My wife and I are headed for Bonaire on Feb. 2, being this our first time we are looking for some advice. We will be there for nine days.So far we have been to Grand Cayman, Roatan,and Cozumel, so we are really looking forward to Bonaire.

1. Crime..do we have to worried about leaving our dive bag ( gear bag) in the back of the pick-up while we are in the water?
2. While we are out for the day, doing shore dives and we stop for lunch, do we have to keep an eye on our dive equipment in the rental truck ?
3. We were not planning on bringing a lot of nice clothes. What is acceptable dress in the restaurants at night?
4. My wife is concerned about the check out dive, We have 70 + dives under our belt so I don't see this as a problem, what do they have you do ? I am guessing just basic skills.
5. We are going there to dive... what are the places not to miss?
6. We always bring a few bottles of wine with us to off set some of the cost . What does wine a beer usually cost? Is there a good selection ?
7. We are staying Buddies Dive resort, is there good things or bad about this resort, any thing we should know ?

Thanks in Advance
Todd

Never leave anything in your rental vehicle. Leave your doors unlocked, and your windows open in your vehicle for the duration of your trip or else if you do accidentally leave something in the vehicle they will break the glass to get into it. Bring a lock and chain to secure your spare tire to the vehicle. Stop back at your place and drop off your gear before going to lunch.
The rental car company will probably give you the same advice. Make sure your gas cap does not lock or you could get your fuel line cut and your gas siphoned that way, instead of them just taking it from the gas cap area.
Don't let these tips scare you off. It's a blast!

Dress is as casual as casual comes, although the locals do not appreciate bathing suits being worn in town.
Our check out dive consisted of the dive shop looking at our dive logs, then giving us a briefing on dive regulations for the marine park. They also recommended we do our first dive at the house reef to acclimate ourselves and get or weight situation down. I have heard some places actually do have you do a check -out dive w/them, but it is basically nothing more than a "get comfortable dive".

Dress is as casual as casual comes, although the locals do not appreciate bathing suits being worn in town.
Our check out dive consisted of the dive shop looking at our dive logs, then giving us a briefing on dive regulations for the marine park. They also recommended we do our first dive at the house reef to acclimate ourselves and get or weight situation down. I have heard some places actually do have you do a check -out dive w/them, but it is basically nothing more than a "get comfortable dive".

Ditto about leaving anything in your truck while you're diving. It's an invitation for a problem. Dress is VERY casual-I might recommend long pants or cropped pants for your wife, just because the no see-ums and mosquitos can be bad at night. The checkout dive is merely to make sure you have your bouyancy right, and we have never been monitored. Once you've had the introduction, you just do an easy dive, and you're set. You will love Bonaire-it is laid back and easy going, yet there are great restaurants as well. BTW, although dress is very casual, and this is a Dutch-influenced island, Bonaireans appreciate modesty, so the no bathing suits at a restaurant (unless it's on the sand) is appropriate. Enjoy! We are hopefully headed there for our fourth trip in May.

I've stayed at Buddy Dive many times and love the place. The check out dive is unsupervised and right at the dock at Buddy's. Don't leave anything in your vehicle and don't lock the doors. Enjoy my favorite island! Happy new year!

Todd, the advice to leave nothing in the truck has always worked for us. Because my eyes are sensitive to light I take really cheap sunglasses to leave in the truck. Sometimes I put on my wetsuit and booties before leaving the house or else take really cheap flipflops to leave in the truck. Nothing that I would feel sad about losing. About stopping for lunch -- the island is small so we usually go back to our place to throw on clothes and leave our gear if we are going to have lunch out.

For dinner my husband usually wears shorts and a nice tshirt or collared shirt and I wear shorts or capris and sleeveless shirt. Nothing fancy for sure.

The checkout dives vary from dive shop to dive shop and some have only set times. The purpose is to acquaint you with the marine park rules and a chance to fine tune your weights,etc as well as ask any questions.

Everyone has favorite dive sites but I would suggest that once on the island you pick up a copy of the book Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy by Jesse Armacost as it will give you great details about all the sites.

For beer the big choices are Amstel, Bright, Heineken, Polar and prices are really not bad. You can pick up a case at the grocery store. Wine prices are also not bad and we have had some nice French wines for less than they are available here in the states. Prices for hard liquor are usually higher and harder to get.

Can't help you about Buddy's as we have never stayed there but I am sure many folks will chime in here.

Happy diving!

Ditto on what Mary, Rich, and Susan have said! You will love Bonaire! ;) I particulary like the south dive sites, although the north ones are good too! North is better done in morning, south in the afternoon. North site: Oil Slick Leap, La Dania's Leap, and Karpata and South: all of them!

I am considered the queen of Chardonnay in my circle of friends, and I strongly suggest bringing your own! I bought several different brands during a 10 day vacation and did not find one to compliment the taste I was looking for. We were lucky to find the "Antillian Liquor" distributor while we were there, from asking around. This enabled us to purchase liquor that was not easily available throughout the island (i.e. Southern Comfort, which is all Rich drinks.

Hi Todd. We are a party of 6 and will be at Buddys until Feb 5. If we stumble across one another, we can have a beer and compare some notes.

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for the information. We are looking forward to an unforgettable trip, which I am sure it will be.

Bob Birk,

Sure , lets get together and compare notes.

Thanks again and Happy New Year

Todd and Gloria

The only thing I would add is to not bother bringing any wines to the Island. Contact Antilean Wine upon arrival and order from them. They deliver within one day and their selection is very good and prices either lower or comparable to the States. We found a wide selection of Cabs and Merlots for under $10.

Todd:

I think you will have a great time.

1. Crime..do we have to worried about leaving our dive bag ( gear bag) in the back of the pick-up while we are in the water?

Others have covered this: leave the doors unlocked and the windows partially down and nothing you care about in the car. This has always worked for me (ten or so trips). (The reason I say leave nothing you care about is that potential thieves are probably not after a dive bags per se, but divers have left cash in them before so...).

2. While we are out for the day, doing shore dives and we stop for lunch, do we have to keep an eye on our dive equipment in the rental truck ?

Yes. Bonaire is not that large and it is very easy to return to your hotel to stow your gear. Much more relaxing and it eliminates the risk.

3. We were not planning on bringing a lot of nice clothes. What is acceptable dress in the restaurants at night?

Others have covered this well. One pair of long pants and one or two "nicer" shirts has almost seemed like over kill.

4. My wife is concerned about the check out dive, We have 70 + dives under our belt so I don't see this as a problem, what do they have you do ? I am guessing just basic skills.

It is more of a check of bouyancy and to be sure you understand the marine park rules.

5. We are going there to dive... what are the places not to miss?

Browse the diving and trip report threads. Here is a ten favorite dives thread: http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/30/193109.html?1104164095

I personally think a night dive is not be missed. If you are comfortable at night with good bouyancy skills, I would suggest the town pier one night (requires a guide). Off your hotel and oil slick are also very easy to do at night...

6. We always bring a few bottles of wine with us to off set some of the cost . What does wine a beer usually cost? Is there a good selection ?

You might check http://www.antilleanwine.com/ As others have noted, hard liquor can be more of a challenge.

7. We are staying Buddies Dive resort, is there good things or bad about this resort, any thing we should know ?

It is well regarded. Here is a thread you might be interested in: http://www.oldbonairetalk.com/newsgroup/messages/24/183983.html?1097072311

Welcome to the board Todd.

You have gotten good advise above. As for leaving your dive bag in the truck, my suggestion is to substitute a simple nylon duffel bag for a "real" dive bag. They are inexpensive, a lot lighter and take up a lot less space than a standard dive bag. So far no one has bothered taking mine.

The island is small so driving back to the resort before lunch is not really a big deal. We take 2 tanks apiece and do 2 dives in the morning before heading back so we are ready for a rest between dives anyway.

The check out dives at BD are no big deal. You are given a tour of BD, shown a video of the Marine Park and then are on your own to do a "check out" dive in front of the shop. This is mainly for you to check out your gear and get your weights correct, no one will be along with you.

The staff of Buddy Dive, both the dive shop and resort itself are great.

Another thing to keep in mind is the exit tax. You have to pay a $20pp exit tax at the airport before leaving. You need to do this before checking in at the airline counter or you will have to get out of line, pay the tax and return to the line.

Hi Todd,
My brother and I were in Bonaire in May and will return Feb 4-13. We stayed at Lions Dive and dived with Bon Bini, which is next door and share a dock system with Buddy's. We will stay at Lions Dive again and dive with Buddy's, Bon Bini's is gone. Buddy's operation looked very good and all seemed to have fun.The check dive is not much and we finished our dive on the sunken boat at Capt Don's. Shore and boat diving are both great. All advise you got from the others looked right on. I did not wear all of the clothes I brought last time so I will pack light.
We decided to return before we even left Bonaire. The island makes diving very easy and really enjoyable. I am sure we will see you at the dock. If you are interested in a night dive to the Town Pier, let me know, they have a min. # of divers to make a trip. Have a good trip down. Not a bad idea to bring a few spirits with you if you have room.
John Busch

Hi John,

Sure we can get together for the night dive. Lets look each other up when we get there. We are planning on bring some wine and a cheep gear bag. If it goes who cares. We are counting down the days.

Todd Geardino

Todd,
Sounds good. We arrive on the 4th at 8:30 PM AST. We will be down at the dive shop on the 5th for our check dive/orientation. Last time we got a review of the dive operation,park rules,bought our tag, and went diving by ourselves. The reef is about 25 yds out and drops to 120'. We used up our tanks and were all set. Buddy's and Lions Dive are right next to each other. See you in Feb.
John

Todd,
If you want to see some pics of the dock at Buddys, email me your email address @ buschfbref@aol.com and I will send you a few photos.
John

Check out the Antillean wine web site. You can order before you leave home and they will deliver to where you are staying. There is a minimum of 6 bottles per order. We had very good service from them and will use them again in March.

The Antillean wine Co is on my speed dial.

Todd,

I will completely ditto the Antillean wine company. We ordered our 2 week supply and were VERY pleased - plus, they delivered to our location. We ordered before we left and had all the items straightened out - it was great. And a good idea would be to get your departure tax taken care of when you arrive to Bonaire. That way you don't accidentally spend that $20 cash you need when you depart. I have done that the last 5 times and will do it everytime from now on. No surprises when it is time to go.

Have a GREAT trip.

Mara