Howdy! I'm heading to Bonaire in Feb '05 for my first visit, and finding almost too much information. So for those of you who have been before, what are your 10 best "can't miss" dives sites? If it matters, I have PADI Master Diver cert. including Night, Deep, and Wreck specialties, and I live for vertical wall dives. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Wreck - dive the Hooker. Check out the air pockets. Night dives - any where. Salt Pier and Town Pier. Need a local DM to take you. Need a passport #. Klein has several good diving sites. It's a small boat ride. No big walls like Bloody Bay Wall. Dive the east side with Larry. That's a must do. There are many good sites up north as well as the double reef down south. Alot to see.

Chris,

It is hard to pick 10 dives and I am sure you will get very lists from people. Some dive sites are great, but the entry and exit can be hard. I will give you my top ten:

Alice in Wonderland: One of the sites in the double reef system south of town. You can go down the wall to the sandy bottom at 90 to 100 feet and see the garden eels, then swim over to the outter reef where there are larger coral formations and usually a few baracuda hanging out. If you look over the second reef the bottom is too deep to see.

Helma Hooker: It is the only major wreck on the island that is easy to get to. It is just one of those dives you have to do. If you go to Bonaire you have to go down on the Hooker. If you aren't into wrecks the reefs on both sides of the wreck are really nice.

1,000 steps: The reef up here is really nice. Other that the steps (actually less than 100) the entry and exit is very easy. This site is up north and is best done in the morning. The water sometimes gets rough in the afternoon and the light is usally better on the reef in the morning.

Red Beryl: This site has great soft and hard coral from the top of the wall, all the way down. Great variety and color.

Town Pier: This is another one of those dives you have to do. The coral and sea life is great at night. You have to pay a guide to take you on this site. The problem is that the area under teh pier can become very crowded right after sundown when everyone tries to do it. Here is a hint. Get to know a good dive master who is qualified to be a guide. Offer to take him/her to dinner and then do the dive after dinner. You will probably be the only group at the pier and the dive will much more enjoyable when you can see something other than fins in your face.

Salt Pier: This dive is also a dive that requires permission and a guide. It is a great dive. beautiful coral on the pier and lots of small creatures and fish. I have only done this site as a day dive but it would make a great night dive if you can get permission and a guide.

Petries Pillar is a difficult entry from the shore. You could try to do it at a boat dive. There are seahorses, frog fish and glassy sweepers at this site.

Mi Dushi: This a site on Klien Bonaire so you have to do it as a boat dive. Great coral, lots of creatures. I find a sea horse almost every time I dive this site.

Hands Off: Also on Klien so it is available by boat only. Lots of large elephant ear coral. Actually any of the dives on Klien are great: Forest, Ebo's Special, Sampler, Jerry's Reef, Just a Nice Dive. I can't remember a site on Klien that I would not do again.

And of course the Eden Beach reef so you can be on the web cam and everyone back home can see you live. The wreck behind the cam is a fun little place to find eels and fish. When we did that site last week, we found all kinds of fish and creatures in the rubble of dead coral just south of the wreck. Lots of eels, drum fish, blennys even though the coral is not there.

That is my 2 cents worth but I could not go to Bonaire for a week and only do 10 sites. I always get in over 20 dives. In six weeks on Bonaire I have made 158 dives. I just can't stay out of the water.

Dr. Doo

Chris, do a keyword search at the bottom of this page for "top 10" and you will come up with a lot of information from BT'ers. The question has been asked and discussed several times, and as Mike says, it's hard to pick 10, and everyone has their favorites

Have a great time!

Chris
In all the messages I didn't found "the Cliff"
That's a vertical dive site, including big tarpons, special at night( evening).
I hope that you have a good time at Bonaire in febr. I'am coming in march for the second time to Bonaire.
Dick V.

My "must do" dives: Oil Slick Leap, Salt Pier, Rappel.

Salt Pier requires you to have a guide, with permission, and Rappel is a boat dive. Oil Slick Leap is just a really cool shore dive!

Mike, I certainly plan on more than 10 sites, probably looking towards 25-30 dives that week. I just thought that getting a Top 10 list from everyone would generate 20-25 sites that had been ranked simply by the number of people who mentioned the same sites. Sort of an unbiased way of trying to pick sites. Thanks for mentioning Alice in Wonderland, sounds phenomenal!!!

My suggestion for ten daytime shore dives:

North
- Old Blue
- Karpata
- Oil Slick
- BOPEC (nice reef and old mast in about 35fsw)

All offer nice things to see and a steeper reef profile. All have fairly decent entries.

South
- Any of the double reef sites (Lake, etc.)
- Hilma Hooker
- Fish House
- Calabas II (Carib Inn)
- Red Slave
- Lighthouse (love the soft corals and fans)

The last two can be rough on the entry -- be sure you are up to it skill wise and the conditions are suitable.

A few special mentions:
- Boat Dives -- Rappel and most Klein sites
- Night -- Town Pier and your hotel dock.

Okay, I didn't see mentioned...Wild Side, Blue Hole...Sorobon, Larry's Wild Side Diving...A MUST!


Liz

Also love Tori's Reef, reef a little out, but if you take the time and stay a little in and want to do some GREAT Macro photography...it's great!

Liz

My top 10 would be

Karpata
Nearest point Klein - Turtles
Hands Off - Klein
Margate Bay
La Machaca and Cliff (I do this at least twice a day - House reef)
Town Pier
Rappel
Something Special - Juvenille fish
Forest - Klein
The Lake (next to the Hilma Hooker which you can visit if you watch your computer)


If you like walls there is also Carls Hill on Klein. This was named after a Photographer who loved this site.

I'll just mention my 2 favorites Alice in Wonderland and Angel City. I like to stay in the shallow portion of the Alice in Wonderland reef. Go out to the mooring bouy, drop down the first reef and head south. You'll end up in a beautiful coral valley. I can't wait to get to that spot with my new camera!

Karpata is one of my favorite dives, along with The Lake. They are totally different, but both great.

Klein - Nearest Point and Mi Dushi

Oil Slick Leap
1,000 Steps
Hilma Hooker
Alice in Wonderland
Salt City
Salt Pier
Town Pier
Bari Reef
Punt Vierkant

Don't forget Bari Reef!

BOPEC!
Not dived nearly as much as the closer in sites and the life seemed more diverse and coral healthier. If you know where to go and have good open water buoyancy you can surface swim out above the Windjammer and free descend to 110ish and see the ship quite well for a few minutes. Then swim over to the reef and make a leisurely ascent back to the fisherman's ramp for a great dive!

John... I dove BOPEC last year, and didn't know that's where the Windjammer was! What a bummer. It'll be on my next must-do list.

I did a snorkel there with Renee all around the fisherman's ramp area and that is where I saw four Queen angelfish!! The rolling brain corals there are awesome!!

Chris, Welcome to Bonaire Talk.

In October during my ninth trip to Bonaire, a friend told me that when we were on the southern end of Bonaire to look at spots other than the marked sites. My dive buddy and I did and found some of the best diving we have ever experienced.

It is simple to accomplish. As you make your way south, simply look for spots where the darker water of the drop off zone is close(er) to shore. Then check out the lighter (usually sandy) area between shore and the drop off, if you see dark areas in the sand, find an easy entry/exit point and have fun.

There were no walls to speak of, but we did find our new favorite site. In our dives there we encountered numerous rays, turtles, large schools of many different species of fish, shrimp, crabs, bristle worms, christmas tree worms, sponges galore (on the slope), an octopus, spotted drum, french and queen angels, cubera snappers, scorpion fish and much much more.

Also at this site, there were hard and soft corals almost all the way up to the shore. On some dives we spent most of our time in the shallows observing the latter and all of the creatures around them. Remember Chris that every square foot of bottom surface holds something to enjoy - if you look for it.

I hope you enjoy your visit, and that it is the first of many in your future.

You may see some of what I was ranting about by visiting my (unfinished) trip report at:

http://www.victorysports.net/bonaire2004/diving.htm

Chris,

When in February are you heading to Bonaire? We'll be there from the 3-10th. We are new to Bonaire also.

I can't thank you all enough for the great information. FYI, I will be in Bonaire 2/5-2/12 at Buddy Dive.

Returned from my first trip to Bonaire in September.

Dove many marked and unmarked sites and here's my humble opinion of the ten best working North to South:

Karpata
Thousand Steps
Oil Slick Leap
Hilma Hooker (Not a great wreck but about the only game in town in Bonaire)
Alice in Wonderland
Salt Pier
Invisibles
Margate Bay (Extra special)
Fish Hut (Extra special, unmarked)
Hidden Beach (Extra special, unmarked)

I'm sure there are lots of other great dives and I am looking forward to discovering them during my next trip.

Dove several sites in Slagbaai Park but they appeared to have suffered damage from the near miss by Hurricane Ivan.

In general the dive sites got better the further south I went, though the three northern sites listed above were fantastic.

How do you dive the windjammer at BOPEC? Where do you park? Where do you go in and which direction to head? We have dove Nukove once.

Casey:

Diving BOPEC is fairly simple. Park near the boat ramp (that is just barely north of the closed to diving area -- there is a fish cleaning shed just north of the ramp). Please allow plenty of room for the local fisherman and under no circumstances block the ramp area. Enter using the side of the ramp (the ramp itself is oh so slippery!).

You must swim north as the area to the south is closed to diving. At this point, you are just south of the BOPEC plant and just north of the closed area.

BTW, this a GREAT reef dive -- even w/o the Windjammer.

BOPEC Hazards: Fairly exposed to currents and wave action. Large ships come and go from BOPEC. Smaller boats come and go from the ramp. You must start by swimming north even if that is with a stiff current.

Windjammer: It is a great dive but an unforgiving one.

The WJ is deep. As in way way deep for air (my profile typically maxes out at 160 to 175 FSW). 02 toxicity is a concern. Deep water black out would also be a concern. Narcosis is certain. Gas planning is essential. Deco planning is essential. It is very easy to incur deco obligations that exceed available gas. Currents, shipping and navigation also present a hazard. The potential for equipment failure demands redundant systems -- more than a simple octo. Also, the ship itself is easily missed given that it is not visible from the surface. The surface swim can be in pretty decent sized waves -- especially as the day goes on.

I sent some additional info by PM to you.

Dave

actually, the WJ is easy to find...swim shallow on the reef until you come to the mast which is lying in about 30 ft...you can't miss it..looks like a very large piece of pipe covered in coral..usually lots of fish...follow the direction the mast is pointing over the side of the reef...you should start seeing the hull as a dull dark object at about 130 ft

all the other safety issues that Dave pointed out still apply...this is not a dive for a new diver or somebody who is not familiar with being narc'd

I'm glad my brother ( David Johnson ) added the WJ, do it with Larry or somebody that has done it your first time, you will be narced big time, and it's not a dive for people with less than a couple hundred dives, and no night dive the day before you do it, here is my top ten:

Karpata
WJ
Hilma Hooker
Town pier at night
Salt pier at night
Angel city
Old blue
Red slave ( when currents are not bad )
Carib Inn
Oil slick leap at night.

When we were there in July, you had to have special permission to dive the Salt Pier. Is that still the case?

We also dove the Windjammer. We descended to about 180 feet. What a beautiful ship. It is hard to believe that it's from 1912. We had to sling one tank w/ an extra regulator. What a great dive. What a beautiful place. We are headed to Utila in 2 months to see the Whale Sharks. Has anyone been there?

You need permission to do the salt pier, it's been that way for some time.

Rhoda

Salt Pier and Town Pier were going to be closed permanently due to an international anti terrorist law to prevent attacks against shipping. Fortunately Bonaire has safeguarded diving at these sites by adding some common sense and self regulation. I don't know how many other places around the world have been so considerate to divers. We are in Bonaire for Christmas & New year this year and back in September for the coral spawning. We are also looking for somewhere for March/April 2005 and have heard that this is Whale Shark season in Utila, so any recommendations and stories of personal experiences would be appreciated.

By the way last week in Bonaire I am told that they had Manta and Whale Shark sightings, the person who saw the WS pressed the off button instead of the shutter. I am told he finally got a distant shot of the WS when the camera finally turned back on.

We have been told that it is a guarantee that we will see Whale Sharks as well as Hammerheads. Apparently, they migrate at the same time of year. I also heard that we may see Dolphin Pods. So we will see. We are leaving on Feb 28 and returning on March 9. I will let you know how it was.

Brian&Ronda, am I hearing you right? Did you say that there are whale shark sightings in Bonaire? I am arriving 11th of February and wanted to know how do I get information on what operators take you to them or where have they have been sighted? Any info would help. This is my second trip to Bonaire and as if I couldn't be excited enough just to be going, then to hear about WHALE SHARKS SIGHTINGS !!

Richard,
When I was in Bonaire in July there were divers off Klein Bonaire that saw a WS traveling w/ 2 dolphins. I have been told that every once in awhile Whale Sharks are seen. I am traveling to Utila in March when I hope to see migrating Whale Sharks. Bonaire is so beautiful...I can only hope that Utila is as well.