Northwest Dive Club

Had the great fortunate to scuba dive in Bonaire with stphnmartin the last week of July/first week of August this year! We were supposed to go on a 2 week trip to Indonesia (liveaboard then shore diving in Ambon - only place in the world with the psychedelic frog fish!) but coronavirus prevented this travel. A consolation trip was to Bonaire, my first time. The biodiversity and colors aren't as vibrant as the Pacific, but I was thankful to get to travel, given the current state of the world!
We stayed at Buddy Dive and did a package deal including hotel, breakfast, truck, and unlimited shore dives and tank pick-up. Wore a 3 mil wet suit and no gloves. I was impressed with the ease of picking up tanks, driving to one of the many shore sites, and doing a 90+ minute dive almost every time! We did 4 dives most days. Overall, the reefs looked healthy, and the fish were abundant. We saw rays, turtles, squid, blennies, crab, lobster, king parrot fish, and many schools of fish; but alas, no frog fish! Here are some underwater video screen grab views and pics from above the water...

Fantastic report. Sounds like a real fun trip . Can't wait to see more videos too

Lovely! Thanks for sharing!

I can think of many worse places to be than Bonaire!

Wonderful trip from the sounds of it (and the beautiful photos). So glad you guys got to do this. How was the traveling given all the new rules?

Great pics, thanks for sharing! We loved it when we went and will definitely go back sometime! Salt pier was one of our favorites Did you check out the donkey sanctuary?

sabrisi wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 3:15 pm Great pics, thanks for sharing! We loved it when we went and will definitely go back sometime! Salt pier was one of our favorites Did you check out the donkey sanctuary?

We saw wild donkeys when driving around but didn't go by donkey sanctuary specifically. Also saw flamingos! Salt Pier was amazing!

Tangfish wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:16 am I can think of many worse places to be than Bonaire!

Wonderful trip from the sounds of it (and the beautiful photos). So glad you guys got to do this. How was the traveling given all the new rules?

It wasn't too bad - had to get PCR covid tested within 72 hours of going, upload negative test results, vaccination card, and travel itinerary. Then they verified all of it again when we landed. Bonaire requires another covid test in county 5 days after landing so did that too. Booked through Delta Airlines which was onetime (even early on return flight)!

Vjw wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 9:48 pm
We saw wild donkeys when driving around but didn't go by donkey sanctuary specifically. Also saw flamingos! Salt Pier was amazing!

My stepdaughter and I rented a golf cart one afternoon and toodled around the southern part of the island - the flamingo ponds are so cool. Donkey sanctuary in the golf cart was pretty funny - those burros definitely know the sound of the carrot bags!

Vjw wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 9:50 pm

Tangfish wrote: ↑Mon Aug 23, 2021 11:16 am I can think of many worse places to be than Bonaire!

Wonderful trip from the sounds of it (and the beautiful photos). So glad you guys got to do this. How was the traveling given all the new rules?

It wasn't too bad - had to get PCR covid tested within 72 hours of going, upload negative test results, vaccination card, and travel itinerary. Then they verified all of it again when we landed. Bonaire requires another covid test in county 5 days after landing so did that too. Booked through Delta Airlines which was onetime (even early on return flight)!

Since we also just traveled there as well, here's some updated info... The US is currently listed as "High Risk". Not "Very High Risk" (could they name the categories any more confusingly?!) and does NOT require a Covid Test within 5 days of arrival. But, you'll probably need get one within that time anyway to travel back to the US.

Also, negative Covid test within 48 hours vs 72.