My husband and I are fairly new divers, we are thinking about coming to Bonaire in Sept for our Anniversary. Upon reading some threads, I do not know if we will be able to stay long enough to really enjoy diving (3 nights-4days). I understand you have to take a class on the first morning and I know you cannot fly 12 to 18 hours after diving. Anyone have any info to how this is done, ect.

The introduction to the Marine Park which you have to do really does not take too long and you then do your first dive straight afterwards! It's all part of the same thing. You might get two or three dives a day in. Will this be enough for you?

The "class" is usually just an introduction to the resort you are staying at and a briefing on the Marine Park and it's rules. After that you do an unsupervised dive at the resort. The intro usually takes 1 to 1 1/2 hr then it's off to your first dive. No big deal.

Here could be a sample schedule assuming you arrive Friday afternoon and leave Monday afternoon (stay 3 nights).

Friday -- arrive, unpack, check in, aquire any rental gear and relax. Perhaps get in a snorkel. Depending on the location, do your Marine Park orientation (some do the orientation only in the morning, others anytime -- you may want to check in advance). Note: if you arrive early and well rested you could turn this into a diving day as well). Have a nice dinner.

Saturday/Sunday -- Plan on at least two or three dives each day.

Monday -- Perhaps a nice morning snorkel and driving tour of the South end of the island. Back to the airport...

A little note...

My husband Ed said he would never be able to live on Bonaire if he couldn't dive...we are moving there as soon as the house here in NJ sells! Anyway, due to time constraints and work setting up our new Inn we were unable to dive (only 4 in a month!) We did a lot of snorkling. My husband changed his mind. We did Tori's Reef (snorkled) and we spent almost 2 hours there! We saw things we never saw before because we took the time to snorkle close to the shore and look in all the nooks and cranies! We always would head for the reef which is a little ways out and never took the time to basically "stop" and check out what was surrounded us. I HIGHLY recommended for a short trip to SNORKLE Bonaire. You can 2-3 snorkles in on any given day, so you won't mind not diving (though we did some free diving to see some things). If you want, email me privately and I will tell you more about the sites we snorkled and our timetable for snorkling. Liz

I was just about to suggest the same thing, Lizzie,but you so nicely pointed the benefits and fun of snorkeling here already.

Snorkeling is so much fun, you see soooo much and it is soooo relaxing! Just be careful with the sun and the skin...it can raise havoc with your skin. You will need good sunblock, perhaps some protection on your head (I burned my head once and it was not fun! LOL). Sometimes a t-shirt will help out, too.

You will probably be able to get a few dives in there, but also understand the snorkeling on Bonaire is phenomenal and it is so easy to do with shore entries everywhere!

Your only regret will be that you won't have more time to spend on Bonaire to explore her land features and beauties, too. 4 days and 3 nites will just wet your appetite and seem like a "teaser" to you when you have to get ready to leave.

Have no fear....you will LOVE the waters of Bonaire and everything else she has to offer. Have a great time!! Ayo. Carole

I say "Go for it!" If you are a new diver, you have to dive Bonaire, even if you're there for a short time. The orientation class takes only about an hour, so you have the whole rest of the day to dive. You could even get in an early morning dive or two on the day before the day you have to leave - depending on the time of your flight. Leave the sight-seeing until your last day - when you can't dive anymore.

Since you will have such a short time, you may want to just stick to the reefs close to where you will be staying. There is plenty to see just about anywhere you dive.

Marvin

David's schedule looks good to me ... if you want to you could even squeeze in a night dive:-) The time for snorkleing will be relaxing and also great as there is so much to see snorkeling on Bonaire. Enjoy every moment