Bonaire Trip 2023

WELCOME TO PARADISE As we say, "Bon bini to Bonaire"

Picture Bonaire as you approach it for the first time. Untouched white beaches surrounded by a shimmering turquoise sea, with tropical palm trees gently swaying in the trade winds. It’s a sight nearly unchanged since privateers ruled these waters three centuries ago.

That Bonaire remains largely untouched is by design. Because it doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to countless generations yet to come. Like our grandparents, and their grandparents before them, we are merely stewards of the island, protecting it for the future the way it was protected for us.

It’s a responsibility we take very seriously.

By carefully managing development, we’ve found a delicate balance between economic growth and the natural world that sustains us. In fact, we were the first Caribbean Island to protect our surrounding seas with a marine park created as part of the Stichting Nationale Parken Bonaire (STINAPA) in 1962. And we currently lead the Caribbean in renewable energy. Thanks to wind and solar power, we’re reducing CO2 emissions and fulfilling our promise of remaining eco-friendly for decades to come. The Reef Renewal Foundation also helps keep the Caribbean healthy for decades to come cultivating new reef corals like stag horn and Elkhorn.

Protecting our natural resources makes sense for us, since “it’s in our nature.”

So, we invite you to feel the charm of Bonaire. Feel it in our tropical Caribbean waters. See it in our pristine natural beauty. Sense it in the warm smiles of our people. Lose yourself in the romance of the trade winds and our idyllic blue skies all year long. As you adjust to our tranquil pace, the rush of daily life falls away. Here, there are no deadlines. No traffic lights. No bustle. There is simply the freedom of choosing how to spend your day.

A visit to Bonaire is an experience you won’t soon forget. Because as we say, “Once a visitor always a friend.

We hope you will visit us!

Check out these sites:

Know the Island: https://bonaireisland.com/experiences/sightseeing/

Dive sites: https://bonaireisland.com/experiences/diving/sites/

Hammond School SCUBA Trip 2023

Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands 8 Day/7 Night

December 16-23, 2023

Day 1 – December 16: Depart Columbia for Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands (on your own)

• Depart the USA for Bonaire, Caribbean Netherlands in the Southern Caribbean

• Upon arrival you will meet the Hammond and Columbia Scuba staff as we transfer to our dive resort hotel and embrace the relaxed life of this amazing island with a custom tour of the resort and our dive orientation followed by a fantastic welcome dinner.

• Orientation Dive (shore dive)

• Dinner at a local restaurant

Day 2 – December 17: World Class Diving Begins!

• Enjoy breakfast before heading to the dock where we board our boat for our first of many dives.

• 2 tank morning dive (location around Bonaire determined by our boat captain).

• Lunch upon return from our morning dives

• Afternoon exploration of Bonaire

• Evening Activity: Introduction to Bonaire

• Dinner in a local restaurant

Day 3 – December 18: Underwater Adventures Continue

• Enjoy breakfast before heading to the dock to board our boat.

• 2 tank morning dive (location around Bonaire determined by the boat captain).

• Lunch upon return from our morning dive

• Afternoon shore dive groups

• Dinner in a local restaurant

Day 4 – December 19: Bonaire Land Adventures

• Breakfast we take a break from diving to explore Bonaire

• Day visit to Washington-Slagbaai National Park

• Snorkel the crystal blue waters of the northern island

• Lunch on the beach.

• Return to our resort in time to shower and rest before dinner.

• Dinner in a local restaurant

• Possible Night Dive

Day 5 – December 20: Return to our Underwater Exploration

• Enjoy breakfast before heading to the dock to board our boat.

• 2 tank morning dive (location around Bonaire determined by the boat captain).

• Lunch upon return from our morning dive

• Afternoon shore dive groups

• Dinner in a local restaurant

Day 6 – December 21: Underwater Exploration Continues

• Enjoy breakfast before heading to the dock to board our boat.

• 2 tank morning dive (location around Bonaire determined by the boat captain).

• Lunch upon return from our morning dive

• Afternoon shore dive groups or shopping in town

• Dinner in a local restaurant

• Possible Night Dive

Day 7 – December 22: Final Day of Underwater Adventure

• Enjoy breakfast before heading to the dock one last time.

• Our final 2 tank morning dive (location around Bonaire determined by the boat captain).

• Lunch upon return from our morning dive

• After lunch we head to the Salt Flats and Donkey Sanctuary

• Return to hotel to freshen up

• Farewell Dinner in a local restaurant

Day 8 – December 23: Depart Bonaire for Columbia, SC, USA

• After breakfast and check out, we head to the airport for your return flight home

TOUR INCLUSIONS

Trip Registration

Additional Certification/Trip Upgrade Options: The following are optional add on certifications or specialties offered while on trip.

Advanced Open Water Certification $265 (Includes eLearning course)

• 5 dives while on the trip

EAN/Nitrox Certification $160

• Completed before trip

Dive using Nitrox Upgrade on trip $150 (upgrade)

Aware Fish ID Certification $75

• Completed on trip

• 2 dives while on the trip

• Seven (7) Night Accommodations at Divi Flamingo Dive Resort

• Two Hammond Faculty Chaperones (minimum)

• Two Professional Dive Instructors from Columbia Scuba

• All Divi Dive Center costs (All Tanks/Weights/Boat)

• Stinapa National Park Fee ($45)

• Bonaire Entry Tourism Tax ($75)

• Breakfast Daily

• *Lunch and Dinner Daily (if we choose all-inclusive packageadditional $1000.00)

• Experiential Education Adventure Dives

o 2 tank morning dives (5 days)

o Unlimited Shore Dives

o Optional evening dives

• Ground Transportation while in Bonaire

TRIP PRICING:

• $2500 Per Person - Double Occupancy Deluxe Rooms

• Based on a minimum of ten (10) students, maximum of sixteen (16)

• Air fare not included to allow choice of carrier and use of awards programs

• Single room supplement available upon request at additional cost.

• *Includes all breakfasts (option for all-inclusive package that covers all meals for $1000 to be discussed. I recommend arranging our own meals for lunch and dinner throughout the trip)

TOUR EXCLUSIONS:

• Air travel is not included to allow choice of carrier and use of awards programing.

• Passport Costs - The passport should be valid for the duration of your stay. Ideally, your passport should have at least six months of validity.

• *Lunches and Dinners - The resort offers an optional all-inclusive package for $1000 that includes lunch and dinner daily. I recommend we do our own thing by eating lunch at the resort and dinner off site so students can choose and pay for their meals on their own.

• Gratuities - $100 is recommended to tip the boat captain and dive crew on our boat at the end of the trip.

Bonaire Trip Optional PADI Specialty Courses:

PADI Advanced Open Water Diver

Exploration, Excitement, Experiences. They're what the PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course is all about. And no, you don't have to be “advanced” to take it – it's designed so you can go straight into it after the PADI Open Water Diver course

The Advanced Open Water Diver course helps you increase your confidence and build your scuba skills so you can become more comfortable in the water. This is a great way to get more dive s under your belt while continuing to learn under the supervision of your PADI Instructor. This course builds on what you've learned and develops new capabilities by introducing you to new activities and new ways to have fun scuba diving.

You'll hone your skills by completing five adventure dives that introduce you to:

Underwater navigation (required)

Deeper water diving (required - typically anywhere from 18-30 meters/ 60-100 feet)

An introduction to 3 more Adventure Dives of your choice (3 other dives can include EAN & Fish ID)

PADI Project Aware Fish ID Specialty

Once you learn to recognize what types of fish you see, you’ll find it easier to reference the exact species after a scuba dive. For example, a butterfly fish in the Caribbean has a similar shape to a butterfly fish in Southeast Asia, but colors and markings may be wildly different. If you know what fish family it belongs to, you can more easily look up the local name or at least be able to intelligently ask the local scuba instructor what you saw. During two scuba dives, you’ll learn:

• How to identify characteristics of local fish families and species.

• Fish survey techniques and strategies.

• About PADI AWARE activities that can help protect aquatic life

PADI Nitrox Specialty

The PADI Enriched Air Diver course is PADI’s most popular specialty scuba diving course, and it’s easy to see why. Scuba diving with Enriched Air Nitrox gives you more no decompression dive time. This means more time underwater, especially on repetitive scuba dives.

What You Learn

Through classroom discussions, you learn:

• Techniques for getting more dive time by using enriched air

• Enriched air scuba diving equipment considerations

• Enriched air considerations, including managing oxygen exposure, how to tell what’s in your scuba tank and how to set your dive computer