"Just Right" Bonaire Dive Resorts

[DiveShopBarbie]

Great to hear about AKR and Buddys! It's also good to hear the "real scoop" with Buddy's - I like the idea of a dive trip where everything is on your own schedule. Quite opposite of every dive trip I've done (except for Curacao) so should be great.

And Richard - nothing better than a PBJ after a morning of diving

 

[KeithG]

As already noted, Bonaire is very different from most other dive destinations. The biggest difference is that you are free to dive when you want. You run to your own schedule.

This also means there is no such thing as personal service. You are on your own. The dive resorts are simply a place to store gear and sleep. Not really "resorts" at all. More like dive hotels.

You will also need to be prepared for fairly full dive boats for the popular (morning) trips. Most of the resorts have multiple boats available but only run as few as needed.

Many people do the rental truck shore dive scheme since it is cheap. But you have to lug your gear.

I am too lazy and just do dock dives and afternoon 1 tank boat dives (limited to 60 minutes) from the Divi. We night dock dive and then walk to supper at a town restaraunt.

 

[ron_dodge]

Great to hear about AKR and Buddys! It's also good to hear the "real scoop" with Buddy's - I like the idea of a dive trip where everything is on your own schedule. Quite opposite of every dive trip I've done (except for Curacao) so should be great.

And Richard - nothing better than a PBJ after a morning of diving

I think Richard and Lorenzoid summed everything up very well. Like most divers my wife and I try to avoid the "cattle boats" as much as possible. And even though Buddy's is a big feeling resort we don't get the cattle call feeling when we're there.

The only time the resort seemed crowded to me was check in/out time. Many of the flights on/off of the island leave at the same time so every tends to arrive and depart around the same time.

As others pointed out the main draw is the shore diving. So if you and your dive buddy are comfortable with heading out on your own, you can have a private dive almost every time out. We were there this past December on a trip with 8 others from our dive club. Having the rental truck is a thing of beauty as this enabled us to be free from even our "group". When the group wanted to sleep in or not do as many dives as us we took off on our own. Very nice. Other features of Buddy's we like are the tank locker down on the dock. This allows you to grab a tank and swim Buddy's Reef 24/7. And then the tank drive through. This is exactly what it sounds like. You drive your truck through and fill the back with tanks.

No matter where you stay, if this is your first time to Bonaire here are a couple of tips.

Leave any extra gear at home. That second torch or extra set of safety scissors just equal extra weight you will be lugging from the shore into the water

Invest in good dive boots if you don't have some already. You'll appreciate something with a solid sole. There can be a lot of walking to be done and your feet with thank you.

Dive socks! Don't leave the hotel w/out them. Much like the dive boots, but this time it will be your feet and their lack of blisters that will be happy.

And, if it's just you and your buddy, consider investing in Bonaire Shore Diving Made Easy. It's a great guide to the dive sites that includes the ease of entry, surge, current, etc...

Have Fun!

 

[DiveShopBarbie]

Thanks for the tips! It will be my first trip so this is incredibly helpful. I've got some sturdy soled dive boots so those should come in handy for this.

It sounds like the overwhelming opinion is to go Buddy's when you go Bonaire, which is enough for me. The idea of going out on our own, not having a schedule, and no cattleboating (my biggest pet peeve) is divine

 

[drrich2]

I think you'll have a great time. A nice thing about Buddy Dive is that it's fairly centrally located, and so well-known that it can serve as a common frame of reference others are compared against. Once you've been to Bonaire and gotten used to the work flow, you can decide what you'd like to do differently. That experience will make it easier to answer questions on future Bonaire trips such as 'Am I willing to forego an ocean front resort to save some money' (e.g. - by going to Dive Hut), do I want to stay closer to the northern or southern sites, how much do I use the house reef, do I bother with boat diving on Bonaire, do I even get into the resort pool since I'm diving all week, etc...

Richard.

 

[diverjen]

These guys all gave you great advice and if you decided Buddy's I think you will have a great time there too, but Ill throw in my two cents though I am late to the party as I was on Bonaire when this thread started....

A plug for my recent detailed review: http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/bonaire/485054-trip-report-may-23rd-june-7th-2014-a.html For those of you who have already seen it, I added a teaser frog fish "leaping" video.

I think you should look at the Den Laman/BDA packages, too. They are a really attractive price point and you are getting the same perks (minus breakfast) that you will get at Buddy's and by my last count for less with a more intimate setup. And you get Bari Reef, an incredible shore dive as your fall out bed house reef.

We just returned from Bamboo Bali/BDA and dove with Den Laman/BDA folks the last two weeks and DL gets raves and has that great BDA setup. We stayed at Sand Dollar before and also liked that paired with BDA especially in building A, but Den Laman is much smaller than SD or BD and BDA really does have an incredibly streamlined setup. I think for the money v. convenience factor this is a nice sweet spot for Bonaire (hours upon hours of spreadsheets and forum reading have gone into this conclusion, as well as looking around on our last two trips).

You can also PM me if you want to talk more.

hijack, drrich 2- after 2 trips to Bonaire and 1 to USVI/BVI I feel like I am finally starting to get a feel for what I like and I guess it could change - did you end up going to Coz? PM me if you have time, lol.

 

[diversteve]

Buddy Dive has 78 rooms, suites, condos. Tranquilseas has 7. I guess I don't see how that could possibly be the same calm experience...

Den Laman or Carib Inn (no restaurant), are all more in line with that. Tropical Inn or Bamboo Bali non-waterfront.

 

[drrich2]

DiverJen:

So far I've done 2 dives in Cozumel, on a cruise ship stop. Would like to go back, but usually travel with wife & pre-toddler daughter, so staying near U.S. health care is desirable. I recently hit Bonaire solo so I could 'just dive' and get some solo diving in.

DiverSteve:

No doubt Buddy's will be different from the others you mentioned, as each will be different from the others. But it's hard for me to judge how someone else's Bonaire experience will be, given how people operate on the island. A few thoughts on that.

1.) Buddy Dive Resort doesn't feel crowded to me on the grounds. The boats could be, and if you boat dive a lot, I suppose that may be different. I see people as I wander around, but it's not like I'm wading through the masses. On the other hand, some folks may not like a place so 'quiet' that it seems deserted (not claiming the places you mentioned are). My point is, Buddy's doesn't feel 'packed' to me.

2.) If someone loads the truck, heads out for a couple of dives, comes back for lunch in-room, loads up again & heads out for 2 more dives, gets back late afternoon, takes a shower & eats out, they may not spend much time on the resort grounds. This is different from a live-aboard (where you're all together, most all the time) or what I've read of some Roatan resorts (e.g.: CocoView), where people spend more time on the resort or in the dive boat. And people often eat out for supper and may shop a little in Bonaire. I don't see many people playing volley ball and such at Buddy's. It's been pointed out that on Bonaire what we call a resort is more like a hotel with a dive op., though I noticed Buddy's has a couple of hammocks.

3.) I am intrigued by what I read about Bamboo Bali. Though not ocean-front, location doesn't sound bad at all. If I were traveling with a person or more apt to enjoy the aesthetics of it, I think it would probably be a fine choice. I tend to be dive focused on Bonaire, and found a good house reef added nicely to my dive count.

4.) Some people spend more time in their room, some more out on the grounds, some island touring. Especially on a 1st trip, I'd recommend the long tour of Washington Slagbaai Park, driving the donkey sanctuary and up the south end and east coast to see the beauty of the ocean pounding the island, and watching the kite boarders at Atlantis and wind surfers at Jibe City. So how calm & sparsely populated it feels walking between building complexes on the resort may not matter much.

5.) I think Bamboo Bali and some other options would be especially interesting for the repeat customer who's 'been there, done that' and will spend more non-diving dive at the resort, and get more out of it.

Just my perspective.

Richard.

 

[tlyoung6]

Bonaire is well known for fantastic shore diving. You rent a truck and are free to dive anytime
(day or night). When you ready for a dive, load up your dive gear, drive to a yellow rock along the road which
designates a dive site, gear up and walk right in. I would recommend Coco Palm Gardens for the lodging. It is not a
"resort" but relaxing, simple apt.villas. These are very colorful units with small kitchens. The location is not ocean front,
but it is just a short drive up the road and you are there. There are tropical patios at each place with a beach chair and hammock.
Also, there are rinse tanks at each one for the dive gear and clothes lines for drying. There are alot of really good dive sites in the
south end of the island. The dive shop we use, Dive Friends Bonaire, is just up the road for picking up tanks. There is also a pool at
the office with lounge chairs and tropical plants all around. Coco Palm Gardens can reserve you a package (apt. villa, truck and diving).
The dive shop, Dive Friends Bonaire, also has boat dives if you are interested in signing up for a boat dive(s) during the week.
We typically start our diving in the south end of the island and by midweek we'll go up towards the north for dives. There is a very nice
grocery store nearby for our grocery supplies. There are a variety of restaurants nearby which we really enjoy. You can check out the
website cocopalmgarden.com.

 

[weezieharris]

We visited Bonaire a year ago. Buddy Dive was originally where my husband and I had planned to stay too but then we ended up getting a great deal at the Caribbean Club resort and stayed there. They have a couple of different room options...the basic is like a regular hotel room. We got a one bedroom condo which I loved. The room had a small living area and kitchenette and then a separate bedroom. The kitchenette was convenient as we hit the local Dutch grocery store and got sandwich supplies, fruit, etc. so that we could make a boxed lunch while diving each day. There was also a private patio as well where we enjoyed relaxing after our final dives. The Caribbean Club is located a little further north (and out of town) than Buddy Dive but we did not find the drive into town to be a burden at all and it was so quiet and peaceful at night. The resort does not have a house reef but it was located about 1 minute up the road from Oil Slick Leap which was a great dive site. There is a restaurant on the premises. Breakfast was great (and you can buy packages with that included). The dinner menu was limited but everything we had was very good. We did only have lunch or dinner there once or twice as we went into town most nights. There is a gear locker on the premises and at the time of our visit the resort was pretty empty so having a dry wetsuit the next morning wasn't an issue. Plus, if there was something we didn't want to leave in the gear room, we could always dry it on the patio. I can't speak to their dive operation as far as boats are concerned as we did all shore diving (several fun sights are close) but the DM's on site were always helpful. We also had unlimited Nitrox. In all, the Caribbean Club is not a luxury resort by any means but it was clean, comfortable, friendly, and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay.