 11 (cruise ships), check out what this recent trip report said about the dive site "1000 Steps": Bonaire Trip Report 12/30-1/5/2019 Den Laman

Seriously, though, planning what sites to hit or what route to drive based on whether a ship is in port goes way beyond what's necessary to have a good time.
 
On Question 11 (cruise ships), check out what this recent trip report said about the dive site "1000 Steps": Bonaire Trip Report 12/30-1/5/2019 Den Laman

Seriously, though, planning what sites to hit or what route to drive based on whether a ship is in port goes way beyond what's necessary to have a good time.

Beauty. We are actually going from 14th to 28th August now, so not that worried about cruise ships as there are apparently only 1–2 a week at that time.
 
Hi all, I have some specific questions ref Bonaire as opposed to general ‘what is it like’ queries or commentary. I’ve read a lot of excellent dive reports on this board and info, but hoping someone may be able to help with the below:

1) How does the reef compare to Red Sea reef like Torba Arbaa etc.

While there is obviousy variation between dive sites and even individual dives, and tastes, I feel the Red Sea has better diving. Much larger biodiversity. Asia tends to take that even a step further. Bonaire's main thing is guide-less shore-diving, which in itself is great.

2) I know you are supposed to leave windows open/car unlocked due to crime, but are there any rentals with built in safes ( similar to trucks in the US that have lockable safes on the flat bed for tools...I want to leave my lunch in the car, if I make 2 sandwiches and ask the burglars to only take 1, will that work ? :)

I've not had lunch and such taken from the truck, I do not leave anything remotely valuable in it, though.

3) I have heard stories of villas being burgled, if you are lugging Circa $20k worth of camera equipment, do you feel safe having it in the villa (doors locked/windows shut etc.) or should I keep in the hotel safe when not in use as it won’t fit in the room safe?

As always, if they want to get in, they will, but most burglaries on the island are opportunistic. Open windows, grabbing stuff through the bars of the windows, leaving doors unlocked. This includes windows abive ground level.

5) what is the earliest the diveshops open?

Typical hours are 8 to 5, daily.

6) can you rent tanks and keep them for a dawn dive?

Yes, that's common.

7)for people who dive Bonaire a lot (100 + dives) is there any point taking a boat to Klein Bonaire or should you just stick to shorediving if you only have 30 dives in total. I.e. what would YOU do as opposed to ‘it depends what you want to see’

It depends on what you want to see, and how you want to dive.

10) when driving around, what do photographers use for dunk tank? I have a portable one, but concerned it will get stolen when i’m diving. Is this an overreaction?

For a dunk tank... probably. I just have a few jugs of water in the truck, rinse the gear with than after the dive, then let it sit in the rinse tank for a while when I get home.

11) what should I avoid when the cruise ships are in ( what areas/restauraunts etc.)

You'll see the tourists literally everywhere, but downtown Kralendijk is the busiest. Regular restaurants should be fine though, most cruise tourists eat on their ship, and those usually don't stay overnight. We've watched them depart before heading out to dinner more than once.
 
While there is obviousy variation between dive sites and even individual dives, and tastes, I feel the Red Sea has better diving. Much larger biodiversity. Asia tends to take that even a step further. Bonaire's main thing is guide-less shore-diving, which in itself is great.

I agree. Bonaire's diving, though very good, is probably not up there with the Red Sea and certainly not the Indo-Pacific. However, I'm not aware of anywhere else in the world that is geared toward visiting divers renting a truck (complete with tank racks) and being able to drive easily from one site to another, choosing from among a palette of well-marked and documented sites up and down the coast. I believe Bonaire is unique in being geared toward that kind of diving.
 
I agree with @diversteve and @Lorenzoid. I haven't been to the Red Sea but my husband has and he thought Bonaire was boring. I think the appeal of Bonaire is the ease of lots of shore diving. If we went back again (and I don't think we will), we'd probably try a day or two of east end boat diving instead of a week of shore diving. We did a day trip to Klein Bonaire and I liked the diving over there but it wasn't much different at the sites we went to. I'd pick up one of the shore diving guides or solicit advice on here about which sites help you get some varying topography to get the best Bonaire has to offer.
 
We loved Bonaire on our first trip.
Our group did the morning boat over to Klein Bonaire every day. I found the experience, sea life, and underwater terrain very similar to the shore diving off the main island. With so many great dive locations from shore on the main island, I don't think there's anything unique enough about Klein Bonaire to make the boat trip a priority, IMHO.

That said, we did make a rather spectacular guided night dive from the Klein Bonaire boat one evening. The DM pointed out a Crown of Thorns, which was fascinating, and a high point of the trip for me.

Speaking only for myself, there are two things I won't be doing on my second trip to Bonaire this summer.
For the first, I will omit the boats to Klein Bonaire, and roam about the island on our schedule.
For the second, I will not be doing the over-priced "florescent" night dive ever again.
It made me nauseous.

Hope you have a great trip.
Please post a trip report when you get back.

K
 
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