Jersey
Contributor
This was the 17th straight year for JustUs Divers at Buddy Dive, 2 weeks, one week is just not enough. Your milege may vary and past performance is no indication of anything. JustUs is a spoof - for years hubs and I traveled and people would ask if we were there with a group, to which he would reply "Yes, just us", so we started calling ourselves "JustUs Divers". Over the years my brother and nephew joined us, we met and made friends and now have a core group of 6 - 11. We return to Buddy for the convenience, efficiency, dive ops and reef. Having a kitchen allows us to save $$ eating in. The dive-drive pack makes it easy, the drive through for tanks a dream, and the location is about mid-way between the north and south sites. We do both boat and shore> one has mobility issues making shore diving a challenge, I particularly love the south side of Klein sites, most of us take photo/GoPro and buddy hunts Lionfish which he can only do under the supervision of an operation, so either boat or guided shore dive.
The travel - we fly Delta from PHL-ATL-BON. Airfare was ridiculous this year, part of the group paid $2,200 per person. OUCH! We are looking to change our timing next year based on this. Flights were smooth, layover times reasonable, allowed us to take advantage of Sky Clubs. Did have a ground stop in ATL on the way down, 2 hrs on the plane because of volume heading into the Caribbean basin and JAX couldn't handle the traffic. Other than pricing, no issues with Delta. All bags made it, Buddy transportation to resort is smooth, they take your bags and deliver them directly to the rooms. Our bags were there before we completed the check in process.
The resort - majority of the paperwork is completed online and ahead of time. C cards are scanned and sent, just stop in the shop to get a locker key and weights. Then do a check out dive off the resort dock and off you go! Benches line the wall and you can usually find somewhere to sit and kit up. Metal stairs make entry and exit simple, but they are slick with algae. Rinse tanks for All Gear, Regulators and Cameras means you can rinse, use the lockers and not turn your room into a dive shop. Couple showers allow you a quick rinse between dives as well (I love outdoor showers). Dive staff are fantastic! Another reason we return. Someone available to answer questions or help with gear and we had some gear issues this trip (nothing like being at the site and having your tank and regs topple off the back of the truck, to the ground, blowing a ring in the first stage. Bexs will be shopping for new gear!) Great resources for fish ID & behavior in both Danni and Menno. We do the breakfast buffets, due to convenience. (May cut that, I think the accountant in the group figured we are paying $23 per person per day, $640 per couple for the 2 weeks. I can make steak and eggs for breakfast every day for less.) No issues at the resort, but we aren't looking for Ritz or 4Seasons. Rooms are clean, AC worked for the most part, hot showers, grounds are nice enough, 2 onsite pools, 2 onsite restaurants should you wish to partake plus a bar. Resort is powered by diesel generators no issues keeping the lights on. We did have the water cut off twice which was inconvenient as it occurred as we were getting ready for dinner - great feeling donning your finest dress after 3 dives and no shower. I love diving off the reef at Buddy. Easy to navigate, there is a line from the dock to the reef if you have doubts. (For those who have been there before, the line now stops at shoulder of reef, about 20 fsw, where it used to run down to about 40-50 and the north-south lines have been removed as well, didn't ask why). Buddy is the site of the initial coral restoration efforts and while I've no empirical evidence (fish counts, species identified, etc) anecdotally I'm seeing more fish, larger fish and more species. The coral babies bring in the little things, which bring in the larger things. Schools of medium sized snapper, schoolmasters loiter under the boats, not moving as you float quietly by. Cubera snapper and grouper turning up with more frequency. Turtles, tarpon and all the normally pretty reef fish, including porkfish which I've not seen in 10 years, and a couple rare cornet fish (oversized trumpet fish). Most days I could see the bottom of the reef, out into the sand from the top - probably 80 - 90 feet or more. No current > I could go north or south.
More later, have a call to run to.
The travel - we fly Delta from PHL-ATL-BON. Airfare was ridiculous this year, part of the group paid $2,200 per person. OUCH! We are looking to change our timing next year based on this. Flights were smooth, layover times reasonable, allowed us to take advantage of Sky Clubs. Did have a ground stop in ATL on the way down, 2 hrs on the plane because of volume heading into the Caribbean basin and JAX couldn't handle the traffic. Other than pricing, no issues with Delta. All bags made it, Buddy transportation to resort is smooth, they take your bags and deliver them directly to the rooms. Our bags were there before we completed the check in process.
The resort - majority of the paperwork is completed online and ahead of time. C cards are scanned and sent, just stop in the shop to get a locker key and weights. Then do a check out dive off the resort dock and off you go! Benches line the wall and you can usually find somewhere to sit and kit up. Metal stairs make entry and exit simple, but they are slick with algae. Rinse tanks for All Gear, Regulators and Cameras means you can rinse, use the lockers and not turn your room into a dive shop. Couple showers allow you a quick rinse between dives as well (I love outdoor showers). Dive staff are fantastic! Another reason we return. Someone available to answer questions or help with gear and we had some gear issues this trip (nothing like being at the site and having your tank and regs topple off the back of the truck, to the ground, blowing a ring in the first stage. Bexs will be shopping for new gear!) Great resources for fish ID & behavior in both Danni and Menno. We do the breakfast buffets, due to convenience. (May cut that, I think the accountant in the group figured we are paying $23 per person per day, $640 per couple for the 2 weeks. I can make steak and eggs for breakfast every day for less.) No issues at the resort, but we aren't looking for Ritz or 4Seasons. Rooms are clean, AC worked for the most part, hot showers, grounds are nice enough, 2 onsite pools, 2 onsite restaurants should you wish to partake plus a bar. Resort is powered by diesel generators no issues keeping the lights on. We did have the water cut off twice which was inconvenient as it occurred as we were getting ready for dinner - great feeling donning your finest dress after 3 dives and no shower. I love diving off the reef at Buddy. Easy to navigate, there is a line from the dock to the reef if you have doubts. (For those who have been there before, the line now stops at shoulder of reef, about 20 fsw, where it used to run down to about 40-50 and the north-south lines have been removed as well, didn't ask why). Buddy is the site of the initial coral restoration efforts and while I've no empirical evidence (fish counts, species identified, etc) anecdotally I'm seeing more fish, larger fish and more species. The coral babies bring in the little things, which bring in the larger things. Schools of medium sized snapper, schoolmasters loiter under the boats, not moving as you float quietly by. Cubera snapper and grouper turning up with more frequency. Turtles, tarpon and all the normally pretty reef fish, including porkfish which I've not seen in 10 years, and a couple rare cornet fish (oversized trumpet fish). Most days I could see the bottom of the reef, out into the sand from the top - probably 80 - 90 feet or more. No current > I could go north or south.
More later, have a call to run to.
