Thanks for the info! We are going with a group of 15 of us, can't wait!!! For now will dream about my son's new tank :) It is coming soon!

Nice shots and I'm a little envious. Bonaire is on our list of dive destinations. Unfortunately, there are too many places to go with what seems like too little time (and money).

What camera, housing, and strobe are you using?

There are definitely nicer places to dive in the world but getting there can be a hassle. My vacation time is too precious to use 4 days of them getting to my destination and back again. Bonaire is fairly easy to get to, but if you aren't a diver or snorkeler there is not much else to do.

The camera is a Nikon S8100 with an Ikelite housing and Ikelite AF35 strobe.

Are you going with a dive club?

The price looks right for Bonaire (diving included), however, being based in Vancouver, Asia and the South Pacific are just as easy for me to get to. That's where the money side comes into play. What were the food prices like? Access to it?

Does your camera have the ability to shoot in RAW or to manually adjust the white balance? Can you shoot in manual mode as opposed to having the camera adjust the settings automatically?

Typically, once you get past 6-8' from your subject, the flash won't help much. The light gets filtered too much. Don't forget, that you need to double the distance for the light to travel as it has to get back to the camera from the subject. Not to mention that you may also get a lot of back scatter depending on the water clarity.

Philippines was on our bucket list. Maybe someday.
Dining out in Bonaire is expensive compared to here, probably because there is not as much choice. We only dined out a couple of times because we had a full kitchen. Grocery prices are comparable but again, if you are a die-hard Alberta beef boy like me you will be sadly disappointed in the selection and it is more expensive. If we ever decide to make Bonaire our winter home I will have to adjust! The booze selection is very good and the prices are not bad. Gas is $1.38/litre but it's a small island so you will go a long time on a tank.

We bought a six day unlimited air package and added on additional days. We also did a two tank boat dive but won't be doing that again when the shore diving is so good.

Our camera does not shoot RAW and the white balance can be manually adjusted, however I made all of the settings as per Ikelite's instructions. No doubt regarding anything over 8 feet from the subject. Next trip I will also stick the red filter in my BC pocket for the long shots. I am also seriously considering a GoPro 3+ but they aren't cheap, but the video quality is nice!