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The yellow stones are part of the ritual. You pull up beside one of Bonaire’s marked dive sites, unload your tanks, check the entry point and walk straight into one of the Caribbean’s most celebrated reef systems. There’s no boat schedule dictating the dive. Much of the island’s scuba experience happens directly from land, at sites divers can explore on their own.
Now Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire has introduced a new course devoted entirely to learning how to do it properly.
The resort has launched the Bonaire Shore Diver Specialty Course, a full-day program aimed at certified divers who want to learn the local techniques, regulations and practical skills behind one of the Caribbean’s signature diving experiences.
Learning the Caribbean’s Shore-Diving Capital
Bonaire has spent decades developing a reputation among divers for its unusually extensive network of shore-entry dive sites. The island’s yellow stones mark locations around Bonaire, giving divers a straightforward way to identify individual sites from land.
The new Buddy Dive program focuses on the details you need once you arrive: planning independent dives, reading local conditions, choosing entry and exit points, navigating underwater and understanding the rules of Bonaire National Marine Park.
The full-day course includes classroom instruction followed by two guided training dives at different shore dive sites.
During the classroom portion, instructors cover marine park regulations, independent dive planning, natural navigation, compass navigation, shore entries and exits, emergency procedures, equipment preparation and considerations for night diving.
You then take those lessons directly into the water with a Buddy Dive instructor.
How Do You Plan a Bonaire Shore Dive?
A day of independent diving on Bonaire involves more than choosing a reef from a map. Divers routinely travel between sites with tanks and equipment in their vehicles, often completing several dives across the island.
Buddy Dive’s course includes the practical side of those days, including how to identify entry and exit locations using Bonaire’s yellow stones and site markers and how to organize vehicles, tanks and equipment between dives.
Students also practice underwater navigation at two separate sites, giving them experience with different entries and local conditions.
Responsible diving is another major part of the program, with instruction focused on protecting the reefs and following marine park requirements.
Who Can Take the New Course?
The course is open to certified divers across experience levels. Participants must be at least 10 years old and hold a Junior Open Water Diver certification or higher.
The program could be particularly useful if you’re making your first dive trip to Bonaire and plan to spend several days exploring sites independently. Experienced divers can also use the course to learn island-specific procedures before heading out on their own.
The price is $200 per person, including the full day of instruction and both guided dives.
Participants also receive a 25 percent discount on the Bonaire Reef Smart Guide, sold through the Buddy Dive retail shop. The guide includes dive-site maps, suggested routes, local information and practical details for subsequent dives around the island.
A New Way Into Caribbean Shore Diving
Buddy Dive Resort Bonaire is a PADI 5-Star Instructor Development Center with on-site dive facilities, training programs and accommodations geared heavily toward scuba travelers.
Its newest course puts one of Bonaire’s defining Caribbean experiences into a formal training program: park rules, yellow stones, tanks in the truck and a reef reached directly from land.
Once the course is finished, the next dive is yours to plan.
The post This Caribbean Island Is Famous for Shore Diving. Now There’s a Course Designed to Help You Do It Right. appeared first on Caribbean Journal.
