Dive Review of Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn in
Bonaire

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Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn: "Good shore diving", Sep, 2018, by Burro Station, VA, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 4 Helpful votes). Report 10534.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food	N/A
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Some of the shore diving sites were really great, especially Angel City, Margate Bay, and Karpata. Of course the parking lots at the best ones filled up on occasion. It pays to get there early. We saw several huge green moray eels, including one eight-footer on the move, lots of small fish and a school of tiny squid. We also enjoyed seeing interesting birds in the nearby lagoons and tidal pools. Conditions (wind, surge, current) varied depending on the site, with some shore entries easier than others. On one day the visibility was at the stated low of 40 feet, and other divers reported the same that day throughout the island and Klein Bonaire as well. There were a couple of brief hard rains. We welcomed the few periods of overcast that happened to occur while we were kitting up for shore dives. Other divers told us that the previous week had some rough weather that kept them out of the water, but we had pretty good weather during the last week in September. Tori's Reef had an easy entry but the experience was marred by the constant daily presence of fishermen setting nets and hauling in fish by the thousands. We were told that a particular family has a special permit to fish this site in this manner. We had been warned about theft from trucks at dive sites and usually followed the advice to leave the truck unlocked with nothing in it, but on a couple of occasions we left sunglasses or other small items under the seats and had no trouble. We did see a lot of broken auto glass at some of the northern site parking areas. Carib Inn is a pleasant and quiet place to stay and set up for the convenience of divers, while also convenient to good restaurants and grocery stores. Four nights after the full moon, we saw ostracod mating displays (also called "string of pearls") and bioluminescence on the house reef about 30-40 minutes after sunset. This is said to be a reliable monthly phenomenon, and it certainly was for us. Some other divers in the water at the same time didn't see it, probably because they didn't turn their lights off. The ostracods won't display unless they have complete darkness.
Websites	Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	51-100 dives
Where else diving	Curacao, Florida, Salt Cay TCI, Cayman Brac
Closest Airport	Flamingo Bonaire	Getting There	We took the Saturday-only nonstop flights to/from Atlanta on Delta, and they worked well. Immigration/passport control was efficient. There are other flight options from the U.S., possibly American from Miami.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm, surge
Water Temp	85-86°F / 29-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-80 Ft/ 12-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics	N/A
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn in Bonaire

Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn: "Good shore diving", Sep, 2018,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn in
Bonaire