I know it's probably impossible, as there seem to be unending options, but any favorite diving spots to recommend? We are going to B. for the first time (this Saturday)for a week and want to pack in as much as we can. Thanks!!!

Mark, you'll have a great time just about anywhere you dive. My wife and myself kept returning to Andrea II and Angel City. Bari is also a favorite -- we stayed at Den Laman and it was just right in front of us and always convenient.

1000 Steps is great but I don't want to climb up (or down) them steps ever again unless it's part of a cardiac stress test and there is no treadmill to use as an alternative.

Witches Hut was also great as was Hilma Hooker.

We have not done any boat dives (neither Klein nor east side) yet.

South end: Invisibles, Alice in Wonderland are my two favorites.

North end: 1000 Steps (but I agree with Leo's assessment of the steps ), LaDania-Karpata drift dive, Oilslick Leap.

I also like the house reefs stretching between Hamlet Oasis-Captain Don's-Buddy Dive.

All the dive sites each have their own special flair and are all a bit different. So depending on what you prefer, you will undoubtedly find your own 'favorite site' (or sites).

My suggestion is to do them all (you will need more than one trip, definitely) and figure out which ones you love most! Enjoy your upcoming trip (I am so jealous).

On the calm days, hit the sites further south, Margate Bay, Vista Blue, & etc. Often it is a bit rough there when the wind is up so take advantage of the calm days to do them.

Mark.. Asking about favorite dive sites is really a lot like asking about favorite restaurants or accommodations. You'll find that everyone has their own preferences. I prefer the sites down south but also appreciate the northern ones. My advice get Susan Porters Bonaire Shore Diving, read it & go out on your own & discover your own personal preferences. Have fun, that's really the key.

Vince has a good idea. Get Susan Porter's book, Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy (also known on this board as BSDME). Excellent resource although post-Omar some of the sites and entrances have changed.

You really need to buy that book. We use it non-stop for our last two trips to Bonaire and we'll use it again in two weeks when we go for our annual 15 days on Bonaire vacation

You might want to try some easy entry/exit sites to start with until gear issues become second nature.
Sites like Windsock and Oil Slick Leap are easy entry.

Ol' Blue is a very scenic site but takes a bit of effort getting down to the water's edge and then getting over rocks out to waist deep water. So do tougher entries later in the week.

Be careful at Oil Slick Leap. The entry may be easy (a giant stride over a cliff, is the most popular way to enter) but the exit may be challenging as the ladder there is missing a rung. Unless it has been fixed, of course.

See here for recent reports and also for information about other sites around Bonaire.

Leo - thanks for that link. It is a great site!

Hey! 1000 Steps is a lot easier from a BOAT! We finally got to dive there by taking a boat because our dive buddies refused to carry their gear down (or back up) all those steps. I think the steps are all a part of the great adventure of diving Bonaire - but some of are decrepit...

Oh, MzFish, please! 1000 Steps is torture It amounts to cruel and unusual punishment!

Especially for those of us who are of the chivalrous persuasion. And we end up carrying the gear of our better other half in addition to ours.

I refuse to do 1000 Steps from the shore ever again unless there are Automatic External Defibrillators installed every 5 steps, soft ice-cream machines every 7 steps, and water coolers every 11 steps.

Leo - I have 'Grandma Knees' as our family calls them. One of my knees gave up working on the last days of our dive trip in May. I couldn't even get from the bed to the bathroom, and that was 4 feet away! How weird to wake up without the ability to walk!!! I missed a whole day of diving!!!

But I'm "Much Better Now".

(And I have better pharmacuticals)

Also, the platform and ladder at Oil Slick were repaired immediately after Omar. Its all good. The ladder had all its rungs in November 08.

Just don't expect to see all the elkhorn corals that were just to the right... yeah, can anyone say "Rubble Pile"?

AND speaking of rubble - thick-soled booties are a good idea when going from parking to the leap at Oil Slick. ow-ow-ow

1,000 Steps.....a beer vendor offering Brights and Polars wouldn't be bad incentive, either.

That would be cool , maybe a decompression chamber next to the beer stand !

Well, that would solve the problem of quickly getting someone to the chamber.

I, of course, only advocate 'moderate' beer consumption after your LAST dive of the day. Safety first, as always, for anyone out there who might have thought I was suggesting it as a method of proper hydration throughout the day....don't want to get sued or anything.

Of course!!! those Brights do go down well after a hard day at the ocean
chamber is there only for those overexerted

AFTER DIVING:

The D.Wilson theory on Surface Interval time: Replace the nitrogen bubbles in your blood with carbon dioxide bubbles from Brights and Balashi, helping you prepare for another day of diving!!!

Ladies and gents,

Many kind thanks for all of the generous tips. The countdown has begun-- T minus 24 hrs till we shove off for Bonaire for the first time. We can hardly wait!

Mark - enjoy your trip! And sorry for hijacking your original thread with all the chatter about add-on's to make 1000 steps 'easier.' But, of course, now perhaps you are compelled to dive it just so you can experience it for yourself?

(And we would appreciate a trip report when you get back, too, so we can all live vicariously through your virgin Bonaire experience)!

I am on Island now and I can tell you that many of your favorite sites from last year are very different this year. I suggest that you walk, without gear to test the entries because they are not the same. The ladder at oil slick is not only missing a step, many of the steps are so week that the ladder is unsafe. Old Blue is now a very rough entry and difficult at high tide. The Rock is no longer a sand entry but still easy. The Lake is still easy. Susan's book is pre Omar and is not as reliable as before.

Personally I like the southern sites especially the double reef dives. Someone else will know exactly which sites are double reefs but Angel City and Alice in Wonderland are two of them if my memory serves me correctly. I would follow Vince's advice and purchase Shore diving made easy but be aware much has changed since Omar (I hear).

I liked shore diving from Harbour Village, nice dive shop, all just very easy. Also went out on boat and dove two areas off Klein Bonaire which were great. Leonora's Reef and Hands Off. Can't wait to go back. So much to explore.