Is meeting new buddies and diving Bonaire’s beautiful reefs on your bucket list? You won’t want to miss PADI’s Total Club-Mersion Bonaire, hosted by Buddy Dive Resort, steps from the sea. Here’s your opportunity to experience Caribbean diving at its best and make lifelong connections with ocean enthusiasts over a week of shared adventures above and below the waves. Sea turtles, coral reef restoration, scavenger hunts, PADI Specialties, and maximum bottom time are just a few of Bonaire’s Club event highlights.
Let’s Dive Into the Details!
- Dates: December 6-13, 2025
- Hotel: Buddy Dive Resort, Bonaire
- Dive Operator: Buddy Dive Resort
- Prices start at USD $1755 per person
- Inclusions:
- 8 days/7 nights accommodation
- Round-trip airport transfer
- 7 days car rental (manual transmission, includes insurance)
- 4 days of two-tank boat dives and unlimited shore dives
- Surface interval refreshments
- Weight Belt/Weights/Tank(s)
- 6 days unlimited air and Nitrox
- Daily breakfast
- 3 group dinners
- Weeklong games and challenges with prizes
- Reef Renewal and Fish ID presentations
- Peak Performance Buoyancy Clinic
- Welcome drink, parties, and PADI Club-Mersion swag bag.
About Bonaire
Bonaire is a diver’s dream, with calm water, a shallow drop, and minimal currents – optimal for underwater photographers and newer divers striving to perfect buoyancy skills and gain experience.
On average, Bonaire’s water temperature hovers around a beauteous 80°F (28°C), with a diverse aquatic ecosystem of seagrass beds, mangroves, coral reefs and more than 350 species of reef fish. Bonaire National Marine Park is a marine protected area and International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN) site committed to protecting and restoring its soft corals and over 50 stony corals.
Turtles, tarpon, eagle rays, angelfishes, blue tangs, parrotfishes, red-lipped blennies, fairy basslets, and seahorses are just a sample of some of the friends you might meet on Bonaire’s reefs! Traveling solo? Make a new friend in Bonaire!
Bonaire Dive Sites
Bonaire is world-renowned for its abundant shore dives, clear, aquamarine waters, and marine biodiversity. With 80 dive sites surrounding Bonaire Island and nearby Klein Bonaire islet, you’ll be spoiled for choice. Plus, you’ll never have to dive the same site twice (unless you want to). Five notable dive sites include:
- Salt Pier: Easy shore entry makes this site popular with newer divers and underwater photographers. Large schools of fish take refuge under the pier’s sponge and coral-encrusted pillars. Search the nearby reef for eels, juvenile drumfish, seahorses, and frogfish.
- Bari’s Reef: This accessible dive site is perfect for beginners or divers wanting to refresh their skills. Look closely when observing the colorful sponges, as what may appear to be a yellow sponge might be a frogfish. Another highlight of this site is the abundant Chromis. Great macro life within the coral.
- 1000 Steps: To reach the water, walk down the 72 steps (which can feel more like 1000 steps with scuba gear). Look for sea turtles as you cruise the shallows of this beautiful site. The reef transitions from a gradual slope to a drop off around 29 ft. (9m), becoming a steep wall with vertical grooves. You’ll find a large variety of fish and corals here.
- Andrea I: Spanish lobster, cornetfish, Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber, juvenile smooth trunkfish, and spotted drums are a few of the unique species you might spot at this site. There’s also great snorkeling here with sea turtles and large schools of Blue Tangs.
- Hilma Hooker: This is a dive for experienced divers. Hilma Hooker is a Dutch cargo ship sunk in 1984 after being confiscated for suspected smuggling. The 236 ft. (72m) wreck lies on its side just off the reef on the sandy bottom. Interior wreck exploration is allowed with a trained local guide only, but there’s also plenty to see on the exterior. Look for tarpon and barracudas around the wreck. Enriched air (Nitrox) is recommended to explore more of the shipwreck at depth.
Reef Renewal
The Total Club-Mersion event host Buddy Dive Resort is a founding partner of Reef Renewal Bonaire, a consortium of dive shops, resorts, boat operators and instructors collaborating to restore Bonaire’s coral reefs. On this PADI Club adventure, you’ll have a unique opportunity to learn about Bonaire’s coral reef restoration and explore the work being done at your leisure. Expand on your experience by adding on the Coral Reef Conservation Specialty course and contributing to the reef renewal. Buddy Dive’s team teaches coral restoration, coral fragmentation, how to work in a nursery, and outplant coral.
You can also contribute to Bonaire’s coral reef health by bringing much-needed tools and materials in your dive bag.
Who Can Join This Trip?
You don’t have to be a diver to join us on this adventure. Non-divers are absolutely welcome! Whether you’re here to explore topside experiences or just relax and soak in the vibe, there’s something for everyone.
Travel insurance is recommended, and every diver is required to have dive accident insurance.
At least one person per family must be a current PADI Club member, and anyone planning to dive must be a certified Open Water Diver or higher.
If you’re interested in taking your skills to the next level, the following PADI Diver Specialty certifications and experiences will be offered as optional extras during the event:
- Enriched Air (Nitrox) Diver – Learn the ins and outs of using enriched air during your dives, and enjoy shorter surface intervals and extended no-decompression limits (NDLs).
Additionally, the following PADI certifications (while not offered as optional extras) are useful considerations if you want to share the beauty of Bonaire’s beautiful reefs and wildlife with friends and family back home while keeping “fins off” its cherished coral reefs.
- Peak Performance Buoyancy – Buoyancy control is essential to becoming a confident, relaxed diver. Learn how to dive with less weight, reduce air consumption, and hover effortlessly while you move in for a closer look.
- Digital Underwater Photographer – Share your adventures! Learn how to use underwater strobes, reduce backscatter, photograph marine life, and choose photo equipment.
To sign up for this trip and add on your Specialty courses or optional extras, please contact Buddy Dive directly to handle your booking. Get ready to immerse yourself in 8 days of underwater adventure, friendship building, and experiences!
What You’ll Need
In addition to your certification cards, dive logbook, and passport, you’ll want to check out PADI’s free Ultimate Scuba Diving Vacation Packing List!
