Bonaire - Dive Trip
Details
Shore Dives, Boat Dives, and Diving the Wild Side, we will do it all.
Single Divers welcome. We currently have 7 of the 10 slots full and we are looking for a single female to pair with another female.
With as many as 60 officially listed dive sites on Bonaire, most of them easily accessible from shore, the island is known as the Shore Diving Capital of the World! Bonaire’s sea abounds with beautiful marine life and a fascinating variety of multi-colored tropical fish, there is lots to see while diving on Bonaire. The sea is remarkably calm and conditions are superb Beginner through Expert divers. Bonaire’s waters offer something special for every diver. Novice divers will appreciate the calm waters, and minimal currents while diving on Bonaire. More advanced divers will appreciate the deeper sites and wrecks.
On average, visibility exceeds 100 feet & average water temperature is 80 degrees F. The fringing reef begins close to the shore.
Diving the Wild Side: I try to offer something different than the standard dive-shop trips. On this trip, one of those things is diving the wild side of the island, which is where the sharks, mantas, & other Pelagic usually hang out. A boat dives the Windward side. The plan is for a 2 tank morning dive, which is an extra $175. Those that do not come can either do a shore dive themselves, or can go on the Buddy Dive boat, and meet up with us for the afternoon dive.
Diving Certifications and Levels: While every level of diver can dive Bonaire, keep in mind that the shore dives will not include a dive master. In order to dive this trip, you should be able to set up your own gear; should be able to dive safely without professional supervision; and be confident in the water.
While divers of all certification levels can dive Bonaire, you will always get more out of a trip if you have:
Advanced Open Water (AOW): Besides giving you great skills, AOW allows you to dive past 60 ft to 100 ft. This range is critical to maximize your enjoyment of certain dives such as the wreck of the Hilma Hooker.
Deep Certification: Trains you to dive past 100 feet to the recreational max of 130 feet. While you can see awesome stuff above 100 ft, there are some things that might interest you that are deeper, like the wrecked barge.
Nitrox/Enriched Air: Nitrox increases your bottom time and allows you to do more dives. It is a short on-line course followed by about half an hour at a dive shop. No dives are required to pass this certification.
Reactivate: if you have not been in the water in a while, I would recommend either joining us at Lake Phoenix prior to the trip, and/or take a refresher course prior to departing.
Please reach out to me if you have questions.
Let me know if you would like help matching up with a dive shop to get any of those certifications before the trip or would like to get them on the trip.
The Resort: Buddy Dive is one of the best dive resorts in the world. They have a great set up with the 2 tank stations, great boats, a great dive shop, camera support. Rental vehicles are included in the cost of the room. The vehicle is either a single or double cab pick-up truck with tank racks in the back. There are 2 pools on site, one with a swim-up bar with bar stools in the water. Each of the rooms has a bathroom for every bedroom. 1 of the tank stations is located at the dock for diving the house reef, and the other is a drive-through station by the road.
The Plan: We will fly out on Saturday. I’ll fly American Airlines and we should get there with enough time to get the dive briefing and one or two dives in on Sat. 6 boat dives are included. We can do as many or as few shore dives as we want. We just pick up a tank 24/7 and go diving. Each morning, I will meet people at breakfast and we will discuss the day’s diving. If we are shore diving, we will discuss what sites we will go to for that day. If people don’t want to the sites we chose as a group, they can break off and do their own diving. The beauty of the Bonaire, is that it is all flexible. If you want do 6 dives a day, we can do that. If you want to dive 2 dives a day and the rest of the day at the pool, that’s ok too. If you want to do night dives, dawn dives, etc, we can do that. I’m up for just about anything.
Air Fare: I can book air fare on American Airlines for the group for up to 8 people. If you choose this option, you will need to pay for the flight before I make the booking in early May. The benefits:
- up to 3 bags free
- Priority Group 1 Boarding
- Upgraded seats with extra leg room at no additional cost
Passport & other requirements: Passport that is good for 6 months until Dec 20, 2026. Not a Passport Card, or a Real ID Driver’s license. This has to be a full book Passport, and it must have blank pages. No visa is required.
Cost: $1,462.75. (based on double occupancy in a bedroom of a 2 or 3 bedroom unit). Costs for singles in a bedroom will cost more an are dependent on availability. Email me. Wild Side is + $175
When you sign up, you will be asked for a deposit of $500. Payment of your deposit and only payment of your deposit will reserve you space on the trip. You will also be asked for your phone number and email address so that I can get in touch with you. This information will only be viewable to the trip leader to be used to get in touch with you. I will be setting up a Whattsapp group for the confirmed divers so everyone can chat.
The balance of the trip is due June 5. Airfare will be due at time of booking.
