Best Land-Based "Studio" In the Caribbean

[Clay Coleman]

Here's a question for y'all: Where is your favorite place to go in the Caribbean that offers the best photo ops? It needs to be land-based, healthy reef, diverse marine life, 24/7 diving, uncrowded with other divers, and convenient for photo equipment. I have a specific place in mind, but I'm not telling yet. -Clay

[Jonathan Bird]

My vote is Dominica all the way!

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

My vote is Dominica all the way!

Jonathan

Which operator and why? -Clay

[David White]

I have yet to visit Dominica so cannot make a comparison but really enjoyed Bonaire earlier this year. I dove with Eden Beach Resort and really appreciated the concept of drive-thru air fills. We completed a number of boat dives at Klein Bonaire and although there was a dive boat moored at every site around the tiny island we always had a site to ourselves. The reefs are healthy with plentiful photo opportunities and there is a distinct variation between sites at the north end of the island as opposed to the south end. Most of the sites on Bonaire are accessible from shore and they have gone to great lengths to ensure that access is easy and as safe as possible. We managed 21 dives during our week and yet explored less than 25% of the marked sites. Definitely worth a repeat visit.

[Clay Coleman]

"I dove with Eden Beach Resort and really appreciated the concept of drive-thru air fills"

I think Wannadive is the operator out of Eden Beach. Bart Snelder is one of my favorite people on the island. -Clay

[FRED DION]

I have been going to Bonaire for over 15 years and love the place. It has 24/7 diving which you can do with or without a dive buddy. I frequent Captain Don's but there are many great resorts on the island.

[Jonathan Bird]

Bonaire is nice, but I like to leave the shore diving at home when I travel. Call me lazy, but I like to roll off the boat and have someone hand me the camera!

To answer Clay's question, I like Dive Dominica. You stay at the little hotel right on the water. You can do a nice macro dive off the dock anytime you want, but every morning they take you to outstanding spots less than 10 minutes away. There are whales to watch, beautiful waterfalls to hike and swim in for the non-divers in the family, and the water is usually very clear. The reefs are healthy, there are a ton of unusual macro critters plus walls for wide angle. No sharks though. Can't have everything!

Jonathan

[Jonathan Bird]

So Clay, we're still waiting to hear your favorite spot....

[Clay Coleman]

Ah, yes, my favorite. I'll start by saying that I like it for a different reason than you like yours, Jonathan. It's the Black Durgon Inn on Bonaire--a small (10 rooms), quiet, very private little place just north of Capt. Don's. The management comes by for breakfast and to clean the rooms, but then leave. There is no boat, but the diving out front (Small Wall) is one of the best on the island. There is also no compressor (although full tanks are always available), so it's totally quiet and peaceful. For the past two years we've spent several days of our stay as the only guests. It's sort of like summer dive camp with no counselors, crawling with iguanas, whiptails, and Bonarian anoles and often visited by parrots. It's also very reasonably priced, and the Continental red-eye from Houston has made Bonaire more accessible than ever. There's nobody at The Durgon to hand you your camera, though. Go with someone you really like. -Clay

[Jonathan Bird]

I have to say, that sounds fantastic! I don't mind a shore dive if its right off the dock where you are staying. I just have no interest in renting a car, and schlepping my stuff all over Bonaire like we do in Massachusetts!

Jonathan

[Clay Coleman]

It's the most relaxing yet productive diving I've ever done, Jonathan. I took this one morning at breakfast. All I had to do was pick up the camera and walk about 10 steps.-Clay
http://claycoleman.tripod.com/876bdd30.jpg

[seabreeze]

Greetings,

Interesting reading about other's experiences.

We done some DSD dives in St. Croix and have been to Cozumel for a couple trips. However, we spent 10 days on Bonaire last March and I'd recommend it highly.

We stayed at the wonderful, tiny B&B Deep Blue View Intimate Resort(4 rooms). They have a *beautiful* new "zodiac" style 23' ft. boat, and charge only ~$16 for boat dives, which we did almost everyday. Like Jonathan, we like the convenience of boat diving. Maybe it comes with advancing age!! ;) But, Menno really knows the great spots and when to visit them - and we always had these places to ourselves, often just Jane and myself! What a pleasure!

Our experience with Deep Blue View (read our review - with pic's - on Trip Advisor: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g147267-d258761-r4971523-Deep_Blue_View_Intimate_Resort-Bonaire.html) was really quite extraordinary - they catered to our every whim, desire and need.

I shot about 800 images while there. On the last morning we rose at 6AM to take an escorted dive with Menno to the more challenging eastern shore, before the winds got up. It required quite a long entry swim against strong(-ish) currents. On the way out we swan thought dozens of schooling Tarpon, finally crossing over the barrier reef and dropping over the wall: I never knew Parrot fish could get that big. We saw numerous Spotted Eagle rays passing by. Huge green morays. It was quite a topper to our stay!!

I've never been to Dominica - but have friends who speak highly of their time there a few years ago. It's on out list. But, we having a difficult time coming up with reasons to not return to Bonaire again this winter for another stay at DBV and the comfortable, quiet ease Bonaire offers divers.

Breeze

[nemo]

My wife and I had the very best of times staying at Buddy Dive in Bonaire.
Great people and the service was just fantastic... tanks were always ready and when we got a truck to run about, it had a problem so we returned it and they felt so bad about it.. we were surpised to have a new one with A/C
CD ... A/C came in handy in late JULY.. (hot). I will say the bar had weak drinks so we started our own bar.. room 102
by the time we left we had guests and bartenders coming to the back door for drinks.. As for the diving, all I can say is WOW! Dive Master Murph was a blast to dive with.

[Clay Coleman]

Ahh, my man Murphyn--one of the sweetest human beings on the planet and the guy knows every coral head and sea rod on the island. I drop by Buddy Dive every time I'm on Bonaire just to say hello to him (and to try to weasel info on where the unusual subjects are--he always knows!) Here's Sharon and me with Murphyn. (Photo by Bob Welch and used with his permission)

[seabreeze]

We've seen both Buddy Dive and Capt. Don's receive very favorable reviews (with the nod seemingly going to Buddy Dive).

We checked both out while on Bonaire - even looking at rooms and having lunch at Capt. Don's. Nice! And, probably cheaper than Deep Blue View , especially if you factor in all the meals. We'd be happy to stay with them if circumstances suggested it.

That said, we generally avoid "all-inclusives" as we grow weary of eating food coming out of the same kitchen day after day. Regardless of how it's dressed up, there is a "sameness" which we tire of (we've both worked in restaurants for 30 years - call us food-snobs ;) ).

Further, the scene in the public/pool area of these places is hectic and noisy with numerous family groups clustered about. That's fine - even enjoyable, at times. But, the tranqulity of DBV appealed to us enormously (they openly discourage children from staying there), and we like checking out the different restaurants while on vacation. Plus, it's nice to get into town for a change of scenery!

We did do a night dive out in front of Capt. Don's one evening - and the staff was extremely considerate and helpful. Definitely left us with a good feeling!

Breeze

[Clay Coleman]

The folks at the larger resorts like Buddy Dive and Capt. Don's have always been very helpful and the dives out front can be very productive. They're getting pretty large, though--especially Buddy Dive after the merger with Lion's Dive next door. The last time I made a night dive out there, a thundering herd of lights approached. It looked like something out of a science fiction movie, and I got real scared. -Clay

[nemo]

we enjoyed the food on the island and went out of our way to find the best local talent. Pam & I found some great corner spots with wonderful flavor. Eating at Buddy Dive was ok for Break-fast in the morning. We had one dinner in the eveing which was ok.. the pool was always empty except for the bar pool (might have had 2 people there... night dives were great, we had maybe 4 other people follow after we got in.. all in all .. i say.. early to bed and early to break-fast, grab your tanks, hit the boat and have a nice dive ....
After 26 years being topside as a commerical & artistic photgrapher, finding some great images on the island seemed easy but after getting wet....( 1st year of diving) wellllllllllllllllll, I am hooked to the gill. Seeing some of the photographs that are on this chat site.. Guys i am blown away.. it is exciting to be in your company.

[Clay Coleman]

After 26 years being topside as a commerical & artistic photgrapher, finding some great images on the island seemed easy but after getting wet....( 1st year of diving) wellllllllllllllllll, I am hooked to the gill..

Welcome aboard, Nemo, and welcome to the addiction of underwater photography. We're all looking forward to the insight that someone of your photographic experience is sure to offer. -Clay

[dive_cecil]

Jonathan, Bonaire is not even close to Mass. The rides are much shorter, no parking hassles, park right next to the water, use a rental truck, rise tanks, 82 degree water, 100' visibility, no scuba police, the list goes on and on. Not even close.

It is the land of diving freedom, go to Bonaire, you will have a blast.

[Jonathan Bird]

I have been to Bonaire twice. I'm not knocking Bonaire. Bonaire is very nice diving. I just don't want to spend my dive trip (vacation or working) putting tanks in a car, getting suited on the side of the road, walking down to the water and doing shore dives. It's EXACTLY like doing it in MA, except with less wetsuit and weight and you are more likely to have your car broken into while you are diving.

I did a video seminar at Capt. Don's a couple years ago and I honestly cannot recommend them. I won't go into the details here, but I was pretty unhappy with the resort and their somewhat ficticious "diving freedom" campaign. (I did a story for Sport Diver at Habitat Curacao in '97 right after they opened and liked it but the Habitat on Bonaire is not my cup of tea.)

It sounds like if you find the right place to stay on Bonaire you can have it however you like it. For me that means boat diving and a small resort where they cater to photographers.

Jonathan

[nemo]

Jonathan,
I am sorry you did not have a good trip (s) in Bonaire. May I ask, if you wanted to surprise a young family member (teenager) for Christmas.. where in the Caribbean would you recommend?
This might be the last great family vacation before the evil teen years arrive...ha
Any ideas would be helpful... i don't think I wanna go to MA.

[tollie]

My wife and I had a great time at Sunset House at Grand Cayman. I was working with Cathy Church on a photo class as well. The shore diving was nice and easy and the dive boats, which were photo friendly, were comfortable as well.

I apreciated the other recomendations and will look into them for our next outing.

[Clay Coleman]

My wife and I had a great time at Sunset House at Grand Cayman. I was working with Cathy Church on a photo class as well. The shore diving was nice and easy and the dive boats, which were photo friendly, were comfortable as well.

I apreciated the other recomendations and will look into them for our next outing.

I haven't been to Sunset House in quite a few years (10?) The last time I was there, I got too involved with the conch fritters. By the end of my stay, I had eaten or bought and given away $700 worth of fritters! Is the old Seaview Hotel still down the beach from Sunset House? That was also an expensive place for a fritter addict. -Clay

[Debbie B]

I've only been diving about 3 years and have only traveled to a handful of places, but so far I'd have to go with Bonaire as my favorite. A couple of buddies and I stayed at Buddy Dive in Aug 2005 and had a great experience. We did both boat and shore diving, but we all agreed by the end of the week that on our next trip we'd forego the boat dives. Jonathan, I agree that the ease of boat diving is very nice, but for me, the freedom of NOT being tied to a boat schedule far outweighed the extra work involved for the shore diving. The reefs were the most impressive I'd seen any place so far and the photo opportunities were plentiful. I'll be returning there in April and I can't wait.

Now, with that being said, I'd also like to give mention to Roatan. I visited there this past October and was also very impressed. The reefs are very healthy, although the booming construction and their clearing methods are threatening to put them in danger. However, right now they're teeming with life, especially macro, and very easy diving. We stayed at The Inn of Last Resort which I would highly recommend. Our group had the pleasure of having the resort to ourselves so we got lots of personal attention, but from what I've read and heard from others, that is the norm. The owners are very friendly and very involved with the day to day operations (they live there). It's all inclusive but their menu is fixed, which concerned me at first (I'm a picky eater). However, the food was outstanding with generous portions and if you had special dietary needs, they would accommodate you. Our divemaster was very attentive and great about not setting unreasonable limits on our dive times. Nothing irks me more than to be called out of the water when I still have 1500psi in my tank. All in all, I'd have to admit that if Roatan had more shore diving accessibility (there is some), it might just bump Bonaire out of the top spot on my list of favorites.

db

[Jonathan Bird]

Hi Debbie,
Everyone seems to have gotten the idea that I hate shore diving. I shore dive all the time here in New England. I learned to dive shore diving in New England. But as I became a photographer, shore diving became a lot harder. Ever try to lug a big SLR with two strobes down to the water and enter the surf without destroying anything? (Or a huge video camera housing!) When I have to shore dive, I'll do it. But a dive vacation to me is a lot more enjoyable if I don't have to lug things across the beach! Even less enjoyable is loading all my gear into a car, driving someplace, suiting up on the side of the road standing in sand which gets all over everything, THEN lugging everything to the beach, doing a dive, lugging it all back to the car, changing out of my gear standing in sand that gets all over everything, loading wet gear into the car, going back to the hotel, lugging wet gear to the dive shop to be rinsed, lugging the camera back to the room to be reloaded or downloaded, and then do it all again after lunch. Ugh. Screw that! To each his own I guess. I have always enjoyed shore diving at the resort. There is a great dive right off the dock at Castle Comfort Inn on Dominica, or the house reef at just about any resort on Bonaire. I enjoy that a lot....minimal effort.

Jonathan

[docrobina]

Hi Debbie,
Everyone seems to have gotten the idea that I hate shore diving.
...snip...
But as I became a photographer, shore diving became a lot harder. Ever try to lug a big SLR with two strobes down to the water and enter the surf without destroying anything? (Or a huge video camera housing!)

But a dive vacation to me is a lot more enjoyable if I don't have to lug things across the beach! Even less enjoyable is loading all my gear into a car, driving someplace, suiting up on the side of the road standing in sand which gets all over everything, THEN lugging everything to the beach, doing a dive, lugging it all back to the car, changing out of my gear standing in sand that gets all over everything, loading wet gear into the car, going back to the hotel, lugging wet gear to the dive shop to be rinsed, lugging the camera back to the room to be reloaded or downloaded, and then do it all again after lunch. Ugh. Screw that!

Jonathan


I so totally agree with you on the "lugging" issue. Hate it!

A vacation is a vacation... ugh, now a nice boat dive, with minimal lugging.... totally a vacation. :D

[Jonathan Bird]

I so totally agree with you on the "lugging" issue. Hate it!

A vacation is a vacation... ugh, now a nice boat dive, with minimal lugging.... totally a vacation. :D

Finally someone who agrees with me!!

[docrobina]

Finally someone who agrees with me!!

A total no-brainer. I hate the lugging around of equipment, camera, etc.....

Finally a like minded photographer... :D I agree.

[seabreeze]

We're headed back to Bonaire in March for two weeks - staying at the wonderful Deep Blue View B&B. We'll do boat dives in the morning with Menno - Klien Bonaire is only accessible that way and we found it offers some superb sites. We'll shore dive in the afternoon.

Anyone have experience with little frequented sites we should know about - by boat or shore?? We dove a little frequented east shore site for our last dive last year - and it was a remarkable dive: schools of Tarpon, *huge* parrotfish, eagle rays....

Are there wrecks not much frequented for some reason?? Or...??

Just ewant to know about options.

Many thanks!

Breeze