Hello,

My name is Stephanie. I discovered this site yesterday when I was trying to get more information on Bonaire. I was hoping that I could ask a few 'newbie-ish' questions about the island.

We are looking at going to Bonaire around Labor Day and staying at the Divi Flamingo. I looked at some comments about this hotel on this site and it looks like it got good reviews. Not only am I a newbie regarding Bonaire, I am a newbie diver. I got my certification last year and I read that Bonaire is a good place for beginners and that there are many off-shore diving opportunities.

Here are my questions:

How is the visibility in Bonaire? I've only snorkelled in Hawaii and Grand Cayman - does it compare to either of those?

How difficult are the off-shore dives? Are the currents super strong? I am a so-so swimmer (but hey, I have air strapped to my back and that always helps ;))

Can anyone recommend any books on Bonaire?

Are there other things to do besides snorkel and dive? What are the beaches like there?

Thanks a bunch (I know I wrote a book!)

Stephanie

Welcome Stephanie,

The vis. in Bonaire is great, 20+ meters.

The off-shore dives are from verry easy to verry hard. May I suggest buying Jesse Armacoasts book? (I know Photo Tours in de Kaja Grande and at the Caribbean Court sells it).

Most of the beaches have some corral rubble on it. Ol'Blue, Pink Beach and 1000 steps are fine.

Hope you'll enjoy your stay.

Martin

Visibility is good. Compares to Caymen Brac. Not sure about Grand Caymen of Maui.

Not sure what you mean by "off-shore". If it is "boat dives" you mean than they are easy. If it is "Shore Diving" you mean they too are easy, but probably not quite as easy. Not oo deep, easy in easy out. tripping over coral rubble and avoiding spiny stuff is toughest part of shore dives.

Current is very light generally, but can change. Watch out for either end of the island. Currents are likely to be greater at either the far north or far south.Always check current before you dive.

Books about Bonaire: Some dive bookls do exist, which I have found to be very helpfull. I can not remember the names or authors however, and I am not at home to check. Try "Dive Boniare". Or do a search here, or on Amazon, etc.

Other things to do. Watch this site for what people do. Very few beachs as you might find in Gand Caymen, but some really nice, quite, not so sandy (Coral Rubble) spots. We have always had more to do than we can accomplish when visiting Bonaire. Lac Cai on Sundays, the Park any time, Hanging at Old Blue, or Pink beach, watching flamingos, searching for big lizzards, avoiding donkeys, etc. Karels bar at night.

Do the searches, watch this site, and prepare to to start missing Bonaire.

Diving Bonaire
by George Lewbel and Larry Martin
AquaQuest Publications, Inc.
available through amazon.com

Bonaire Diving Made Easy
Practical Guide to the Shore Dives of Bonaire
Second Edition-2002
by Jessie Armacost
available through Bonaire News Group and accepts payment through PayPal

Hi,Stephanie,
As others mentioned, visibility is great in Bonaire.

Regarding shore diving, I'm not a strong swimmer either. We used this website and other resources (like the Jesse Armacoast book) to pick dives that had easy entry. Swimming to the buoy wasn't bad, we'd just rest a bit by the buoy before going down, to catch our breath. Also we would watch the currents, if they looked strong we'd do a boat dive.

If you want to get a feeling for the shore diving, you can go to www.shorediving.com for a quick overview of most dive sites. As newbie shore divers (last year) we found it easier than expected. One caveat for shore diving - make sure you have booties because most of the shore is full of corals/rocks/shells, then at the water's edge it can be slippery.

Stuff to do? Somewhere in this website (I forget where) there's a list of 51 things to do. We visited the Donkey Sanctuary, & drove around to Lac Bay to watch the wind-surfers. You can always go to the park on the north of the island. But my bet is that you'll want to spend most of your time 60 ft below once you see how gorgeous it is down there.

Beaches are on the small scale, there's not a lot of sand (not like in Miami Beach, anyway) but its enough. We preferred hanging out at our hotel beach (with easy access to the bar!)

Have fun!

Thank you all so much! This is really sounding like a great place I've had fun looking at the webcams, pics, and have lots more to read.

Also check this out: (site reviews, ABC islands). Extensive info. and ratings on most Bonaire dive sites. Other informative Bonaire sites for newbies like us:


These web sites helped me decide to go to Bonaire in at the beginning of September for two weeks.

Something went missing in my last post, the websites. Let's try again:
www.shorediving.com
www.scubadiving.com/travel/bonaire7
www.scubadiving.com/travel/bonaire5
www.bluedivers.com.divemap.htm

Stephanie,

one more website for surface intervals: www.caradonna.com/descript/bon51.htm "51 Great Things to do on Bonaire." Have fun. I know we will.

Karl H.

TCB has added a few more:
52. Appear live on one of Bonaire's web cams. The underwater ReefCam near the Small Wall dive site and the StreetCam (on land) in Hato north of the resorts. (4 web cams total)

53. Take a Walking Tour of Downtown (pick up a map at the Tourism Information Office) and see some of Bonaire's history.

54. When in Rincon, be sure to stop at Fontein and bathe in the fresh water pools. Also visit Mangazina de Rei Botanical Garden or take a walking tour with Soldatji Tours.

55. Test your fish IQ. How many can you identify? Pick up a check off list at your favorite dive center.

56. Learn how to freedive. Take snorkeling to a new depth - learn how to control your breathing with yoga respiration techniques with Big Blue Freedive Bonaire.

Karl,

I couldn't get your link to work, but here's the complete list:

http://www.infobonaire.com/otheractivities.html

Jake

Stephanie,


The visibility is great in Bonaire. Comparable to Grand Cayman (maybe not as good on some days, but close!) Much better than Maui with the exception of Molokini Crater.

Shore diving is very easy in most places on Bonaire. Especially on the Klien side, since the surf is pretty low there.

I'll be on Bonaire around Labor day as well, so maybe we'll see you on 1000 steps - I'll be the tired looking one on the way back up

Karl -

Thank you so much for all of the links! They will keep me busy for a while (and I LOVE reading up on a place as much as possible before I go).

Renee - Thanks for the visibility info. That really sounds great. I'm glad the shore dives are very easy -- I'll need that until I get more comfortable, I think. I hope to see you on 1000 steps! I will be the one taking a break every 10 steps or so

You are right, Jake: the InfoBonaire link works much better. The Caradonna one I had may be quite dated. Thanks.