Dive Review of Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn in
Bonaire

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Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn: "Fantastic reefs are waiting for you in Bonaire", Oct, 2021, by Jeff Bloomer, IA, US ( Contributor 19 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11685 has 1 Helpful vote.
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
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Finally after the pandemic shut downs we were going diving. Three couples, 4 divers and 2 snorklers made plans to travel to Bonaire. As an instructor and apparent team leader I looked into where to go, when to go, where to stay, etc. Bonaire was my first choice as the island has done a great job of controlling Covid spread. They had just opened things back up and I started working with my usual travel agent to find us some rooms, but to no avail. Bonaire has been booked almost solid and with, at the time, American Airlines offering a midweek option many things were in flux. After failing to find accommodations at the bigger resorts with the travel agent I emailed Bruce Bowker's Caribinn. I was told their regular units were all booked but a house across the street was available so I grabbed it. The house is priced extremely well and if you have a larger group its a good option. Caribinn is not the typical resort. It is small and all of the rooms are setup with kitchens so no on site restaurants. It has been 11 years since I was back on Bonaire and it has changed a lot. So there are many choices of grocery stores and restaurants to choose from. So with a well stocked refrigerator and pantry we were self sustaining for breakfast choosing to venture out for lunch and dinner. They are doing something right as they have a very high return rate of customers. The dive operation is a bit different from what I've seen in the past. Their two boats are small each holding 10 divers and they only do a 1 tank dive as the boats are just not big enough. A bit of a downside as the afternoon dive is later and you either shower up twice or hang around or whatever until the next dive. We chose to do morning boat dives and afternoon shore dives. Now, the boats are small and only one has sun protection. We would normally wait until the first boat filled up on the sign up board and then sign up for a not totally full boat which worked well. Since the boats are small they are very fast and we made it to some of the best dive sites before the bigger boats could get there, a plus in my book. The dive operation is very helpful and pleasant and the repair shop could not be faster. One of our divers had a leaking hose and he got it changed in no time. Prices in the dive shop are very good also so if you need something they are the place to buy it, better than what you get in the US as far as I can tell. The diving was great. Maybe it was because I haven't been on a trip in 18 months but the reefs are in great shape. Fish stocks were good and conditions perfect. As busy as Bonaire is you get all sorts of divers. On one dive we came upon a super male parrot fish. As an underwater photographer and an instructor I have good buoyancy skills. As I hovered and setup my shot of the parrot fish someone swam underneath me. I got a shot but not the best. On the boat a woman asked who swam over her. I said it must have been me as I was hovering for a picture but I apologized to her. She thank me and my friends all chuckled as she had clearly swam under me. Oh well, no need to make someone feel bad. The restaurants are busy so reservations are sometimes needed. To visit Bonaire you need a Covid PCR test 48 hours prior to take off from your final leg, in our case Miami. Luckily we have a large University with a medical school near by and we had our results within 12 hours and we were cleared for take off. Entry to the island at the airport was simple enough except for the long lines. Leaving the island we needed a Covid test but the US will take any test that the country offers so a rapid test is fine and there is a testing lab right at the airport in a brand new building across from the parking lot no appointment necessary. It was such a great trip we are thinking of going again in a few months.
Websites	Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn [same]
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	All over the world
Closest Airport	BON	Getting There	American, Delta and United fly from the US.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	100-120 Ft/ 30-37 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	No real limits. Very layer back.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	no
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	None
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 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		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	The boat has no accommodations for cameras but they put my rig in an out of the way place so no big deal.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn in Bonaire

Bruce Bowker's Carib Inn: "Fantastic reefs are waiting for you in Bonaire", Oct, 2021,

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