We're Goin to Bonaire!!! First time

[ClayJar]

130 days until I lead my buddy-family to Bonaire for our first time. I've been reading up on everything for far too long already (a year and a half -- passport/visa problems prevented last year's intended trip). If I had the cash handy, I'd be tempted to make a special scouting trip (hehe) to get the feel of the place, but alas, I'll have to just keep watching the timer tick.

I guess I could make up a bulletin board map at home with all the specifics. I could even memorize all the sites so I can recall the primary details at will. (Sure, none of that's necessary, but *130* *days*?!? I've got to do *something*! )

 

[Rynomar]

Bonaire is awesome. I have been twice and can't wait to go back. The shore diving is a little more difficult than diving off of a boat but it is totally worth it. The flexibility of shore diving and the shallow reefs allow for a really comfortable relaxing dive vacation.

A few things I would suggest are:

Check out the second reef on the south end of the island between the Hilma Hooker site and The Invisibles. Also, the sandy area between is a great spot to see rays. It is alot of fun to swim out away from the reef into the ocean and then see the second reef appear.

Take you time in the shallows. There is so much life in the coral rubble and on the isolated coral heads near shore that it is hard to get out of the water at the end of the dive.

When diving on the north side of the island from around Ol' Blue to Karpata, the road is one way and loops around through Rincon. It is not a big deal and allows for a good surface interval but we found it worked better to dive the south side in the morning, take lunch, and then dive the north side in the afternoon.

The Hilma Hooker is a great wreck but it gets crowded. The last time we were there we were ambitious and did a sunrise dive on the wreck. It gave the dive a really neat feel and we did not see anyone other than our group on the dive.

Take advantage of the shore diving for some night dives. If you are a little uncomfortable with night diving, dive off of the house reef. You will have a great chance of seeing different creatures out and about.

Enjoy the trip!

 

[Diverraygr]

I have been there 3 times and I am hooked. I was hoping in getting back there this year but didn't work out. I will be close to Bonaire in a few days- going to Curacao for some diving. I never have been there before- I'll have to see how it compares to Bonaire.

Ray

 

[SandyUT]

OMG I love what I am hearing!!! Its gonna be hard to wait ti Sept!

Thanks for all the info and ideas! Yes the book I bought was BSDME - it sould be the ticket.

 

[dogenia]

Ray buzz me when yr in Curacao.

Don

 

[Rynomar]

I tend to get a little motivated about diving, and on both times I have been to Bonaire, I tried to maximize the dive time. Our group did the resort breakfast deal, which was quick and allowed us to get a good meal before diving. We also stopped by the supermarket and picked up lunch stuff to make during surface intervals.

We would also go by the tank dropoff in the evening and pick up the tanks for our morning dives so we could hit the road early. That may be a little more than you want to do but it helped with getting in the water on popualr dive sites before anyone else and allowed us to get in alot of diving.

 

[Nismo]

I loved Andrea I and II as well as Karpata. Karpata was my favorite.

 

[Palaupete]

I've logged over 200 shore dives in Bonaire - since it appears by your post that shore diving will be fairly new to you I wanted to offer some tips for your dives.
After you've parked at the shore dive site scout the shore for the easiest entry point. It's critical that you be able to see where you are going to step. Most sites are not beach entries but ironshore rock and coral. Sometimes wave action can make it difficult to see the bottom at the entry point. Especially at Hilma Hooker and the other sites west of the salt export pier - if you can't see where you are stepping, go somewhere else! One site that is always a safe alternative on "rough" days is Invisibles. It is east of the salt export pier. For some reason the waves over time have smoothed out the rock in that area. Even if there is a shore break you can safely "shuffle" your feet into the water w/o stepping in a hole or onto sharp coral. On calm days all the "south " sites are easy. If possible - ask other divers who are there where they went in and if it was ok. You will see coral piles at the sites which seem to indicate the best entry spots - this is not necessarily the case.
After you have picked an entry point - completely gear up for your dive at the truck except for your fins.( I have seen people actually try to walk in backwards with fins on - doesn't work) As soon as you are waist deep, lay face down with reg or snorkle employed and push out with your feet till you are about chest deep in water. Now you can stand and comfortably don your fins making sure they are clear of sand.
At this point some people immediately go regulator and go underwater to the dropoff. Others stay on the surface and snorkle out to the buoy or doppoff and go down. I personally have found it the easiest to partially inflate yout vest, roll over on your back and do a liesurely kick out to the buoy/dropoff. Because the wind is almost always blowing offshore even if you don't kick you will be at the dropoff in about 2 minutes. (Note: all these tips are for the southern dive sites where the dropoff is 50-150 yards from shore). When you reach the "dark" blue water, roll over and go down.
Be sure you visually memorize a unique coral formation or other object at a specific depth so that you will know where to return to shore.
At the end of your dive - don't surface and try to snorkle back to shore! You will be against the wind and surface flow and it will be very difficult to get back. Stay under water until you are almost back to shore in chest deep water. Then you can reverse the entry procedure. While navigating back to shore you can use two methods for direction if you don't use a compass - again, south sites only - the ripples in the sandy bottom will be roughly parallel to shore - just swim straight accross them at 90 degrees. Also - if you look up - the ripples on the surface will also be parallel to shore flowing against you. Just swim 90 degrees against them. Though you may not surface exactly where you came in you will be close.
Hope these tips help - enjoy uour dive vacation!

 

[b1gcountry]

When we went, there were a bunch of Eagle Rays that would group together and feed early in the morning at the Invisibles. Decide what you want to see and then ask the dive shop where you have to go to find it. Bari Reef is a good place for froggies. Klein is a good place for Turtles.
The South tends to be better for bigger formations. The North seems to have nicer tongue and groove.

 

[Rynomar]

PalauPete made a good point about the entry/exits. Also, make sure that you have some booties, preferably with a firm sole. It is really difficult to walk out into the water barefoot.

There was an eagle ray at Invisibles the last time I was there also. I don;t know if it was feeding on the Rosy Razorbacks or not but the ray hung around the bouy and let us spend a good bit of time with it.