I will be traveling to Bonaire for the first time at the end of May. I am wondering how easy it is to find a dive buddy on the island or is it a general practice for divers to both go it alone and with partners. I have dived both ways many times and am comfortable doing both. I ask because not knowing the conditions it may not be safe to dive solo. I, for instance, would never even contemplate diving Cozumel alone.

This is a wonderful site, I wish that every dive detination had such a place to go to exchange information and impressions. I have learned a lot about the island from reading many of the insightful posts here.

Hi David,
Different Dive Masters will have you matched up in no time. Solo diving is never advised according to the big "J" himself :-))) and many "wise" others on this site. Wish I could volunteer...like many of us who wish we could be there...Welcome to the site, you can see all of us enjoy the site as well.

We have met some VERY nice and VERY good divers at some of the shore dive sites. They ('he') have asked if they could dive with us. Most of the time, it has worked out well. We always ask how much experience... how good on air... what they want to see... we then usually dive with 'him' between us. Realize that Ed and I don't buddy very close so this isn't a problem. Oh yes, we explain how we dive the site and let 'him' 'dump' us if our way doesn't match 'his' ideas. We have had some do that - because we make hour dives and this wasn't wanted.

Ask the DM at the dive shop or when your on a boat dive they either pair you up or you can go with the DM on the boat, or at least that's the way at Divi, I'm sure whoever you choose to dive with will help accomodate you.Have fun!!

I just returned 3/21 and I had the same problem.My wife doesn't dive,so I did boat dives and buddied up with the dive master and met people on the boat to shore dive with after. I thought about solo, but took the safe way out.