Frequently Asked Questions about Bonaire Shore Diving

[@glenmadsen99]

Kevin, thanks for the quick response. We are looking for a little of boat but mostly shore diving. Have heard that one MUST go to Klein, hence the boats. We do want to hire guides for shore diving as this is our first trip and I don't want to wrangle 12 people! We do not have lodging yet. this is just a group of friends that love diving. I make all the arrangements but we are not a dive club. In one of your videos you mention that for 1st time visit it might be best to go with one of the large operations like Buddy Dive. I am just trying to lean on your experience :)

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

@@glenmadsen99 sounds awesome! I’m a big fan of doing yourself, a la carte trips. If you’re not renting houses, one of the dive resorts might be your best bet, but with 12, you’ll have the budget to do much nicer than that. I’m thinking three 4 bedroom houses, and hire someone like Ebby Jules, Bas Tol or Dive Diva for guiding a day or two. Or, Prisca from Tropical Divers. She could possibly sort out boat dives too. I’m having dinner with someone tonight who probably has better info. Hang tight and I’ll get back to you. Thanks for watching!

[@patrickcarnathan5862]

Thanks for all the great Vids on Bonaire, Going to make our first trip great. We are going December to January and plan on doing 3 to 5 dives a day. With your help its going to be Awesome.

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Thanks Patrick! Have a great trip!

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Hey folks, thanks for watching! We've time stamped the questions in the video description for easy reference. They're also marked as chapters on the scrub bar. Enjoy! *UPDATE* - beginning Jan 1, 2023, there will be only one calendar year fee of $40 that covers all water activities in the Bonaire National Marine Park. This one fee also includes entrance to Washington Slagbaai National Park.

[@ckschnabel]

Great info! We're heading to Bonaire Buddy Dive from December 25th -31st. Used to diver there a lot in the late 80ies/early 90ies as we lived in Venezuela and sailed a boat over to Las Aves and Bonaire multiple times each year. Haven't made it back since then.

[@shotsbyscott6243]

Great video with your Q&A's. Regarding currents, on my previous three trips I recall current twice out of 54 dives. However, I was there the third week in August and was surprised how strong the current was on several dives. More than I have seen before. This is similar to what you noted in your video. Everone has their favorite dive sites - mine include Tolo, Karpata, Invisibles, Angel City, Something Special. This past trip we dove Vista Blue for the first time and it was very beautiful especially the soft corals.

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Yep, not sure what was happening late Aug and early Sep with the currents. They were all over the place, as well as an ever changing thermocline. Glad you enjoyed Vista Blue. It’s Liz’s favorite site. Thanks for watching Scott!

[@bradford7694]

Dude. I'm with you on your 3 favorite sites, except my most favorite is margate, then tolo. Except sometimes its smallwall. No no... Its nukove. Wait, its the outer reef.... (thanks for your videos. I enjoy then immensely between trips)

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Love me some Margate Bay! It might even be a better site overall, but those Tolo shallows/top of the reef…

[@user-tt9kb1oz6l]

Are you planning on visiting Bonaire soon? I'm planning on visiting later this year. I don't see any videos newer than 6 months ago. I miss your videos!

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

We’re definitely heading back to Bonaire and will have more videos soon. Thanks for watching!

[@glenmadsen99]

Kevin, loving your videos. i am bringing a group of 12 to the island in December. what dive company would recommend for that size of group?

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

@@glenmadsen99 that’s a big group. Are you looking to shore dive? Boat dive? Do you have lodging already? Is this a group of friends? Family? Local dive shop group?

[@allenharris5397]

Thanks for information and recommendations. Can you recommend a truck rental company? Going down first November. Thanks , Allen

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

We use and recommend Telerin. They have older vehicles, but are great to work with and super responsive if you have issues. The best thing is that they meet you at the airport with your truck upon arrival. When you’re finished you just leave it in the airport parking lot; super easy. You can reach them via email at [e-mail] and [e-mail]. They do not have a website. Thanks for watching!

[@mahnkemachine3281]

Looking at the tanks you carry in the water there, they look like steel tanks, given the round bottoms and the top of boots they have on them. That seems odd, but maybe it’s not. Every place we have been, and granted, that’s not too many, as we typically dive around our home area using our own tanks, the tanks we end up renting are aluminum 80’s. The tanks in your videos look like steel HP80’s. We are preparing for our trip in a month, and trying to figure out weights, as we are used to diving fresh water in dry suits, with steel tanks. Any input on this is helpful! Thank you in advance!

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Hi Mahnke! Good catch, those are indeed steel 80’s (or something close to it). That’s why we use Tropical Divers as our on island dive shop. Most dive shops on Bonaire only rent out AL80’s. Even Tropical is phasing out their steel tanks and moving over to AL80’s. As you know calculating how much lead you need can be difficult. For me on Bonaire when using the steel tank and wearing my 3mm neoprene jacket over my frog skins top, I use 7 lbs (sometimes 8). I’ve tried 6 lbs a few times and it just isn’t enough for hanging out in the shallows at the end of the dive. I’m 6’0 and usually weigh 175 to 185. Liz uses 10 to 12 lbs and wears a 5mm full suit over a skin. I bring two 1 lb weights with me from home so I can fine tune what we need. You’ll be hard pressed to find a 1 lb weight on the island. Your dive shop will have plenty of 2’s, 3’s and maybe a 4. I hope that helps.

[@patrickcarnathan5862]

What about a SAD kit in the truck, I know it fair game, but is it likely to go missing?

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

It really depends on what’s in it. I’d just put an o-ring kit in the glove compartment and maybe hide a multi-tool somewhere in the truck or surrounding area. With so many dive shops around the island, anything major can be handled relatively quick.

[@jonnieinbangkok]

You didn't mention the price for tanks if you're getting them from independent shops...standard air and Nitrox?

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

Pricing will vary from shop to shop. Most shops have a website that lists their pricing info. Thanks for watching Jonnie!

[@jonnieinbangkok]

@@KevinandLizGrogan Okay...will check them out.

[@saravellve4519]

How long does it take to drive the island end to end on the main road?

[@KevinandLizGrogan]

I don’t think I’ve ever timed it, but to drive a loop Kralendijk to Karpata to Rincon to Sorobon (back way) to Kralendijk (up west coast), or a figure 8 Kralendijk to Karpata to Rincon to Kralendijk to Sorobon (down west coast) to Kralendijk (past Donkey sanctuary) WITHOUT stopping, would probably take 1.5 hours (maybe 2). I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t include stops. The tour I cover in this video can be done probably in 5 to 8 hours depending on time at stops What to do with only ONE day on Bonaire! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jJmpoGVtgap5pqc.