St Kitts & ABC's Review

[cruisin 07]

St Kitts -Dive with Kenneth. Short walk to marina to board boat. Catamaran with lots of room. Center bench seating with tanks on both sides. Out board just seating. Dry area for storage. Separate camera tank from mask rinse bucket. 2 tank dives. Side jump to enter and ladder to board. First dive further out in harbor with lots of reef sharks looking to be fed speared lion fish. Visibility just ok. Second dive a wreck closer to shore. Visibility poor. This was due to rain storms days before. This was my 4^th diving experience and have had a lot better visibility in the past. Very professional outfit. Ran credit card on board after dives and docked. Had hose hook up to rinse gear. Had bottle water on board.

 

Aruba -S.E. Divers: Meet outside terminal gate for 2 tank boat dive. Short drive to shop on the beach. Departed at 9:36 am. Not an issue - a couple was getting their final briefing and water time before OW certification. Out of 6 divers I was the only one off a cruise ship. Reefs in good shape and visibility good. Nice large dive boat, Suit up and water enter from stern. Ladder return. Water and 4 kinds of fruit between dives. Sandwiches and juice pouches on way back to dock. Rinse tank and shower to rinse gear.

 

Curacao - Bas Hart Diving: Pick as schedule. A little after 8:30 am. Rob was driver and Private DM. Another couple joined us for just snorkeling. I was the only diver. Rob showed up with all equipment requested with a small cooler to keep drinks we brought off the ship cold. 2 shore dives. Reefs have sandy bottom. Both sites had chairs etc for rent which made it nice since my wife doesn’t dive or snorkel.

 

1^st dive up at west end. Between Playa Kalki and Grote Knip. Fisherman had a cleaning station and would feed the turtles with heads and guts. Water shallow and lots of turtles waiting to be fed. Diving was good with great visibility.

 

2^nd dive at B diving shop. Again, a great dive. Had multiply rinse tanks that we could use.

 

Bonaire - Buddy Dive: Short walk to dive shop, maybe 10 to 15 mins. I arrived early as I was the first one off the ship. Nice set up with rinse tanks in back. Buddy Dive does ship excursions, 2 tank boat dive – glad I went with a private DM. Dan was my DM and also driver, very professional and enjoyed the conversation between dive sites. Without hesitation would offer help if he thought I needed it. Their boat carries 24 and they had 21 divers from the cruise ship. I did 2 shore dives.

 

First dives are all at their house reef. Easy entry via stairs and a beautiful reef with no current the day I dived. In fact, we were ending our dive when the cruise ship divers passed us.

 

2nd dive by salt flats since a ship was at the pier getting loaded. Entry not bad. 2 reefs running parallel with a sandy bottom between them.

 

Conclusion: Enjoyed all the dives. Thought reefs in the ABC’s in a lot better shape than Cozumel where I dive for 3 weeks every year and other islands like the Cayman”s. Definitely will return - 1^st choice Bonaire and 2^nd choice Curacao. Doing shore dives also as a benefit got a scenic land tour.

 

[momof4blessings]

Would you recommend booking a tour or trying to go it ourselves to snorkel in Bonaire/Curacao? I think in Aruba we're going to rent a jeep and hit some different spots for sightseeing/beaches/snorkeling but I've been there before so I know there's decent snorkeling from shore.

[cruisin 07]

This was the first time to both of these island. I know lots of folks went cars in Bonaire to shore dive or snorkel. If you research all reefs are shown and there are yellow rocks on the road that identify them.

 

Curacao I would do a tour for a beach day with great snorkeling.