I will be taking my son to Bonaire the first week in August and thinking about arranging to get his Jr. Advance ticket (he is 13). We will be staying at the Divi. Any suggestions, comments or thoughts?

The dive instructors at the Divi are all terrific. I did both my OW and my AOW there. They have lots of experience certifying young people. Your son will be in good hands.
I suggest you contact Divi Dive Bonaire ahead of time and reserve the course. Sometimes a lot of divers are asking for courses all at once, plus a lot of people dive at Divi that time of year, so sometimes the instructors are working as dive masters on the shop's five boats..
Welcome to BT, Mark! Have you been to Bonaire before? You and your son will love the island and the Divi!
Enjoy!
Tish

Thanks Tish - This will be my first trip to Bonaire and have been reading the discussion threads for a few months and it has been a great help. I chose Bonaire as it seems to have many options for 60-70 feet and shallower diving which will fit my needs having a first time Jr. Diver. Coming from AZ is a total pain in the butt yet from all indications it will be well worth it the hassle. Thanks again!

Yes, Mark. You chose well. The shallow diving here is great.
May your journey here prove easy!

Mark, why don't you get your son's Jr OW at home before going to Bonaire? Then he will not have to sit thru classes there. This will give you & him more time time to dive on Bonaire. You should have plenty of time before your trip. It may also be less expensive at home than in Bonaire. Not putting the instructors in Bonaire down because they are good, just you might check into prices at home and in Bonaire. I know you will enjoy your trip a lot.
Andy

Mark..This will be our third trip to Bonaire in June. We are taking our 12 year old with us this time for his first dive trip for the same reasons you described. I think it is the perfect place for new divers. I believe I would also look at getting your son his AOW at home. I don't know you son and can only speak on how I believe mine would react, but I think once I got him in the water diving, he would have a hard time trying to concentrate on a class, because he would want to do more dives. We had him diving in a lake this past weekend and he was excited by a couple of fish in about 10 ft of viz. I can't wait to get him in the beautiful waters of Bonaire.

My 14 y.o. just took his open water certification in Lake DeSmet, Wyoming. He was excited by a couple fish and about 10 feet visibility. He wanted to do certification here so all his dives there can be with us; he doesn't have to worry about class there; and he took his open water dives with instructors he knows.

Glad to hear Bonaire is a great spot for beginning divers. We will be at the Sand Dollar Aug 6-13. Martha