Shore Diving

[redbaran]

My soon-to-be-wife and I will be visiting Bonaire on May 6th on the Caribbean Princess from 7am to 1pm. She's not a big diver, but she would like to do one shore dive.

 

So, what we are looking for is a place that is easy to get to from the cruise ship and has things for her/us to do after we get done diving, even just a beach to hang out on. Anyone have any recommendations?

 

So far, I've been looking at:

Dive Buddy

Captain Don's Habitat

Divi Flamingo

 

I don't see where Dive Buddy is located, but Habitat and Flamingo look relatively close to the port. BTW, does the ship tender or dock here?

[Grammar Goddess]

The ships dock at Bonaire--it's a wonderful terminal. If you contact Hans at hansoutdoor@hotmail.com, he can take you to a nearby dive site--Bonaire is one of the places anywhere for diving, virtually no limits--and then anywhere else you want to go. The downtown area is right where the ship docks--he's located about a short two blocks from where you'll be. There's some shopping there and restaurants, too, or he can take you to a great restaurant on a beach. We think he's the best guide on the island! :) You can check out his website: Outdoorbonaire.com

 

Good luck! Have a great cruise.

 

GG

[John Galt]

That dive off Capt. Don's is great... If she's a big fish fan the fishest reef on the island is a little down from that at seven bodies beach. (That's one of my favorite dives on the island)

[redbaran]

That dive off Capt. Don's is great... If she's a big fish fan the fishest reef on the island is a little down from that at seven bodies beach. (That's one of my favorite dives on the island)

 

Hey John, thanks for the great info! I think we'll definitely go with capt. don's. Do you have any suggestions for things for her to do if I keep diving and she is done? I see they have a pool, anything else she can do without having to wander too far?

[cruizegurl]

We just got back from a trip to Bonaire on the Caribbean Princess (2/14/10) and our group of 5 went to Bongo Beach (aka Eagle Beach Resort). None of us are very experienced snorkelers, so we like to do something easy from the shore. We got a $12 taxi to Bongo Beach for the 5 of us and the ride was no more than 10-15 minutes.

 

Bongo Beach is a small white sand beach (kinda rocky, so water shoes would have been helpful but weren't necessary), the resort rents chairs for $5 and since you'll be there early you shouldn't have a trouble getting a chair. The beach has lots of small palm trees that provide shade and the resort has a bar on the beach where they grilled hamburgers and hot dogs around lunch time. They also allow you to use their restrooms for free.

 

We rented snorkel masks for $10 from the dive shop next to the resort, they didn't let us rent fins b/c we were only snorkeling (and would have charged extra for a life vest/float). There is a small wooden pier with steps down into the water that was easy to navigate. We were there in the afternoon and the current was kind of strong moving from right to left as you face the beach, so our group decided it was easier to enter the water further up the beach to the right and then float back towards the steps.

 

I don't have a ton of experience snorkeling, but the snorkeling in Bonaire was the best I've ever seen. The water was clear, and there were tons of bright, big, colorful fish. We say blue tang, parrot fish, flounder that camouflaged into the rocks right before our eyes, and lots more.

 

Enjoy your trip!