Bonaire Trip Report: Thanksgiving Week 2007

[Pax]

I was hoping to do a trip to Bonaire this Sept. I see a few posts re Hotel etc. Can someone offer info as to other resorts (preferable ones that have direct access to shore dives. Also my wife is doing her open water confined and exam for OW but will do an OW referral in Bonaire- any recommendations. I can't convince her to do her on BC westcoast hmmm.
What is the weather like in mid to end Sept.
Thanks kindly!

[shinek]

Pax, we went to Bonaire a few years ago and had some great diving. I agree with all "arnomsdt"s comments about the reefs and ease of diving, good to hear its still as good as it was 6 or 7 years ago. We stayed at Buddy Dive and would be very happy to go back any time. The house reef is right in front of you and you can dive there day and night, just drop off the dock and head out a few fin kicks across the sand to the reef. Along the same stretch of the coast is also Captain Dons which has a good reputation and I'm sure there are others. Most dive operations will happily accept a refferal for your wife, however, my opinion, free and worth every penny. Get the certification out of the way before you go, otherwise her first few dives will be limited and will require the skills etc. rather than just being able to go out and enjoy the reefs. Just my view.
One good thing about Buddy Dive when we were there was the drive through air station. Like "arnomsdt", we rented a pickup as part of the deal and could simply pull up, take out the the empty tanks, put in a couple of full ones and head off to one of the many dive sites around the coast. Unlimited shore diving and its easy to do 5 dives a day if you want to.
You can get a map or book showing the sites around the island and describing what's there, the entry points etc. Basically you drive around until you see a big yellow rock with the dive site name painted on it. Pull in, gear up and in you go.
As part of our package we also did 2-tank boat dives every morning over to Klein Bonaire to some great sites, only accessible by boat.
The reef in front of the hotel was good, I particularly enjoyed the "changing of the guard" dives at dusk. Go in as the light is fading, watch the day critters punching out and the night shift punching in and finish with a very easy, relaxing night dive. Its pretty shallow, so you can spend as long as you like enjoying the undersea sites. There was a small boat upside down on the reef in front of Captain Dons which was fun to visit on the way past and always had a big Green Moray in residence.
Bonaire has abundant small stuff, not great for big pelagics, when we were there the reefs were in good shape as the whole place has been a marine park since the 60s (I think, maybe 70s). Other parts of the world could learn from that!
Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth, hope it helps and hope you have a great trip.